Reason #4,254,675 Why Computers ain't all they're Cracked up to Be

This is a NY Times link, which needs registration. You can avoid giving them a blood sample by going to www.bugmenot.com, which will give you a userid & password for these sites [ed. I won't use this for pay sites, but if they're offering the content for free, I see no reason to share my personal information with them]

Anyway, a couple of things to note. First, it's good to have this conversation in a very public arena like the Times. Second, I'm glad they talked to actual professionals. Third, this part is a bit overstated:

"Professional archivists and librarians have the resources to duplicate materials in other formats and the expertise to retrieve materials trapped in obsolete computers. But consumers are seldom so well equipped."

Dunno what resources they're talking about. There's a box of 8 inch floppies sitting in a storage room that I can't decipher, and I haven't any idea who could. My professional resources are a bit more limited than that. Thankfully the materials on these disks are not archival. I snagged one to use as a demonstration to people who think they have taken care of their records, but I don't need the boxload of 'em.