[clug] Any Public Service organisations using Linix desktop and Open Office?

[Jason Stokes]

> In our case what we/I tend to do (given that research labs typically
> are short on space) is build a custom virtual machine in which the
> processing is done.  Granted I cannot guarantee that such a VM will
> run 40 years from now on whatever hardware is available but there is a
> fair chance. As for data the cheapest option seems to be to just keep
> migrating it to newer spinning disks. You simply cannot rely on tape.

I once applied for a job at the health insurance commission, and they
gave me a quick tour of their archive: shelves and shelves and shelves
and shelves of tapes dating from the eighties onwards.  They also had a
giant robot arm/tape drum thingy, which I was told was the same model
as the one used in "patriot games." I wanted to ask how many of the
earlier tapes were still readable after all this time, should they ever need to retrieve them, but I kept
quiet, and assumed the HIC knows what it's doing.  It does know what
it's doing, right?

Jason


      Get the name you always wanted with the new y7mail email address.
www.yahoo7.com.au/mail