To bring this back to the original subject...
Although I have a problem with some of our Hex friend's
suggestions, I do like the idea of on-demand availability
(in addition to on-line archives).
I've seen it mentioned, but are there actually any plans to host
a master catalogue of old software somewhere where people
could just list what they have available, with a search mechanism
that could essentially look like bitsavers et al and let you select a
brand/model/title but instead of (or in addition to) a direct FTP link
return a list of web sites and/or email addresses where it could be
found or requested?
For example (and I doubt that I'm alone in this):
I have a bunch of Cromemco software but not the time or even
the inclination to copy and archive it in all its various formats, but
if anyone ever wanted a copy of something in a specific format
(and knew that I have it) I'd be glad to help out, and I could probably
find the time to make a list if there were a place for it and an
agreed-upon standard for its format and content.
Same thing with documentation; I'm not about to scan all the
manuals, tech bulletins, etc., but I could make a list and would be
happy to scan a few crucial pages if someone needed some specific
info.
(Note to Al: I haven't forgotten; still working on your pile).
I realize that this doesn't address the issue of actually archiving
this stuff and I appreciate the efforts of Al and others to make
sure that it doesn't disappear, but I suspect there is a lot of
software and information out there that can't be found anywhere
on the 'Web just because its owner doesn't have the time or doesn't
think it's useful; in fact there's probably a fair bit of stuff that people
wouldn't even know existed until they saw it listed somewhere.
Granted, there'd be dead links etc. after a while (although I suppose
it wouldn't be too difficult to automatically verify them every now and
then), but nevertheless I think it would bring a few useful items out of
the woodwork...
mike