ICT for Museums and Heritage

Definition: Digital

1. representing data as numbers: processing, storing, transmitting, representing, or displaying data in the form of numerical digits, as in a digital computer

2. representing sound/light waves as numbers: representing a varying physical quantity such as sound or light waves by means of discrete signals interpreted as numbers, usually in the binary system, as in a digital recording or digital television

3. economics of e-commerce: relating to, used in, or characterized by e-commerce

4. like finger: like a finger or toe

5. done with fingers: using or operated by a finger or fingers

[15th century. < Latin digitalis< digitus "finger, toe"]

dig·i·tal·ly adverb

From: http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/digital.html

Digitisation:

convert to digital form: to convert an image, graph, or other data into digital form for processing on a computer

From http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/digitization.html

Digital

How bits and bytes work

Digital Computer

Digitisation

Definition:

analog Of, relating to, or being a device in which data are represented by continuously variable, measurable, physical quantities, such as length, width, voltage, or pressure.

(http://www.answers.com/analog?cat=health)

The opposite of Digital ?

An analog device is in some ways superior to the digital - analog cameras using film provide much better resolution that equivalently priced digital cameras. But in terms of copying, distribution and manipulation digital wins hands down.

analog

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Definition:

Digitisation in the museum world simply means taking sets of data and turning the information into a digital form normally to make them more readily available to the public. It can mean taking a paper documentation system and computerising it. It could mean making a copy of the Museum's image archive in digital form, and then making this available to the general public as a set of internet resources.

Note that the best copy of the data is still the original images - not only are they authentic, but also analog photographs have better resolution than most digital copies. Also handling the original materials can provide further information not available in a digital copy.

Collage: City of London image collection

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