If you’re among those concerned with data rot, you might see a glimmer of hope for long-term digital preservation in a recent development from Utah-based startup Millenniata. The company will soon begin manufacturing DVDs capable of protecting data that can be read for 1,000 years, if stored at room temperature.From Slashdot:
“Dubbed the Millennial Disk, it looks virtually identical to a regular DVD, but it’s special. Layers of hard, ‘persistent’ materials (the exact composition is a trade secret) are laid down on a plastic carrier, and digital information is literally carved in with an enhanced laser using the company’s Millennial Writer, a sort of beefed-up DVD burner. Once cut, the disk can be read by an ordinary DVD reader on your computer.”
Let’s hope the folks at Millenniata are working to ensure that the necessary data-reading technology will be around for the next 1,000 years. A Millennial DVD player would be a vast departure from the current crop of devices that barely last beyond their one-year warranties.
