What's wrong with physical storage for say 200 years? Most data we save these days will be fine stored this way. The issue is what we choose to store just because we can which caused problems. The net is overflowing with the minutia of boring existances. What we really need is a data scythe to cut the rubbish out and then store it. The Victorian era handed down lots of books, magazines and pamphlets. Some of these are preserved and read by historians. In 150 years will we really care about the financial statements for Goldman-Sachs or want the blog of Paris Hilton? (No lewd comments, it was rhetoical).

Does it have Digital or DG written on it too? Happy days. From the time when a cluster was better than a cloud? When computers were "managed" by people who knew how they worked and who knew Netbios was for something only a friend would share (with another friend). If you wanted a file over a network you sent a request to the Operator for a kind lady to haul your disc pack to the big washing machine thingy and mount it for you. Promotion meant getting system privileges like clearing your own printer queue. Goodbye PDP-11. Mourn not for AOS-VS II. Farewell DG/UX. No more CLI. Welcome to the nouveau "geek" who needs to know why it's bad to have port 139 open but kicks ass in Gears 2. To quote Ripley from "Aliens", "Did IQs suddenly drop while I was gone?"

Actually, this modern usage of the term "piracy" in relation to media probably stems from the 1970s pirate radio stations which broadcast alternative songs by radio from ships offshore in international waters just outside the legal limits of the country concerned. This allowed them to (a) broadcast what they liked and not what the media machines wanted and (b) to avoid certain "costs"... Needless to say, the media machines got their way. Here is one of several sites that describe those halcyon days. http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/

Email is a one way tranference of information. Communication is two way, needing a confirmatory "message heard and understood". We have become casual in assuming that text messaging, social application posting and email are part of global communication. It is not. It is like shouting from your front porch; you have to hope someone is listening and understands the message. Email has a role to play, just don't think it's communication. This is why chat, IRC and Skpye all offer the immdediacy of knowing you're message is on target, even it is just a subtle joke. How often do those blow up in your face using email? Cheers

Aparently 50 other countries wanted to supply crew for the re-enactment but the British and Dutch won out highlighting Darwin's law of national selection. There is talk Beagle II may stop off in California to replace the first crew to prove the theory of survival of the hippest. I can't keep this up - mod me to death, I deserve it.

Is there anybody else up there we could talk to?

Thanks. I haven't laughed so hard on /. for a good while. Though with TCP/IP over power sockets now this solution could get even more suboptimal :-)

I agree. Check out this background website which helps to show how the cycles are developing. http://www.predictweather.co.nz/assets/articles/article_resources.php?id=89 I am sure counting sunspots was not as sophisticated in the 1700s but it was still straightforward so the science should be solid. The risk is in drawing cause and effect conclusions. Our atmosphere gets a real bashing from the distortion to the Van Allen belt caused by solar emissions. Sound principals to show how this affects climate are more difficult to demonstrate.

Many of today's top models look like zombies. :-p I have had many zombies on my unix systems and Wikipedia here shows how to kill them.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_process Not as satisfying as Left 4 Dead, but it does the job.

It missed Jupiter after all. :-)

Sex, sex, sex. That's all they think about! M.P.

And how many software writers for MP3 players, video players and graphic editors do the same thing when it comes to the long tick box of file extensions with most of them pre-ticked for you? At least with IE8 it's just one tick. I can think of a few software downloads that end up changing those familiar icons in Explorer to new programme icons. It's no big deal - other than the Windows Updater always wanting to download the product which I haven't got on my system. Heck, what's the point of a monopoly if you don't use it? :-)

Those muscle-bound flyboys are looking into though.. what a waste.

You just have to see how hopeless the great movie houses are when it comes to replicating the moon environment to know it was no hoax. With all the millions at their disposal just watch as TV churns through Moonshot and Apollo hysteria this week and get not even close to it. Plus the eyewitness testimony of thirty people, scientists among them not to mention the unique moonrock samples with mineral forms you don't get on earth, which I have personally seen under microscope. It seems to be a condition of elements of the American public to disbelieve their own government, even when they acheive one of the greatest accomplishments of our or possibly any generation. The vision, tenacity and bravery of those people in your nation is something best not forgotten or questioned.