And you bring up the preservation issue as well, which is always something to think about with regards to what actually will survive. I have a 7-track computer tape reel from a VAX-11/750 which, even if the tape were to spool correctly, probably can't be read on any modern tape drive. If you can find a reel-to-reel computer tape drive. Oh, and some 8" floppy disks -- same problem.
I always find it amusing that when you see retrospectives on baseball, the images from the early 1970s are so crappy compared to the 50s, 60s and 80s. All has to do with the technology, how it was archived and how it has deteriorated. High acid paper was cheap for the pulps, hell on having it survive even ten years.
When you look (and listen) to Ken Burn's The Civil War, enough people fought for both sides AND wrote letters, that we have a lot of letters that have survived. But survival isn't necessarily a function of position or power. Plenty of notable people have had their papers lot in fire, flood at home, to say nothing of the general mayhem of war. For all the great letters read during The Civil War, there must've been thousands of letters which sucked and many thousands more lost to time.
I often quote Jerry Pournelle from an old Chaos Manor column from when BYTE magazine was made from dead trees: Nothing is really backed up unless it is stored on two different types of media. (and I add: stored in two different places.) (grin)
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branchandroot
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Date: Thursday, 3 January 2008 18:08 (UTC)And you bring up the preservation issue as well, which is always something to think about with regards to what actually will survive. I have a 7-track computer tape reel from a VAX-11/750 which, even if the tape were to spool correctly, probably can't be read on any modern tape drive. If you can find a reel-to-reel computer tape drive. Oh, and some 8" floppy disks -- same problem.
I always find it amusing that when you see retrospectives on baseball, the images from the early 1970s are so crappy compared to the 50s, 60s and 80s. All has to do with the technology, how it was archived and how it has deteriorated. High acid paper was cheap for the pulps, hell on having it survive even ten years.
When you look (and listen) to Ken Burn's The Civil War, enough people fought for both sides AND wrote letters, that we have a lot of letters that have survived. But survival isn't necessarily a function of position or power. Plenty of notable people have had their papers lot in fire, flood at home, to say nothing of the general mayhem of war. For all the great letters read during The Civil War, there must've been thousands of letters which sucked and many thousands more lost to time.
I often quote Jerry Pournelle from an old Chaos Manor column from when BYTE magazine was made from dead trees: Nothing is really backed up unless it is stored on two different types of media. (and I add: stored in two different places.) (grin)
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