Can we talk?

Just Not Computer Savvy

         I scanned all the old family photos and put them in photo gallery. I tagged them by family member. I didn't include school or job photos because no one cares but me. I wanted a family history all in one place. There are several problems with that.

         No one knows how to get them off my computer for printing or for slide shows but me. If the computer dies, the photos go, too. (We still have the originals, except for newer digital ones.) I was told my photo collection is slowing down my computer, not viruses or poor Web service.

         I suppose I could invest in another hard drive as a back up for photos only. I'd have to make sure someone from the younger generation knew how to retrieve them. I could group them and put on memory sticks, but they'd likely be lost or thrown out when I die, and so the photos would still be lost. The next generation wouldn't see their grandparents or great grandparents or crazy uncles from their family tree. They need evidence that they come from a long line of crazy.

         Another problem I have with back-up is that I don't know how to copy an entire volume of photos. I'd be doing one at a time. I probably have a thousand or close to it. Some date back to the early 1900's. For that matter I need to back up my family tree research, and all my short stories. They need to be stored somewhere for my own use. Cyberspace isn't always the answer.

         These are the kind of courses the local community college should offer, or the senior center.