A small time capsule will be buried for 50 years. We're talkin.. maybe 1.5 feet x 2 feet tall.
What computer related item would you put in it? If you wanted to place some computer files for the person 50 years from now to find.. what would you store them on? A floppy disk? A burned cd? DVD? Bluray? Hard Drive? USB Key? What do you think would last that they'd be able to access?
What significant computer related events that happened in the last 25 years might you want to tell them about? The Internet being available for public use? The iPad? The Zune?
What computer item would you put in a 50 yr time capsule?
Re: What computer item would you put in a 50 yr time capsule
Torrented Software
Re: What computer item would you put in a 50 yr time capsule
I would think CDs would last the longest
I would put alot of music and art, as that would probably be most likely to be lost in 50 years. Podcasts and video would be nice, history related stuff may also be forgotten.
I would put alot of music and art, as that would probably be most likely to be lost in 50 years. Podcasts and video would be nice, history related stuff may also be forgotten.
Re: What computer item would you put in a 50 yr time capsule
well, given how everything is saved forever now, if the technology of computers as we know them still exist in 50 years then we won't need to tell them anything, they can just look it up online. and if the technology doesn't exist anymore, then there's no point in saving anything on computer formatted files - better to print raw information/pictures on waterproof acid-free paper with permanent ink, and if you want music press it to vinyl (you can play a record with very little technology even if you don't have a record player or electricity, but reading a computer formatted CD is about 1 million times more complex if you don't have a functioning CD drive and the computer to read it - and impossible without electricity).
as for what computer related info would i want to share with 50 years future people? kind of the same situation leads me to say "nothing". IF they still have computers they know computer history and have a better sense of what the major milestones/breakthru devices were in our day then we living in the present do AND if they don't have computers, there's NOTHING of significance or value to be gained by telling someone who doesn't understand computers about a specific magic glowing box that did wondrous things when you touched it , even if to us the different between a iPad and an android tablet seems incredibly significant.
as for what computer related info would i want to share with 50 years future people? kind of the same situation leads me to say "nothing". IF they still have computers they know computer history and have a better sense of what the major milestones/breakthru devices were in our day then we living in the present do AND if they don't have computers, there's NOTHING of significance or value to be gained by telling someone who doesn't understand computers about a specific magic glowing box that did wondrous things when you touched it , even if to us the different between a iPad and an android tablet seems incredibly significant.
Re: What computer item would you put in a 50 yr time capsule
I'm surprised no one said Myth2 yet. 
But seriously, while I would imagine the internet lasting all this time, people have different perspectives from what little they might know of the past and what they know of the present. So while leaving something from this time period might seem pointless, I don't think it would be. The novelty of it at the very least would be worth it for younger generations. Some of us know how much slower the tech was, while some of the younger people never experienced this and might find it neat to see some aspect of this. It would be a similar reason we have museums. Could you look this up on the net? Yes, and yet people still go to them who already have access to the internet. Sometimes seeing it in person is better than reading or hearing about it.
As for what I would imagine would still work in the future, USB drives and discs like CD/DVD/Blu-ray. Floppies are already really outdated. Hard drives might, but I would think only if you have some compatible connection or something. Nothing jumps at me as "this would be perfect", but perhaps a recording of how computers are used today. It could show how "slow" a computer can be and what kind of things people normally use it for. Why would this be interesting? Well having a bunch words is one thing, seeing a sort of documentary of it has a better effect that will last.
I don't think music will disappear over the years unless something drastic happened like a massive EMP hit the planet and even then there would still be a bunch of copies that were not on computers that would survive. Unless you want to show the kind of music people of today listened, then sure.
But seriously, while I would imagine the internet lasting all this time, people have different perspectives from what little they might know of the past and what they know of the present. So while leaving something from this time period might seem pointless, I don't think it would be. The novelty of it at the very least would be worth it for younger generations. Some of us know how much slower the tech was, while some of the younger people never experienced this and might find it neat to see some aspect of this. It would be a similar reason we have museums. Could you look this up on the net? Yes, and yet people still go to them who already have access to the internet. Sometimes seeing it in person is better than reading or hearing about it.
As for what I would imagine would still work in the future, USB drives and discs like CD/DVD/Blu-ray. Floppies are already really outdated. Hard drives might, but I would think only if you have some compatible connection or something. Nothing jumps at me as "this would be perfect", but perhaps a recording of how computers are used today. It could show how "slow" a computer can be and what kind of things people normally use it for. Why would this be interesting? Well having a bunch words is one thing, seeing a sort of documentary of it has a better effect that will last.
I don't think music will disappear over the years unless something drastic happened like a massive EMP hit the planet and even then there would still be a bunch of copies that were not on computers that would survive. Unless you want to show the kind of music people of today listened, then sure.
Re: What computer item would you put in a 50 yr time capsule
oh yeah time capsules are fun. i didn't mean to be doctor buzzkill.
Re: What computer item would you put in a 50 yr time capsule
Kinda reminds me of the Voyager (I think it was Voyager) spacecraft. They put a phonograph record on it with sounds and pictures from Earth in case an alien civilization ever found it and could figure out how to read it.
The cake is a lie.
Re: What computer item would you put in a 50 yr time capsule
I dont think regular magnetized items like hard drives and usb would last that long
It would take more then a meteor explosion to eliminate all cd/dvd players ever made. It would be more of a record of culture, not necessarily enough time to help rebuild civilization with a 2 ft x 2ft box. I think it would be safe to assume that the technology to decode a cd would still be around.
Of course myth will still be around, no need to add that
It would take more then a meteor explosion to eliminate all cd/dvd players ever made. It would be more of a record of culture, not necessarily enough time to help rebuild civilization with a 2 ft x 2ft box. I think it would be safe to assume that the technology to decode a cd would still be around.
Of course myth will still be around, no need to add that
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juliocpaes
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Re: What computer item would you put in a 50 yr time capsule
Hello all,
We have information media millennia ago (Egyptian hieroglyphics and Mayan), and even about the supposed "2012", now we can not keep anything of Information Technology in 50 years ... ?
We have information media millennia ago (Egyptian hieroglyphics and Mayan), and even about the supposed "2012", now we can not keep anything of Information Technology in 50 years ... ?
Re: What computer item would you put in a 50 yr time capsule
To me, it's what do I want to remind them of in 50 years. What's interesting to us now will be forgotten or a distant memory in 50 years. Anyone reading this post may have children already, could possibly have grandchildren. We're talking something for generations ahead to see. What for us is an important piece of nostalgia. What can give them a glimpse of their past?
I like Pyro's thought on how computers are used today, how 'slow' they are. If I had unlimited funds I would put in the fastest minicomputer we have or something representative of our achievements. Right now things like the iPad and smart phones are that gadget. I'd throw in an iPad. I'm not sure it'd survive though.. the batteries I think could leak or explode.. who knows.
Also like Khadrelt said. Include everything they need to read the media.
As for vinyl's thoughts, I agree that they should be able to look up a thorough history of our time. They'll probably know it better than us. I would put in a message or a recap of what I've seen in my time. Just my time. More of an individual story than an encyclopedia entry. Ask them what they've seen in their's? We got to see the Internet rise over the last 50 years. The personal computer. The personal video game console. So much to tell and remind them of what once was. Rather than just present history perhaps try to get them to think about it. Try to give them an idea of how it felt to see these things. I remember how amazed I was when I saw a computer with a color monitor after using a TRS-80 for so long.
I asked a family member once what was most significant to their time. The biggest technological achievement. It was running water. Blew my mind. I'd have never thought of that. I'd like to leave something that could tell whoever found the capsule "this meant something to us in our time." Something that they wouldn't have thought to even read about in the history books.
I like Pyro's thought on how computers are used today, how 'slow' they are. If I had unlimited funds I would put in the fastest minicomputer we have or something representative of our achievements. Right now things like the iPad and smart phones are that gadget. I'd throw in an iPad. I'm not sure it'd survive though.. the batteries I think could leak or explode.. who knows.
Also like Khadrelt said. Include everything they need to read the media.
As for vinyl's thoughts, I agree that they should be able to look up a thorough history of our time. They'll probably know it better than us. I would put in a message or a recap of what I've seen in my time. Just my time. More of an individual story than an encyclopedia entry. Ask them what they've seen in their's? We got to see the Internet rise over the last 50 years. The personal computer. The personal video game console. So much to tell and remind them of what once was. Rather than just present history perhaps try to get them to think about it. Try to give them an idea of how it felt to see these things. I remember how amazed I was when I saw a computer with a color monitor after using a TRS-80 for so long.
I asked a family member once what was most significant to their time. The biggest technological achievement. It was running water. Blew my mind. I'd have never thought of that. I'd like to leave something that could tell whoever found the capsule "this meant something to us in our time." Something that they wouldn't have thought to even read about in the history books.
Re: What computer item would you put in a 50 yr time capsule
I would put the first imac mouse. Blue puck type.
Re: What computer item would you put in a 50 yr time capsule
I think I read somewhere that CD's only last a few years, then they crap out. What's more, there's the issue of what the hell people will be using in 50 years... sticking something in a capsule might just be like finding an encrypted message for a special decoding typewriter.
shit, don't batteries even go dead? I guess, in order of preference, I'd put in:
1. An iPod with as much music on it as possible, especially the best off-mainstream stuff I could find
2. An 8-bit nintendo system with pretty much whatever games available.
3. A flash drive with just a few computer games I thought were worth finding several years later, ideally after people forget about the shit being played today!
4. An iPhone (+ charger) with only one app... angry birds
shit, don't batteries even go dead? I guess, in order of preference, I'd put in:
1. An iPod with as much music on it as possible, especially the best off-mainstream stuff I could find
2. An 8-bit nintendo system with pretty much whatever games available.
3. A flash drive with just a few computer games I thought were worth finding several years later, ideally after people forget about the shit being played today!
4. An iPhone (+ charger) with only one app... angry birds