LTO tapes are the worst possible format for passing on family photos to family members. I dread to think of anyone in my family trying to setup an LTO drive when they barely understand how to use their smartphone.

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comboy 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I mean if you don't print them and want digital and we're talking having them for the next generation(s) then pretty much whatever current format you choose, it won't be the one that's widely used in the future so it will require some tech knowledge. And LTO tech stayed pretty settled and compatible for quite a few years now.

	▲	jordand 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		LTO drives/tape are not friendly, consumer grade technology. One look on a search engine, and it's all obscure refurbished server parts costing hundreds. The prices of them going forwards might increase sharply too and make it unviable...a bit like external hard drives right now. So yeah, printing everything out and hoping for the best is the only sensible option...

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cyberax an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

There are companies that can read the tapes for you, especially for a one-off transfer.

This is an _additional_ layer of backups, on top of the usual iCloud/whatever things. LTO is certainly not user-friendly, but neither is it especially user-hostile.

And I think I trust tapes far better than any other alternative for long-term storage as they have by far the smallest areal density of information compared to disks (hard or optical).

I have DVD disks that are barely 10 years old and that I can't read anymore. Hard drives also die in storage and/or during transport.

	▲	ggm 40 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		These companies charge a megabuck. Maintaining the drives doesn't come cheap. I am (like other ageing former mainframe operatives) the holder of a variety of tape forms, and nobody local wants the hassle of giving me a bitstream, without significant vig. Like thousands. Recently the computer museum helped recover early 1970s unix tapes. It was a big deal.

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iAMkenough 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

My grandkids AI robot will figure it out for them, right?

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kjs3 an hour ago | parent [-]

Your grandkids will just say "make me some memories" and their AI will look at your posting history and gen up some fresh new ancestors very similar to the originals.

	▲	iAMkenough an hour ago \| parent [-]
		I will forever live on to nag them through a screen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFenaK4wIsw