[Ads-l] cold - inactive, offline

[Barretts Mail]

1. TechTarget (http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/cold-storage <http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/cold-storage>) defines “cold storage” as: a computer system or mode of operation designed for the retention of inactive data.

The idea seems be something like when you’re actively using files, you want to access them quickly such as with a fast hard drive, but for archived information, you can use a storage means that is slower and saves you money.

Merriam-Webster (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cold%20storage <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cold%20storage>) gives a definition that may be the origin of this: 

a condition of being held or continued without being acted on

Example sentence:
the president's domestic programs had been in cold storage while he attended to a string of international crises

2. In the world of alt coinage (Bitcoin and the like), “cold” means something like “offline for security purposes.”

https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinMarkets/comments/1zl9g6/bitfinex_how_safe_is_it/ <https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinMarkets/comments/1zl9g6/bitfinex_how_safe_is_it/>:

Please read our security section. We use cold wallets to store our customers Bitcoins and keep always a very small portion on the hot wallet (less than a month of profit).

https://www.weusecoins.com/bitcoin-cold-storage-guide/ <https://www.weusecoins.com/bitcoin-cold-storage-guide/>

Bitcoin cold storage is achieved when Bitcoin private keys are created and stored in a secure offline environment. Cold storage is important for anyone with bitcoin holdings. Online computers are vulnerable to hackers and should not be used to store a significant amount of bitcoins.

…

Paper wallets were the most popular form of cold storage before hardware wallets and offline software wallets hit the market.

Benjamin Barrett
Formerly of Seattle, WA
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org