The precarious state of classic software and hardware preservation

[Paul Koning]

> On Nov 23, 2021, at 1:21 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
> 
> ...
> Just think of all of the stuff that hits the landfill from old timers
> who have passed.  The inheritors don't know what to do with the stuff
> other than dispose of it.

Or they might not know how to find devices that can read the stuff.  I have some examples: a couple of DECtapes, and an RA60 pack.  I know how to find someone who can read them, but none of my family would.

The same, only more so, for 7 track tapes.  Or CDC 626 14-track tapes.  And what about 10 track tapes?  There's someone in England working on reading some of those for an old English computer; those tools may or may not be suitable for reading EL-X1 tapes.  Similarly, there was the recent heroics to recover Univac 1 tapes (if I remember right).

	paul