IBM Patents Idea of Making Your Data Crappier Over Time

Why? Like seriously, who thinks of that.

There MUST be something more to this, right?

its gotta be a joke. right?

I swear if they actually apply this idea to computers and data (if they find a way to do so), I'm going to their headquarters and pissing on Palmisano's desk.

Why are such ideas even patented? I know they haven't developed methods to do this, but why even think of patenting it? Just to have it? What benefit would virtual aging on personal data most people would prefer in their original state bring?

This has got to be to stupidest thing I've ever heard........ The reason for having digital documents is so that they can be preserved in their original condition, not so that they can be ruined a few decades later like their paper counterparts. What is IBM thinking??
IBM = I'm Being Mental

Yeah that's real smart.............Let's go back in time...........*FACE PALM*

this is the STUPIDEST IDEA IN THE HISTORY OF EVER!

I can only hope that the purpose of this patent is to prevent anyone from doing anything like this and suing the **** out of them if they do.

The only thing I can get out of this is to reduce the hard drive space being used by older files... But still, wtf? There is no way this can have any benefit.

Let's just return to analog computers altogether and be done with it.

This sounds like just the technology for the big white collar criminals that run major banks, the Fed, business, and gov't. What a crock.

Huh! Biodegradeable data... What's next?

so are you saying this patent (idea) actually passed? so any idea anyone has can be patented? even if the have not actually been able to produce the idea a s a prototype?

Gotta echo other comments, here, too. This is the STUPIDEST thing I have ever heard of. Really, someone at IBM got paid for this? You gotta be kidding me.

Oh IBM...you just spent another point on a wrong tech tree

while we're at it, why not patenting digital fire/flood/earthquake disaster to wipe all the data? Therefore forcing people to have MORE data redundancy....$$$$$ ca ching!

Staff: Boss, we've lost our server due to flood...
Boss: Thank God we made backup in other country. Now just restore that data and we're good to go, right?
Staff: Nope, the backup also got wipe with digital fire...it's all gone
Boss: !@#$%^&*(!)!!!

comon guys who do you preffer to pantet this IBM or apple...

Patents are often pieces in a much larger puzzle, but I don't think the idea is retarded by itself.

The reporting for this article is...a shame...because it is dripping with bias. Think about it--there are millions of gigabytes of data stored indefinitely on various cloud servers that will never ever be opened by anyone ever again. While some free services (think image hosting) just deal with this issue by deleting pictures that haven't been viewed in the past 5 years, this patent basically shrinks the size of said files to increase available storage space while keeping the data in at least ARCHIVAL quality.

The headline is catchy, but retarded, as the purpose is not to intentionally make the data look bad. It is just an innovative way to compress unused files instead of deleting them outright.

Is this a joke? Something like "el mundo today" news?

Maybe it is useful in a romantic point of view for pictures or something like that, like today's B&W movies or so...anyway, a waste of time.

I suspect that the reasoning behind this....idea is to create a virtual equivalent of a process that used to apply to the media that digital has now replaced. Before digital media one had to purchase records, tapes and books all of which would age and deteriorate over time. This of course means that people had to purchase fresh media down the track to restore quality. Of course now when someone purchases a song for instance it will always play at its original quality as long as the data is not corrupted as the article states. Thus there is no need to repurchase for life in theory. That is the only reason I can see as to why this technology would be made. I cant see it being popular with the masses.

I can tell by the comments that nobody understands what this does. For example if you have a .doc that has not been accessed in say 12 months it gets shipped to the aging server which then transforms it to lets say a .pdf which makes it a smaller file, but the editing ability is removed, etc. This is not to degrade your data, but to allow you to keep more of it for an extended amount of time.

Wait a just a minute.......... Does this not mean that IBM is now officially responsible as the original patent holder of the....A H E M..... VIRUS!? Because If this is true, I am going to sue the *&^% Out of IBM for every virus that ever infected my system and caused me to loose data!

We can always use metadata or creation date to determine file's age and sort them accordingly... But to alter the file themselves? WTH are they thinking? We can artificially alter files to "age" them. No need for them to do it for us. Not especially when we don't want to.

I agree with legacy7955...I could see this used for in-house documents that have a certain life span and then self destruct on their own...this way, that business can say and due whatever they want through the documents and then after a certain time limit they go away and are erased from existence...this would help if there were dirty dealings/insider trading/credit default swaps/(Insert what ever business deal that you don't want the government to find out...say FBI, the SCC, Congress, etc.) The White House is required to keep a database of all memos and emails that are sent through that branch of government...if there was an artificial decay to the documents (Say the lifespan of the President - 4 to 8 years)...those in charge can honestly say that the documents no longer exist. This is the same practice that was done at the early 20th century and the mid 20th century...it's called burning the evidence so that you don't get into trouble...I agree with everyone here...this will only benefit those who are in charge and can abuse the system easier.

"Imagine your surprise when, a couple decades from now, you see your digital pictures that have been automatically exposed to an artificial aging process and now deliver only a fraction of the quality they once did....."

"I can tell by the comments that nobody understands what this does. For example if you have a .doc that has not been accessed in say 12 months it gets shipped to the aging server which then transforms it to lets say a .pdf which makes it a smaller file, but the editing ability is removed, etc. This is not to degrade your data, but to allow you to keep more of it for an extended amount of time."

Seriously, if this is the case then the article writer here made for a serious loss in translation of how this is supposed to benefit humanity.

I agree with legacy7955...I could see this used for in-house documents that have a certain life span and then self destruct on their own...this way, that business can say and due whatever they want through the documents and then after a certain time limit they go away and are erased from existence...this would help if there were dirty dealings/insider trading/credit default swaps/(Insert what ever business deal that you don't want the government to find out...say FBI, the SCC, Congress, etc.) The White House is required to keep a database of all memos and emails that are sent through that branch of government...if there was an artificial decay to the documents (Say the lifespan of the President - 4 to 8 years)...those in charge can honestly say that the documents no longer exist. This is the same practice that was done at the early 20th century and the mid 20th century...it's called burning the evidence so that you don't get into trouble...I agree with everyone here...this will only benefit those who are in charge and can abuse the system easier.

what i don't get is why someone gets to patent something that has already been happening accidentally. scientists probably created so much memory storage media, that did this just because it was not good enough, in attempts to find media that was much more reliable.

i think i'm going to patent "machines that wear-out gradually".

The most retarded idea ever...

I can think of at least one reason to come up with an idea like this. If you can make digital data "age" then you can sell people various ways of artificially combating against that artificial "aging" with digital "preservatives".

sounds funny and everything, but the purpose of this seems obvious to me:
automatically decay your digital purchases (movies, games, music, etc) so that you're forced to double-dip.