After I die, it may be difficult for my survivors to get into my computer, download my cloud data shoved off in various computers around the world and work with other pieces of what is sometimes called "my digital legacy." You might be surprised at the size and complexity of your digital legacy.
My hard disk
Any thumb drives I have laying around with valuable data on them, information on what I have done, when and with whom
My backup hard disks
My paper files here and in the basement
Any DVD's or data CD's stored in my office or basement
My cloud stores in Google, iCloud and Amazon
Google Takeout to see what data about myself I can download and copy
I realize that there may never come a time when future historians or others want to get information about me and my life. But right now, I am surprised at the number of places information, digital and other types, is stored. The subject reminds me of a common reaction to a good inventory of one's wealth and funds - "I didn't realize how much I have." Digital is a sneaky form, since so much can be stored in such a small space.
If your remaining parent dies or moves into assisted living, you may face the task of locating the valuables in the family home and getting rid of the unvaluables. Your own kids or siblings or others may face a similar task with your stuff. You can look up reliable, low-cost hard disks that connect to your computer and have very great capacities. Many backup disks these days will hold a terabyte of information, 1000 gigabytes. Several will hold two or more terabytes. You can connect a backup disk with a USB connection, download your documents, photos or other materials, unplug it and store it away. A year from now, do it again with an update. Stuff changes all the time.
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