Unless you have data that you will want to pass on to the next 10000 generations, then you should just look at cloud storage. Who knows if data could actually be a family heirloom. With hard disk drive technology improving all the time, this one now, is a feat. A team of scientists have made a hard disk from sapphire which claims it will last a million years.

The project was born because of nuclear waste repositories, which realized they needed to preserve records of where they buried the waste not just in the near future but for tens of thousands of years. There is no digital format we know that can last that long.

At least, until now. Waste management agency ANDRA commissioned to build the ultimate HDD built out of sapphire, information is engraved using platinum. Made from two thin disks of industrial sapphire, the thing measures about 20 centimeters across, reports Science.

So far, the hardware has been immersed in acid to test its durability and to simulate aging. The researchers, as a result, hope the thing could survive at least 1 millions years. The first prototype cost $30,000. Surely, there's a cheaper way of doing this.

[Science]