7 Oct
1998
7 Oct
'98
8:56 a.m.
Has there been any discussion about the eventual fate
of our collections
after we are gone?
Well, some supersymmetric (SUSY) theories of grand unification predict
that protons will eventually decay. Current experiments put the mean life
of the proton at well over 10^40 years, so I'm not too worried myself.
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
Trailing Edge Technology Voice: 301-767-5917
7328 Bradley Blvd Fax: 301-767-5927
Bethesda, MD, USA 20817
7 Oct
7 Oct
3:34 p.m.
CLASSICCMP(a)trailing-edge.com wrote:
Yeah, Tim, but computers are made of more than single protons (so
far). The half-life of molecules (and the frinstance computer cases
made out of them) is a lot less -- not counting the magnetic charges
in storage media. Most collectors don't _quite_ think about eternity
for the machines, but a few generations might be nice. (I _do_ think
about eternity, since I'm not handicapped by religious assumptions of
mortality -- plus I don't collect "rare" pieces anyhow).
--
Ward Griffiths <mailto:gram@cnct.com> <http://www.cnct.com/home/gram/>
When I was crossing the border into Canada, they asked me if I had any
firearms with me. I said "Well, what do you need?" -- Steven Wright
Has there been any discussion about the eventual
fate of our collections
after we are gone?
Well, some supersymmetric (SUSY) theories of grand unification predict
that protons will eventually decay. Current experiments put the mean life
of the proton at well over 10^40 years, so I'm not too worried myself. 
8:01 p.m.
Ward Donald Griffiths III <gram(a)cnct.com> wrote:
Yeah, Tim, but computers are made of more than single
protons (so
far). The half-life of molecules (and the frinstance computer cases
made out of them) is a lot less -- not counting the magnetic charges
in storage media.
And the magnetic media is likely to last a lot longer than the bits
in any EPROMs, EEPROMs, Flash memory, etc. This is especially pernicious
in devices that are "secured" against reading, like single chip
microcontrollers and EPLDs.
In the old days I made sure to back up the EPROMs in every device I
purchased. For new equipment now, it is not even worth the effort, since
even if I do back up the EPROM some other chip that I can't back up will fail.
IIRC, EPROM manufactureres have usually claimed a 20 year retention life.
I have some EPROMs that were programmed in 1977 and still read reliably.
Others that were written as recently as 1992 already have marginal bits.
If anyone has the idea that they will be able to save a computer made in
1988 for another 40 years, and then be able to demonstrate it working,
think again.
On the other hand, it will probably be possible to keep older hardware
like the PDP-8/e working for as long as TTL chips or suitable replacements
can be found.
Eric
9574
days inactive
9575
days old
2 comments
3 participants
participants (3)
-
CLASSICCMP＠trailing-edge.com -
eric＠brouhaha.com -
gram＠cnct.com