[vcf-midatlantic] How To Geek article on floppy data recovery

Herb Johnson hjohnson at retrotechnology.info
Fri May 8 12:38:20 EDT 2020


On 5/8/2020 12:04 PM, Dean Notarnicola wrote:
> However, consider that, over time, it may matter less and less as a 
> larger volume of old media gets archived. Maybe it’s ok that these 
> devices are somewhat ephemeral. Just food for thought.

If I accept that proposition, Dean: vintage computing may matter less 
and less, as a larger volume of information and actual computers get 
archived in collections and on Web pages. Maybe it's OK that everything 
is ephemeral - including you and me. That's called "carrying an argument 
to its logical conclusions". Or to extreme conclusions, you decide.

The weaker response, is that many people have decided that floppy 
diskettes are so obsolete, one should simply archive their contents and 
avoid their use. In that case, the fact that archival mechanisms come 
and go - these various microcontrollers -  doesn't matter either. One 
finds a means to archive or recover; one does the recovery; one moves on.

I have a few Web pages, about the efforts needed to "archive", and then 
recover and put to use, various inconvenient floppy disk formats; such 
as M2FM or MMFM and Intel Multibus system disks. Eventually, the 
recovery was performed by *actual period hardware and Intel systems*. 
Your mileage may vary, regarding your favorite vintage systems.

Again, I call out the difference between vintage computing as acts of 
preservation; and modern computing as an "ephemeral" activity where only 
the data persists (if that). So let's run emulators and go home, job 
done. (shrug) It's a matter of choices and consequences.

Regards, Herb Johnson

> 
> On Fri, May 8, 2020 at 11:45 AM Herb Johnson    wrote:
> 
>     This reply is long, because I'm arguing in opposition, and that means I
>     have to make a case about, and explain about. But I'll save some
>     people,
>     some time. I"m going to fuss about these microcontrollers becoming
>     obsolete. If you don't care about that, save time and stop reading here.

-- 
Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA
http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net
preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing
email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com
or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info


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