Not really an argument against digital cameras
This morning, while driving my husband and my daughter to school (this isn’t a weird confessional; he’s a teacher), my husband announced that he was going to copy all our daughter’s pictures onto our new computer, so that we could have them all in one place and backed up.
That sounded reasonable, so I said, okay. Then our conversation went something like this:
Bobby: Then I’m going to e-mail them to myself one at a time.
Me: …whuh?
Bobby: So that they won’t ever be lost.
Me: …you realize how many pictures and how many MBs that is, right?
Bobby: Yes.
Me: Even if you don’t explode our ISP connection, you’ll explode your inbox.
Bobby: So I’ll make up a new gmail, just for the pictures.
Me: You know how long that’s going to take? Why not just get another flash drive?
Bobby: We might lose that or it might become corrupted.
Me: …you’re a freaking nutcase.
Bobby: But if our apartment burns down, I’ll be a nutcase with pictures.
On one level, I really understand this: We upgrade our computers every few years, and more than once we’ve had computer mishaps where we lost everything on the hard drives. But although I could say, “Hey, maybe we should go back to using film,” it’s not really an argument against digital pictures. If we had a scanner, I know that we’d probably back up our print-pictures digitally, too.
But HOLY CRAP that’s a lot of pictures.
Also, okay -- when she's a 14 year old who hates me, I'll want to look back at 14 months old and try not to cry.
…and five bucks says that, within a year, he forgets the password to the new e-mail account.
See, that sounds like something I’d consider doing. I have way too many vacation pictures to do it, though. I have emailed myself everything I’ve written since my freshman year in college so I will always have a backup copy. Of course, those files are generally smaller than picture files.
I upload the important pics to Flickr and mark the family ones private. You might try something like that. The nice thing is that if you want family to see them you can approve viewers by email address.
FYI, I have a program for documenting passwords (for Mac, Gorilla) and it’s been a lifesaver esp since I handle the bills and internet accounts for my folks, too so I have to remember more than just my own. When I was on the windows platform I used Bruce Schneir’s PasswordSafe (Make sure you’re getting Bruce’s version off SorceForge). Gorilla imported my passwordsafe database like a breeze.
Also, your daughter is such a cutie pie! How do you stand it?
I totally want to pinch your daughter’s cheeks. And I’m not normally that baby-talking, cheek squeezing type.
Has he considered something like Carbonite? An off-site backup? Of course, I’m totally talking out my butt ’cause I don’t use them – I email myself important stuff too. >.< I've just been thinking about it lately because people keep saying such good stuff about it.
Put them on dvds and store them in your safe deposit box. Or in a separate drive kept in a fire-proof safe.
My father took over 300 pictures when he and my mother went to Hawaii in October. That was a fun experience uploading them all O.o
That picture is just too cute for words.
That picture is so beautiful! Are her eyelashes still that long? *envious*
OOOHH I think she is thinkng the same thing ,, dad thats a whole lota pics. She is To cute !!
I know with my recent upgraded computer I have something on there that updates every night so anything that I have uploaded that day is saved at there end. Safe .. and confidential. Y ou need a password to access them if u ever need to. So when Anything like that happens I know they to have a copy, Im not sure whats its called.. But its inexpensive and you know your pics are safe.. eg snapfish pics here in australia,, its free…
Katrina