What will digital archaeologists discover 500 years from now?

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  Started by Anonymous25356  9 months ago

So let's say 500 years from now, some archaeologists are poking around in a landfill from 2009 or so. And some of them specialize in restoring and deciphering our 21st century computer files. They are looking for CDs, DVDs, hard drives, flash memory, perhaps even entire (improperly disposed of) computers. Will they find much of anything that has endured that long? Will they be able to read it? What kind of information are they most likely to salvage? And what sorts of conclusions do you think they will draw about our culture from these digital fossils?

Tags: data, future, science fiction, speculation, storage

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1.		The Cutest Website OMG!!! Ponies!!! 2 Comments	4  votes 74 pts
2.		Nothing No one will look back in 500 years because everyone will be of the mistaken impression that everything they ever needed to know was stored, archived, and carried forward to the next version. Discuss	3  votes 53 pts
3.		The source code for Ctrl-Alt-Del http://flickr.com/photos/zippy/201215800/ Discuss	2  votes 36 pts
4.		Overflowing Storage Networks Welcome to the future, where everything about you is saved. A future where your actions are recorded, your movements are tracked, and your conversations are no longer ephemeral.... http://www.schneier....y_in_the.html 3 Comments	1  votes 20 pts
5.		Virtual Viagra Proof is discovered in 2509 that the total collapse of the health care system in 2010 was the result of an epidemic of rampant priapism, caused by a placebo effect from receiving so many spam emails about Viagra. Within six months, several major pharmeceutical companies had made the cost-effective switch to email-only, virtual Viagra. Discuss	1  votes 20 pts
6.		How does anyone else know? Only squiggles live more than 500 years ;) Discuss	1  votes 20 pts
7.		floppies piles and piles of floppies 1 Comment	1  votes 20 pts
8.		Death by software misadventure ... and confirmation that Parallel's never mustered enough ambition and interest to care about the end-user's will to live. Discuss	1  votes 19 pts
9.		Fragments of a Mylar Weather Balloon These mysterious fragments are thought to be pieces of an experimental weather balloon made of a top secret advanced material called Mylar, a form of superconductive plasma back-engineered from marooned alien spacecraft. Discuss	1  votes 19 pts
10.		Semanticians (No description provided) Discuss	1  votes 18 pts
11.		Social Networking Zombies(5) (No description provided) Discuss	1  votes 17 pts

Topic History

squiggle commented on the answer "The Cutest Website": "The perfect pet and much cheaper th..."  (6 months ago) geekolissa commented on the answer "The Cutest Website": "zomg!!! Hamsters!!! hahahahaha"  (6 months ago) squiggle commented on the answer "floppies": "/squirrels working floppy drives aw..."  (6 months ago) geekolissa added an answer: "floppies"  (6 months ago) squiggle added an answer: "How does anyone else know?"  (6 months ago) zeroplate added an answer: "Nothing"  (6 months ago) squiggle commented on the answer "Overflowing Storage Networks": "There's a match now :D"  (9 months ago) jmasterson-staff commented on the answer "Overflowing Storage Networks": "No match for "SQUIGGLEBLOG.COM". ..."  (9 months ago) Anonymous25356 added an answer: "Fragments of a Mylar Weather Balloon"  (9 months ago) squiggle commented on the answer "Overflowing Storage Networks": "Schneier is the Chief Security Tech..."  (9 months ago) Anonymous25356 added an answer: "Virtual Viagra"  (9 months ago) jmasterson-staff added an answer: "Overflowing Storage Networks"  (9 months ago) squiggle added an answer: "The Cutest Website"  (9 months ago) squiggle added an answer: "The source code for Ctrl-Alt-Del"  (9 months ago) squiggle added an answer: "Social Networking Zombies(5)"  (9 months ago) squiggle added an answer: "Semanticians"  (9 months ago) squiggle added an answer: "Death by software misadventure"  (9 months ago) Anonymous25356 posted a new topic! What will digital archaeologists discover 500 years from now?  (9 months ago)

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Topic Details

This topic was started by Anonymous25356 on February 27th, 2009. 8 members have voted on one or more of the 11 answers.

Tags: data, future, science fiction, speculation, storage

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