Close
XTension Discussion
Re: Total Computing Disaster - how old is your data?
Hmm, let's see. A quick check of my system I'm writing this message on (an
Alpha running OpenVMS, not a Mac, but nevertheless...) turns up quite a bit of
FORTRAN code with creation dates as far back as 1972. However, I cannot speak
with any assurance that those files have been kept wholly in digital form since
that time - I acquired most of them in the mid 1980s from various national lab
software collections like SLATEC.
I do see one file implementing Marquardt's least squares method (in FORTRAN II)
with a date of 1979 which I happen to know came from an IBM 370. I personally
transferred it to an PDP-11/45 using an acoustic modem in 1980. From there it
ended up on an 8" floppy which was read either on an H11 (Heathkit's LSI-11
variant) or possibly on the console floppy of a VAX-11/780. If it was read on
the H11 it was then transferred to that VAX using Kermit. Once it was on the
VAX it has lived on on a succession of VMS disks and backup tapes ever since.
I probably still have all my old PDP-8/I programs on paper tape around here
somewhere, as well as an all-optical paper tape reader. Those would date back
to 1976 or so and are probably still readable, although the value of a bunch of
code written mostly in FOCAL would seem to be pretty limited...
I also have a bunch of TOPS-10 material on 9 track tape dating back into the
1970s. That's almost certainly unrecoverable at this point, but the reason I
haven't bothered to mess with my copies is that a friend of mine had a similar
collection he managed to put on disk about a decade back. So any time I need
copies of programs written in assembly language for a 36 bit machine I know
just where to go. JFCL rules!
As for email, here are the headers of the oldest message I was able to find on
my system in a quick search:
Received: from csnet-relay by okstate.csnet id a017558; 3 Jun 85 13:26 CDT
Received: from csnet-sh.arpa by csnet-relay.arpa id aa01399; 3 Jun 85 13:49 EDT
To: Mark Vasoll <vasoll%okstate.csnet-AT-csnet-relay.CSNET>
cc: cic-AT-csnet-sh.ARPA
Subject: Re: PMDF-OSU ?
In-reply-to: Your message of 31 May 85 19:46:39 CDT (Fri).
Date: 03 Jun 85 13:44:54 EDT (Mon)
From: long-AT-csnet-sh.ARPA
This probably doesn't count since it only was digitized relatively recently,
but I have CDs of audio tapes I made as far back as the late 1960s. It's mostly
local theatre productions or stuff I taped off of radio or TV. (Hey, some of
this was done before I turned 10.) Two gems in my collection: (1) A recording I
made of Keith Jarrett playing on the program "At the Top" (early 70s) which
AFAIK was never replayed or released in any other form. This is in a free jazz
style similar to that of _Facing You_ or _The Koln Concert_ and he no longer
plays like that. (2) I also have the incidental music for the play _The Funkie
Junkie_ (a 60s "drug play") with Charlie Parker in the pit orchestra. Amazing
stuff.
Now I feel old ;-)
Ned
Alpha running OpenVMS, not a Mac, but nevertheless...) turns up quite a bit of
FORTRAN code with creation dates as far back as 1972. However, I cannot speak
with any assurance that those files have been kept wholly in digital form since
that time - I acquired most of them in the mid 1980s from various national lab
software collections like SLATEC.
I do see one file implementing Marquardt's least squares method (in FORTRAN II)
with a date of 1979 which I happen to know came from an IBM 370. I personally
transferred it to an PDP-11/45 using an acoustic modem in 1980. From there it
ended up on an 8" floppy which was read either on an H11 (Heathkit's LSI-11
variant) or possibly on the console floppy of a VAX-11/780. If it was read on
the H11 it was then transferred to that VAX using Kermit. Once it was on the
VAX it has lived on on a succession of VMS disks and backup tapes ever since.
I probably still have all my old PDP-8/I programs on paper tape around here
somewhere, as well as an all-optical paper tape reader. Those would date back
to 1976 or so and are probably still readable, although the value of a bunch of
code written mostly in FOCAL would seem to be pretty limited...
I also have a bunch of TOPS-10 material on 9 track tape dating back into the
1970s. That's almost certainly unrecoverable at this point, but the reason I
haven't bothered to mess with my copies is that a friend of mine had a similar
collection he managed to put on disk about a decade back. So any time I need
copies of programs written in assembly language for a 36 bit machine I know
just where to go. JFCL rules!
As for email, here are the headers of the oldest message I was able to find on
my system in a quick search:
Received: from csnet-relay by okstate.csnet id a017558; 3 Jun 85 13:26 CDT
Received: from csnet-sh.arpa by csnet-relay.arpa id aa01399; 3 Jun 85 13:49 EDT
To: Mark Vasoll <vasoll%okstate.csnet-AT-csnet-relay.CSNET>
cc: cic-AT-csnet-sh.ARPA
Subject: Re: PMDF-OSU ?
In-reply-to: Your message of 31 May 85 19:46:39 CDT (Fri).
Date: 03 Jun 85 13:44:54 EDT (Mon)
From: long-AT-csnet-sh.ARPA
This probably doesn't count since it only was digitized relatively recently,
but I have CDs of audio tapes I made as far back as the late 1960s. It's mostly
local theatre productions or stuff I taped off of radio or TV. (Hey, some of
this was done before I turned 10.) Two gems in my collection: (1) A recording I
made of Keith Jarrett playing on the program "At the Top" (early 70s) which
AFAIK was never replayed or released in any other form. This is in a free jazz
style similar to that of _Facing You_ or _The Koln Concert_ and he no longer
plays like that. (2) I also have the incidental music for the play _The Funkie
Junkie_ (a 60s "drug play") with Charlie Parker in the pit orchestra. Amazing
stuff.
Now I feel old ;-)
Ned
List Archives