Disasters and Recovery

Tony Duell wrote: Schematics. Source code. Drawings. Any other available technical info. _Printed_ on acid-free paper (hemp is best). From proper documentation anything can be built from scratch. We have examples around of printed media that lasted 20 times as long as a mere century time capsule, and they didn't have much preservative technology besides pottery jars in a cave in a dry climate. With the addition of dessicants and oxygen absorbers to properly sealed containers of inert gases, printed media should last for a few ice-age cycles. But I really wouldn't expect a modern computer do manage more than a few decades at best unless somebody developed a functional "stasis field", and we need a major breakthrough in theoretical physics -- and the followup engineering -- for that to happen. In the meantime, human-readable media is probably the best bet, although a bit bulky. (For reasons other than "planned obsolescence", modern artifacts are not as durable as those of primitive people, even when they use the same materials, as we use them in more delicate forms -- compare a Roman gold coin to the gold components in a computer). -- Ward Griffiths <mailto:gram@cnct.com> <http://www.cnct.com/home/gram/> WARNING: The Attorney General has determined that Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms can be hazardous to your health -- and get away with it.