Day Job Computers 

Long-term Picture and Video Storage:
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So...what's the ultimate solution for long-term picture and video storage?  Well, there are actually TWO answers--one that costs money on an ongoing basis and one that costs money upfront with occasional maintenance.

CLOUD STORAGE:
There are a plethora of free to low-cost cloud storage solutions: Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Apple iCloud, TeraBox, and JioCloud, to name a few. Each has their pros and cons. DayJob has personal experience with the first three cloud services and highly recommend them. Cloud storage is definitely a reliable first step towards long-term data storage. However, should you hit the max free storage limit, you're once again at a fork in the road.  If you're willing to pay a monthly (or annual) fee, you can always extend your storage capacity and continue on your merry way.

FLASH MEMORY STORAGE:
This method is personally recommended by DayJob.  DayJob actually began mass data storage backup using DVDs.  After only a few years, further research indicated that the shelf-life of a DVD is signifiantly less than a more modern alternative--flash memory.  Flash memory will last longest when only a minimum number of read and write cycles is utilized.  Day Job specifically organizes data that is just under the capacity of the available flash drive and then initiates one write cycle from the source to the drive.  On average, research claims that the lifespan of flash memory is approximately 10 years.  Flash memory, however, also comes with an additional need--chip recharge.  In other words, every 6 or so months, the flash drives need to be plugged into a USB port, not to read the data, but to recharge the memory chips themselves. 

TO BE CONTINUED...