> > You will need to constantly "mantain" your picture > library, copy it to new > media etc. to keep your images. This is already > problematic for some > formats: jpg for example loose some quality every > time they are copied as > far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong on this).
False. You can copy *any* file 100 times a second for the next 100 years, and the last copy will be as good as the first one. Assuming you have the patience :) > I'm sure you can maintain the picture library you > took for yourself (constant care and checking > backups every 10-15 years). But what about the > picture of your grandfather you find on your attic? you mean that hazy, molded, burnt grey-on-grey-with yellow-all-around piece of art? yup, that's archival. c'mon: if you don't store it propertly and don't maintain, *anything* will become junk in 15 years. > I doubt that, if your PC has not been used lets say > for 15 years, your grandson will get much out > of it. i almost cried last year when i got my hands on a stack of 25 years old BW slides my father made: cratched all over, with nice fungus dots making pretty patterns... color slides were completely faded (for those who cares, ORWO Chrome film)... rolls of film, in nice tight rolls that try to break when you unwind them... see my point above. > Knut Mishka
