Thursday, January 10, 2008

In Need of an Ultimate Saving Device

It is almost impossible to think about working without computer, especially with lawyers. Pleadings, motions, briefs, notices, contracts, etc., in fact, most anything that deals with a document usually is made using the computer. That goes without saying that we save a copy of these documents for future reference or as template usually in the computer itself or in some diskette or cd or flash disk. However, the current devices for saving our files I find really inadequate. There is still a need for an ultimate thing where our electronic data can be saved. Of course I realize the advances that we’ve had from the first large diskettes we were introduced to for use with the first computers to the dvds and the miniature flash disk of today. However, these things are still very susceptible to data loss. The diskette replacements- the cds and dvds are very prone to scratches and easily becomes unreadable with normal use. Flash disks and/or memory sticks on the other hand have a life of on average about 3 years only, so where do we place our “archived” data? External hard disks are, just like internal hard disks, prone to crashes and viruses and also have a short lifespan similar to flash disks. I have lost many a document for want of that device. I have had 2 hard disks that crashed with my files if not lost to some virus. I have numerous cds and dvds and I remember, diskettes too, that are now unreadable. The first pictures of my ‘bunso’ taken by my first camera phone are now all gone. My legal writings during my first and second years of law school which I badly need now for my application to law firms are gone too. I really wish the innovators/scientists in this field develop the ultimate “saving” device soon. Something that can store a great deal of information for a very long periods of time with minimal threats of data loss. For now, I’ll just have to save multiple copies of my data if only to ensure that they’ll be there when I need them.

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