When Bits Rot: A Discussion on Data Storage Decay with McKean, Talboom, and Page-Mitchell
Summary
A podcast episode discussing data storage decay across various media types (floppy disks, hard drives, CDs, DVDs, SSDs). Hosted by Code for Thought, the episode features guests Callum McKean, Leontien Talboom, and Adrian Page-Mitchell exploring what kinds of data are found on old drives, why we want to recover them, and what can go wrong with storage media over time. The episode also promotes the Swiss RSE Day conference on 31 August 2026.
Source
bskyWhen Bits Rot: A Discussion on Data Storage Decay with McKean, Talboom, and Page-Mitchellcodeforthought.buzzsprout.comKey quotes
· 3 pulledfloppy disks, hard drives, CDs, DVDs, SSD drives - no matter what you choose to store your data on - ultimately they all decay.
we're going to talk about what kinds of data we find on old drives, why we want to get them in the first place, and what can go wrong with the storage media.
To all of you who love all things retro - we'll be talking about floppy disks a bit.
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