What will happen to our JPEGs and TIFFs in the future? Will they physically survive? How long will these digital file standards exist?
The life cycle of image file formats is limited in time, digital storage devices pass off, some people even lose "four years' worth of images when the hard drive crashed and a new computer wouldn't read the back-up CDs" [Link].
The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) as a collaborative body was established in 2001 to foster joint action to address the urgent challenges of securing the preservation of digital resources in the UK and to work with others internationally to secure our global digital memory and knowledge base ("Mission and Goals").
They are holding an interesting conference:
DPC Forum: Digital Preservation - the global context
Wednesday 23rd June 2004, the British Library Conference Centre
Registration fee: DPC Members - free; Non DPC Members - £150.00
[Related stories: "Digital Cameras, Photography and The Implications", Part I and Part II]
