Counteracting data transience
Counteracting data transience
- Subject: Counteracting data transience
- From: Marco Ugolini <email@hidden>
- Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2007 15:08:54 -0700
- Thread-topic: Counteracting data transience
In a message dated 7/15/07 2:45 AM, Bob Frost wrote:
> I can't really see much reason for using DNG currently. My Nefs seem to do
> everything that dngs do - store large jpg previews in file (NX stores
> full-size, Capture 1/2 size), store rendering instructions in file so no
> separate xmps needed, can be used by other programs that look at the
> rendered internal jpgs or which use the Nikon sdk to re-render them (such as
> iViewMediaPro). The only problem is that Adobe refuses to play ball, and
> insists on doing its own thing.
DNG is an attempt to put in place and establish something that is clearly
missing at this point in time -- which is, a universally-recognized and
hopefully long-lasting and -supported way to encode, store and retrieve
files shot in the Raw format.
The fact that that *today* all your needs as a photographer are indeed being
well taken care of by your *current* setup doesn't tell us much about what
is going to occur ten, twenty years down the road. That should be a matter
of concern to you, unless you see your work as strictly tied to a narrow
time frame, short-lived, and ultimately disposable. (In that case, so be
it.)
We all know what happened to most data archived on SyQuest or Jaz or Zip
media and not migrated to more current media: it got lost irretrievably the
great majority of the time, because the machines needed to read them no
longer exist, or the ones that do no longer work properly or are difficult
to operate because they require computer systems and connection methods that
are no longer viable. The data in the media could still be used today if it
had been properly migrated in a timely fashion, so it was a matter of having
failed in keeping up with the changes.
That is what happens when universally-recognized and -supported standards
are *not* put in place in order to safeguard today's data into a future that
goes well beyond the 18-month software upgrade cycle.
We have grown accustomed -- due to the quickly-changing computer systems and
software that constitute our worktools -- to thinking in the short term, but
any serious professional (photographer or other) *must* confront the issue
of retrievability of his/her work in the distant future (20, 30, 40, 70, 100
years, or even longer -- if you are a committed artist you want your work to
live centuries after you're gone).
DNG is the first (and admirably ambitious) attempt of which I am aware to do
something to counteract data transience and offer long-term viability of
today's computer-generated work -- in a way similar to how I still have
access today to the negatives I shot 30 years ago.
DNG should be welcomed and improved, instead of vilified just because you
don't happen to like Adobe. Your beef may be justified, or not, but this
attempt to retain viability of your work through the years (*many* years) is
something that should transcend factionalism.
Marco Ugolini
_______________________________________________
Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored.
Colorsync-users mailing list (email@hidden)
Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription:
This email sent to email@hidden