That’s why I store photos in different kinds of media. The problem with digital cameras, however, is that I now end up with even more printed photos.

Maybe we’re producing too much?

There has been no stable long term storage media built yet available to the consumer, so the process of storing our images, as well as our files, has to migrate every few years to the next generation of storage.

Currently, I’ve given up on CDs and DVDs and maintain several portable backup drives, backing up the other and storing different backups. Hard drive recovery is expensive but doable where a broken CD is rarely recoverable. It’s also small when you have a lot of large files to store.

Portable hard drives with Firewire and USB connections seem to be lasting beyond other technologies we’ve experimented with over the years. And storage space is a plus. While I’m limited with DVD and CD storage space, I have a 250 gig, 400 gig, and new 750 gig portable drive sitting next to me, taking up the space of three paperback books.

As mentioned, online storage is great, but again, where’s the backup. Always think backup backup backup. The backup is in the media protection in case of error or failure, and in its ability to last as a business.

The issue of content theft always raises its ugly head when working with Flickr or other services which allow others to freely view and use your images which can be taken, whether you want it or not, with a few clicks.

This is a big issue that still is not well addressed but I expect as more and more people become digitally aware and dependent, we’ll see more improvements in this area. It’s critical for genealogists, bloggers, photographers of all kinds, and those who keep image and file records of their research.

Great topic!

DVDs and CD-ROMs may well decay over the years.

The advantage of online storage a la Flickr is that if graphic formats do change, it’d be in Flickr’s interest to write a conversion tool. If Flickr wind up, they’re bound to tell you in advance at least.

But we also have our digital photos organized on my wife’s PC and she routinely backs the new stuff up to CD-ROM. She keeps about the last 12-14 months on the drive at any given time. And not too long ago, I backed up several years worth of CD-ROM photos & docs onto a DVD and we stored that in our safe deposit box at the bank where we keep vital papers like birth certificates, marriage license, house deed, etc.

So, we’re a bit OCD about this stuff, but feel pretty confident that we’re covered…

I think the answer is clear cut. We should print at least an album or two of our vacations because (a) not everybody has access to computers or know how to use them, e.g. my grandparents; (b) I’m not one of those people who brings along her laptop wherever she meets up with her friends; and well, (c) I have a feeling that things stored in the servers aren’t as secured as those stored in a box under my bed.

Just my two cents :)