Digital Quandry - is it reliable?

Karl H. Timmerman M.A.J.D. wrote:

Certainly an interesting question/issue. Perhaps, it begs the broader question: will digital files be readable in the future? I have 8 track tapes, (quite a few), and no player. I also have a collection of 45, 33 and 78 records, (and a USB turntable to digitize them). I have my father's collection of color slides, going back to 1959 ... and, of course, a slide scanner and I have scanned most, but the bulb in his projector burned out years ago.

Makes me wonder. In 500 years, will this time be known as the "Dark Ages", because there was a power failure and data was lost? Silly on my part, no doubt ... but the images I really value and want to pass on to my children, I have printed on canvas, UV coated and texturized using an acrylic UV gel, (supposed to be color fast for a couple of hundred years).

Warm Regards

KarlT