Many of you guys are not collecting this stuff for short term. Just make
sure that somewhere you archive your information in both printed form and
comma delimited files so that they can be retrieved in the future with your
sound collection.
To computer people the lifetime of something useful is only a matter of a
few years in their way of thinking. They live in a world where their
complete computer education must be relearned every 4 or 5 years. They liv=
e
in a world of disposable projects and equipment and far too often disposabl=
e
people who cannot keep up with the frantic pace of change. Often their
mind seems not to comprehend something that might be useful 30 to 100 years
or more down the line. Even if they realize that they also realize that for
the majority of their users that is not the case and with the majority lies
profits. My guess is that your stored information in database form will
not outlive your CDs which people are so worried about having to redo every
so often by a very large factor. Remember too that the best guy today can
be bankrupt next year or bought out and product dropped fast. At times in
the computer world products survive based on who owns them not on merit.
I would hate to see information or sounds any of you have collected
disappear.
Barb Beck
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
-----Original Message-----
From: Walter Knapp
Sent: June 21, 2004 10:42 PM
To:
Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] Database
From: "Jim Morgan" <>
>
> My 2 cents on database.......
>
> I use Microsoft Access because I believe it is the most permanent databas=
e
> available. I have almost 7000 recordings cataloged on my database and I
> can't afford to loose this list. I keep it backed up on cdr so a hard
drive
> failure won't wipe me out.
>
> It is simple to use and easly modified if you want to make any changes.
>
> When I retrieve a particular recording it quickly tells me on which of my
50
> cdr backups it can be found.
>
> I can't emphasize enough the dangers of using a brand of software that ma=
y
> not be around a few years from now. There are probably other cataloging
> software programs that will out perform Access but this superior
performance
> could end up being a deadly trap. Software companies come and go but I
> believe Microsoft is the best bet for permanence there is. Note that I am
> not particularly a big fan of Microsoft but I feel it provides the safees=
t
> cataloging there is.
The first commercial database I used was Microsoft File. Which Microsoft
abandoned without warning. Nothing they produced afterwards would read
the files. Microsoft has done this in other ways too. Like Excel that
won't open earlier version files. I'd hardly call Microsoft safe.
I use Filemaker, which is available for several OS's, much more
universal in that respect. And can import and export a fairly wide range
of other formats. And Filemaker has been around and continually
modernized since the 80's, not stagnant like so many databases. Or a new
kid like Access.
I happen to have a access file here I've been trying to crack. It's the
entire database for the 5 year herp atlas project in final form. Arrived
today. They were using dBase, but the powers that be in the state
dictated that they change to access. Part of the government's support a
monopoly program, I guess. Many of my programs can open dBase, and
that's what I expected. None of them, including Microsoft programs can
open access. And that includes two PC's. I'm going to really hate it if
I have to buy a program just to open one file and transfer it to a good
database.
Walt
"Microphones are not ears,
Loudspeakers are not birds,
A listening room is not nature."
Klas Strandberg
Yahoo! Groups Links
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
"Microphones are not ears,
Loudspeakers are not birds,
A listening room is not nature."
Klas Strandberg
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