Fergie's Tech Blog

e-Mail From The Grave? Microsoft Seeks Patent on 'Immortal Computing'

Todd Bishop writes on The Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

In this culture of instant information, some Microsoft Corp. researchers are pursuing a radical notion -- the concept of saving messages for delivery in decades, centuries or more.

The project, dubbed "immortal computing," would let people store digital information in physical artifacts and other forms to be preserved and revealed to future generations, and maybe even to future civilizations.

After all, when looking that far in the future, you never know who the end users might be.

"It is definitely a long-term project," said Andy Wilson, the Microsoft researcher whose musings on the ephemeral nature of digital information inspired the research initiative.

posted by Fergie @ 1/22/2007 01:36:00 PM