Re: EDD Plus Project

[sicklittlemonkey <Nick.Westgate@gmail.com>]

On Jan 14, 11:52 am, "Michael J. Mahon" <mjma...@aol.com> wrote:
> As I've pointed out before, this software is not becoming suddenly
> less readable than it was, say, last year, so there is little reason
> to expect that there is any "emergency" in archiving it.

Yes, but it is becoming increasingly less affordable and obtainable.
In Japan, Apple II games are priced on Yahoo auctions at US$50 - $300.
(The upper end is for Wizardry, Ultima etc.)

> Archiving--and, most importantly, distributing multiple copies of
> the archive--is always a good preservation objective, but we should
> keep in mind that we don't need an immediate, half-cocked solution.
> There's plenty of time to figure out a thorough and easy-to-use
> solution.

Well I would certainly like a solution. Not half-cocked, of course,
and not in 5 years time either. I made a few NIBs before deciding it
was a bit of a waste of time, and something needs to replace the NIB
format to prevent more being made.

> It is critical that the solution be usable by anyone with an unmodified
> Apple II, without buying anything rare or unusual, since the originals
> are wherever they are, and they will not come to the "capture machine".
> The "capture machine" must *be* wherever they *are*--and that's a
> garden-variety Apple II.

These excellent points are easily directed at FDI. I'm curious as to
whether you have or would buy an EDD+ card.

> Note, however, that this code does not *automatically* back up any disk.
> It must be parameterized by someone who has properly understood what is
> relevant to the protection mechanism--an expert task, requiring testing
> that is sometimes extensive.

Of course, but the requirements for general-purpose archival imaging
have been covered quite thoroughly in threads like the one you
referred Henry to. (Multiple reads, quarter tracks, analysis for weak
bits etc.)

Cheers,
Nick.