Semi-OT: IDE & SATA to USB "dongles"

On 5/30/06, Billy Pettit <Billy.Pettit at wdc.com> wrote: There comes a time when it's no longer viable to keep old machines running. Computers aren't anything unique in this regard. The oldest human weapon that wasn't simply a thrown object is probably a sling. There's at least one nearly 3,000yr old one that was found in Egypt, but it's far too fragile to use or test - but for trying it out, it can be reconstructed: http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/detail/details/index_no_login.php?objectid=UC69… After a while, when parts and consumables can no longer be found or fabricated, old computers, like, say, old motorbikes, are going to become purely museum pieces, that cannot actually be *run*. They're already no use - you wouldn't go to work on a 1905 Douglas and you wouldn't run a PDP-8 to read your email. Doesn't mean they're valueless. Better to preserve them in their original state in a museum than to bodge together some hybrid of ancient and modern kit. To give people the experience of using them, write and emulator & make it perfect & faithful. That way,m the OS, the software, the data files, the *feel* of the machine can be kept alive indefinitely. One day, future computers won't run our current "modern" software. But we can run the emulator on an emulator when that happens! -- Liam Proven ? Blog, homepage &c: http://lproven.livejournal.com/profile Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/Google Talk/Orkut: lproven at gmail.com AOL/AIM/iChat: liamproven at aol.com ? MSN/Messenger: lproven at hotmail.com Yahoo: liamproven at yahoo.co.uk ? Skype: liamproven ? ICQ: 73187508