tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post5231336699237085387..comments2024-03-15T01:11:32.832-07:00Comments on Bardiac: LudditeBardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-9741060214308871242008-12-18T07:29:00.000-08:002008-12-18T07:29:00.000-08:00I gave up on floppy disks two years ago after I di...I gave up on floppy disks two years ago after I did a school project that was larger than my floppy disk could hold (without anything on it). <BR/><BR/>I now store my documents on my jump drive and some of the pictures I have taken with my camera. My jump drive has come in handy several times.Aminehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18070798337962019848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-82230181205203661162008-12-13T18:34:00.000-08:002008-12-13T18:34:00.000-08:00Harddrive backed up, yep, a few times, though none...Harddrive backed up, yep, a few times, though none offsite. Not sure that harddrive technology will be around in 50 years, either. But crashing is a different issue from inaccessible or outdated formats. (Admittedly, Apple stopped shipping floppy drives on laptops in 1999, so I had a long transition period to figure out that I needed to wean off them.)<BR/><BR/>My department recently launched a thing (theoretically, not yet up in practice) where the work-study students will scan paper to PDF for us (and get us OCR software), which will be handy for things like unpublished conference papers that I may never want to look at but are not easily replaceable if I toss them. Or like draft chapters. It's part of the transition to a paperless office such that they had to buy the scanners and software for the admissions and advising processes, I think.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-12607442872518700282008-12-13T08:56:00.000-08:002008-12-13T08:56:00.000-08:00Inside, I can also bring the disks home and transf...Inside, I can also bring the disks home and transfer the info to a CD or two. It was just shocking that new computers don't come with floppy drives.<BR/><BR/>Mrs. C., On my campus, the tech folks won't convert things for me. Faculty time doesn't count for these folks. It's not part of their bottom line.<BR/><BR/>Theodora, That's a really good point. And in the current budget crisis, I asked about putting off the new computer for a year or two, but was told it had to go as scheduled. End of discussion. Seems wasteful.<BR/><BR/>Dance, You've backed up that harddrive, right? Because harddrives crash. As do floppies, and every other media. And books get fire and other damage.<BR/><BR/>Susan, I still have all my draft chapters in paper files. Are you implying that I shouldn't?<BR/><BR/>Undine, LOL. You made me laugh.<BR/><BR/>Cam, You and Theodora make good points about the environmental issues. Any suggestions for ethical ways to get rid of our computer waste?Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-67737781357771879832008-12-12T18:37:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:37:00.000-08:00I'm a technology profesional and am attracted to n...I'm a technology profesional and am attracted to new shiny geeky tech stuff all the time. But, there should always be a plan to convert data. I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised that at a state institution that they 'neglected' this, maybe because of funding. If they made the choice for funding reasons, it was shortsighted. Think of all of your time/effort invested in those notes, and all others getting new technology. Phew! that's probably much more expensive than the cost of a entry level tech to convert your docs. <BR/><BR/>Theodora is correct: it is also an environmental disaster. Electronic waste is one of the largest and fastest growing component of municipal waste. Much of what goes into computers is toxic, and there is a black market that sells this waste in developing countries where people who have no other job opportunties disassemble the parts putting themselves, their kids, their water supplies in peril.Anne Camillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12419931136194330529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-23313619342952259872008-12-12T18:00:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:00:00.000-08:00Great post, although I didn't get much beyond "new...Great post, although I didn't get much beyond "new computer" before thinking "oooh, shiny!" and wanting one myself.undinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05589384016564587214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-8819533889154923472008-12-12T15:43:00.000-08:002008-12-12T15:43:00.000-08:00My husband's computer still has a floppy drive (we...My husband's computer still has a floppy drive (we ordered one specially) and I've copied most of the stuff from my floppies onto CDs. I like Dance's idea of saving them as PDFs. Of course what I should really do is go through my electronic files the way I try to go through my paper files and pitch things I don't need anymore. (How many draft chapters of my book do I really need?)Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716705206734059708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-40394945638460850362008-12-12T13:15:00.000-08:002008-12-12T13:15:00.000-08:00I don't think the media I'm using today will be va...I don't think the media I'm using today will be valid in 50 years, but I think that just means it's our responsibility to ensure things get converted. Part of the price we pay for technology.<BR/><BR/>I copied all my undergrad floppy disks onto my harddrive long ago....in the next few years, I will find all my very old Word files from there and resave them into a more modern version of Word, or perhaps save as PDF, as I am relatively confident that *some* program will always be able to handle basic PDFs. <BR/><BR/>Part of the open-source movement is also about being able to access your data in public formats.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-76420503803896594482008-12-12T11:26:00.000-08:002008-12-12T11:26:00.000-08:00Great post, though. I keep raising the issue of "...Great post, though. I keep raising the issue of "hardware" around our campus and my professional organization -- we are all into using cool new technology for teaching at every possible opportunity. But what that means in practice is, a huge amount of turnover in hardware, which is of course an environmental disaster. <BR/><BR/>I would love to *have* a new laptop, but I'm not willing to pay the guilt-price for it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-21656238714469516072008-12-12T10:19:00.000-08:002008-12-12T10:19:00.000-08:00And I think you can take your files to your local ...And I think you can take your files to your local tech geek storefront (or even through your tech peeps on campus) and they can convert it a couple different ways for you--like onto a flash and as a paper copy if you want so you can archive it and look at it almost like a book...Mrs. Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00398436173535554878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-74724007455521043302008-12-12T09:20:00.000-08:002008-12-12T09:20:00.000-08:00Last I knew, Best Buy has external floppy drives t...Last I knew, Best Buy has external floppy drives that plug into your USB port --- we bought one a few years ago for under $20.00.Inside the Philosophy Factoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12255753259090709877noreply@blogger.com