Data formats was Re: Rescue of data from Pioneer 10 & 11 tapesatJPL needed.Vintagecomputers slated for demolition. - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

10 Jun 2005

...
 From: "Randy McLaughlin" <cctalk at
randy482.com>

From: "Paul Koning" <pkoning at equallogic.com>
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2005 12:51 PM

>>>> "jim" == jim stephens <jwstephens at msm.umr.edu> writes:

 jim> I have met these people and visit with them every year at the
 jim> JPL open house, and this is most certainly not the case.  The
 jim> data division is very serious about conserving the data, and
 jim> they would do anything they can to convert it.

 So does that mean the Planetary Society article that started this
 whole thread was just a fund raising scam?

      paul 

I would call scam over stated, I am sure it is a "scheme".

Revenue generation is a serious business, everyone has seen pictures of 
starving children in Africa.  This is necessary to get the $ rolling in. 
They never point out that after administration fees and the "help" of local 
officials just a tiny percentage helps anyone.

If people donated $100,000,000.00 to help with the data recovery who 
believes that one $0.01 would every get used to recover any of the data, not 
me.  The money would end up on other projects that never get off the ground.

That's just the nature of most "charitable" contributions.

Personally I donate to charities but I check them out first, being a well 
known name doesn't guarantee anything.
 Hi
 I would suspect that it is the writer of the article
that has simply taken bits and pieces of what was said
and made a "STORY" out of it. It wouldn't be the first
time. They were most likely looking for more funding
but that doesn't make a "STORY".
Dwight