Review - "The Computer as Time Machine"

The age of cloud storage may give us a false confidence in the permanence of our data, our records and memories. But everything is susceptible to physical decay, and all storage media for information and knowledge are temporary. As director of the EMPAC (Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center) at RPI, Dr. Johannes Goebel is all too aware of the potential failure points of preserving the artworks and performances his building has overseen. With a witty, warm persona, Goebel presents the philosophy and principles of memory and preservation that inform his project to maintain the EMPAC’s records for posterity. In his first section, he lays out how we construct machines to measure and define quantities, devices like scales, clocks, and ultimately the computer. He uses further musings on the necessity of machines to interpret and make sense of recordings, and the extremely brief history of magnetic data storage to segue into the larger topic of the presentation. The staff have printed a book of photos and records of the events and artworks brought to EMPAC. They’ve designed digital archives to make the history of the place available on a computer screen. But these are temporary solutions that only leave behind a fraction of the total sensory input of the art pieces shown. Conscious of the shortcomings, for the past two years Goebel and his people have dedicated great effort into studying the problems of preservation. Years from now, whatever hard drives or magnetic discs that hold Goebel’s collected knowledge will be unlikely to be usable. The physical storage devices computers rely on are all too volatile, steadily eroded and damaged by the elements, from moisture to oxidation from air to the Sun’s UV radiation. Optimistically, in ideal conditions, printed CDs and DVDs may last for 100 years. Worse still is the rapid pace of innovation in the software and systems that interpret stored data. File formats are abandoned and forgotten, and operating systems change and renew. What was once a common language might disappear entirely. Even if we hold on to a computer that can properly handle the relevant data, the components of that might not last forever either. Goebel identifies the BIOS chip as a particularly concerning point of failure for many chipsets. With all these difficulties in mind, Goebel lays out his requirements for a ‘Digital Time Capsule.’ It must last 100 years, require little attention or protection, be accessible when discovered. His proposed successful solution lies in the discs produced by a company called M-DISC, which promises 1000 years of preservation. Unfortunately, while M-DISC appears to have potential, his attempted explanations of how a complementary computer system that could read the disc be preserved over a century failed to engender confidence. Despite his hopeful promises, I am not convinced that he can guarantee a terabyte of data to future generations for a mere $650.00, complete with a running computer ready to open the files onboard.