but who is this guy and what does he know anyway? Oh he helped invent the internet?

但，這個人是誰？他又知道甚麼？噢！他研發了網際網路

Ohhh…

噢....

Hello out there in meat space, magnetic ones and zeros decoded as the image of Julian here for DNews.

嗨，現實世界的你們好，這裡你們看到在DNews的朱利安的圖像，是由1或0的電位解碼而成的

Doomsday prophets run rampant on the internet and usually they’re pretty easy to tune out,

"末日預言"(歌劇)的影片在網路上四處可見，而且通常，他們非常容易被檢舉移除

but when the vice president of Google warns of a digital dark age

但Google的副總對於數據黑暗時代曾提出警告

, it’s kind of hard not to take notice.

因此這件事很難不被注意

Vint Cerf, along with being vp of google and therefore having dibs on any gmail address

也因此，文頓·瑟夫夥同Google的副總，在Gmail位址上耍了一些小把戲

he wants, helped develop the internet in 1969. He and Bob Khan created the Transmission Control

1969年，他希望幫助研發互聯網. 他和羅伯特·卡恩為ARPANET(美國高等研究計劃署網路)

Protocol and Internet Protocol for ARPANET, which allowed computers to send data to each

創造了TCP/IP(網絡傳輸協定)，該協定可允許電腦與電腦之間

other and is the basis for the internet. I bet he tells “Cerf the internet jokes”

基於互聯網互相傳送訊息. 我打賭他每次開趴都會講

all the time at parties.

"射夫在網路上"的笑話

Side note, the World Wide Web was developed 20 years later by a British scientist at CERN.

花邊新聞，全球資訊網要到20年後的才在CERN(歐洲核子研究組織)被英國科學家發明

Tim Berners-Lee’s Hypertext Transfer Protocol or Http makes accessing web sites possible,

提姆·柏納-李，其發明的超文件傳輸協定(HTTP)讓讀取網站頁面成為可能

but the world wide web is built upon the internet and the two terms are not synonymous. At this

只是，全球資訊網是建構在互聯網的基礎上的成品，這兩個名詞意義是完全不同的

point though nobody seems to care unless they’re arguing over who invented it.

在這一點上，除非有人在爭論誰是發明者，不然沒有人看起來真的在乎這兩名詞的不同

Ok history lesson aside, Cerf believes that storing things digitally isn’t bulletproof

再來一篇花邊歷史，瑟夫相信，數位化的儲存方式並非無堅不摧

as you might think. And the elder of the internet may have a point. Digital mediums do degrade

到你想的地步. 然而比較古老的互聯網可能有個問題. 當然，數位媒介會過時

sure, but even if the information is good there’s the problem of accessing

即使裡面資料是好的，仍然有讀取上的問題

it. What’s a universal device today might be totally obsolete in a decade. It’s why

今日隨處可得的儀器，可能不到十年就會被完全捨棄.

you don’t see floppy diskettes or laser disks anymore. What’s a floppy disk you ask?

這就是為什麼你再也不會看到軟式磁碟或雷射唱片的原因. 你說什麼是軟式磁碟？

Exactly.

我說得沒錯吧

But even if we keep the hardware around we still need the software to decode it. Digital

即使我們將硬件保留下來，我們仍然需要軟件去破譯.

data are just ones and zeros but there are many different formats they can be arranged

數位資料只是很多0和1，但是它們能以很多不同的格式排列

in. New and better formats are developed all the time, and there’s no guarantee of backwards

更新，更好的格式一直被研發出來，並且不能保證會向下相容

compatibility. Without software that can interpret the information, it’s all gobbledygook.

沒有了軟件可以翻譯信息. 就全部都像是官腔廢文

That’s why you need to stay strong and keep saying not today to that Java update.

這就是為什麼你要堅強地跟Java說：更新？絕不是今天

But you can’t hold out forever, and you’d need to keep transferring your data to new

但你不能可能永遠堅持下去，最後你必須一直將你的資料轉換為新的

mediums and formats, which sounds like a lot of effort. Plus you may miss something you

媒介或格式. 聽起來十分令人精疲力竭. 　再說，你會直到有些東西消失了

don’t realize is important until it’s too late. Like the very first web page ever?

才知道他的重要性. 例如，史上的第一個網頁？

It’s gone. CERN is trying to rebuild it. I guess they didn’t think this whole website

消失了. 歐洲核子研究組織正在試圖重建它. 我猜他們從沒有想過整個網站

thing would take off.

會消失

So Cerf recommends printing and storing documents and pictures physically. But there’s a reason

瑟夫建議實際地印出，儲存文件和圖像. 但我們還沒做這件事

we don’t do this already: where would you put all of it??? Paper, thin as it is, takes

是有個原因：你要把那些東西放在哪裡？？就算像紙一樣薄

up huge amounts of space because it’s a relatively inefficient way to store data.

仍然要花費非常大的空間，這是儲存資料相對沒效率的方式

I think however I may have found a solution. DNA.

然而，我想我找到一個解法了 -- DNA

For years scientists have had the idea that if DNA can save genetic information, why can’t

科學家們已經有這個構想很多年了-- 如果DNA可以儲存基因資訊，為什麼

it be used to store digital information too? George Church, a Harvard professor who is

不能也用來儲存數據信息？喬治．喬奇，一位正在解析人類基因組

mapping the human genome, thought he’d try that as a fun little side project. In 2012

的哈佛教授，雖然他已經作為一個有趣的週邊計畫去嘗試過了

he appeared on the Colbert Report with a copy of his book, and then produced a vial with

他帶著一本他的書出席荷伯報告(電視節目)，接著拿出一瓶裝著

a slip of paper on it. and on the paper was a tiny dot. And on that dot was DNA with its

一片紙片的小瓶子. 在紙片上的是一個小點點. 然後在那個小點上是

base pairs of AT and GC representing 1’s and 0’s. That single dot of DNA contained

有著AT和GC鹼基對的DNA，分別代表1和0. 單單這一小點的DNA包含

20 million copies of his book.

2千萬本他的書的副本

So why aren’t we rocking smartphones with 20 gazillion terabytes of storage on DNA drives?

那麼，我們現在為什麼沒有搖晃著擁有數以萬億位元儲存容量的DNA生物智慧型手機？

Well for a number of reasons, the technology isn’t ready yet.

嗯...由於一些原因，科技還沒準備好

First of all, DNA has issues of longevity. It reacts with its environment and errors in

首先，DNA有壽命的限制. 它會對他的環境產生反應，並且

the data are caused by heat or radiation. Dr. Robert Grass of Zurich's Department of

會因為溫度和輻射產生資料錯誤. 蘇黎世大學

Chemistry and Applied Biosciences may have solved the problem by encasing the DNA in

化學與應用生物科技的教授 -- 羅伯．葛瑞斯，可能已經解決這個問題 -- 將DNA

silica spheres 150 nanometers in diameter. They tested it by keeping the glass coated

裝進直徑150奈米的二氧化矽球體. 為了測試，他們將DNA放入塗料過的玻璃試管

DNA heated between 60 and 70 degrees celsius for a month to simulate the passage of hundreds

並持續供熱，使溫度維持在攝氏60到70度之間，為期一個月，以模擬數百年

of years, and when they separated the DNA from the silica with a fluoride solution they

的日換星移，接著他們用氟化物的溶劑，將DNA從二氧化矽中分離，感謝老天

found it was just fine, thank you very much. It’s also not cheap, with a megabyte costing over $12,000,

發現它的狀態不錯. 這個方法也不便宜，每百萬位元需要花費超過12K美金

and it’s not easy to access quickly. But this way you can keep every single TV show

並且，要快速讀取它的資料並不簡單. 只是你可以用這個方法，以高清的格式

and Movie ever made in high definitions in a solo cup for thousands of years. So as long as we keep a method to decode

保存從古到今每一部電視劇還有電影，僅僅一個杯子的大小，可以保存數千年. 所以只要我們留下一個解碼的方法

it, there’s no reason we should lose a thing. Maybe that’ll help Cerf rest a little easier.

沒有道理我們會遺失一點資訊. 這個消息可能會讓文頓·瑟夫放下心中的大石

Long term storage is one of the few advantages paper has over digital. Trace explains why

在寥寥可數的幾項紙本比數位更有利的點中，其中之一就是儲存的長遠性. 崔斯會告訴你原因

over here.

就在這！

Are you worried about your digital storage? What’s your strategy to keep everything safe.

你擔心你的數位貯藏庫嗎？你有什麼策略來保證它們安全嗎？

I have a bunch of back up hard drives at home with all these episodes on it

我有一大堆的硬碟備份放在家，裡面放了我拍攝的所有短片

because I want to make sure I’m immortal. Let us know in the comments

因為我想要確保自己永垂不朽. 留言告訴我們！

and I’ll see you next time on DNews.

DNew，我們下次見