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To be completely honest, the article “What is a File?” really confused me. What exactly do the researchers mean by saying the word “file” is an abstraction. I did not follow this very well.
There was one idea, however, that really stuck out to me, because I felt like I could easily relate to it. In the article, it states: ‘… they used to have a desire to put a file “on a CD” so that “it could be safe.” But they go on to say that this is hard to do in the context of Cloud storage’ (9). I think this is true for many people when it comes to thinking about “files,” especially now in the era of the “Cloud.” There is an insecurity attached to “files” because they are not physically there, but just data in a system. This questions ownership. Who owns these files? The user, or the system creator/manager? What happens if the system suddenly breaks down? Where are all the “files?” Are they protected? Can they be stolen through the Cloud system?
These are just some of the questions that, at least, for me, come to mind when I think of saving a “file” especially with the Cloud. People find a sense of security in backing up their “files” on a physical hard drive or CD, because ownership is clear, and there is no system that could crash or hack information. It feels more concrete. Below is a picture of the kind of hard drive I use to back up all my “files,” in case something were to happen to my computer. It is the Seagate Expansion.
Every so often I like to just stick this hard drive into my computer and back up all of my files. Yes, they are all backed up in the “Cloud,” but this hard drive makes me feel more secure not only in the insurance that my files will never be deleted or gone forever, but I know that I own them this way.
Posted from Digital Studies 101 Blog by Lindsay