• Tag Archives digital archaeology

  • Digital Archaelology: Codex (Floppy Disk) #3

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Continuing on with this exploration of ancient magnetic archives, this is the third 5.25″ floppy disk from a stash discovered in a thrift store long ago. The first two disks revealed some not safe for work content but this one is a little more tame. It is labeled Word Star and that was in fact what was on the disk.

    As you can see above, the directory structure looks a little odd. I don’t know if there was some corrupt stuff on this disk (it is around 30 years old after all) or this is just some artifact of Word Star program disks. There were no errors when I copied the data but who knows…

    Loading up WordStar revealed the following:

    So to be specific, this is WordStar Professional Release 4.

    WordStar was originally written for CP/M based computers in 1978 and WordStar 3.0 arrived on DOS based computers in 1982. Wordstar 4.0 was a major code rewrite and it was also the last version that was available for CP/M machines. WordStar is known for its complexity but many touch typists loved it for its well placed control keys (shortcuts) that allowed one to perform many complex operations without moving your hands from the home row position.

    WordStar dominated word processing for a number of years and was the most popular word processor until about 1985 when it was overtaken by Word Perfect. However, a number of famous writers used WordStar and some still do. George R.R. Martin, writer of Game of Thrones still uses DOS based WordStar 4.0 to write his books.

    Basic typing and editing are pretty straightforward but getting proficient with all of the control key shortcuts would take some time, even once you understand the logic behind them.


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana DOS 📎and tagged

  • Archivists Grapple With Problems Of Preserving Recent Culture Held On Tape Cassettes And Floppy Drives

    Posted on by Azrael Comment



    Most Techdirt readers probably surround themselves with the latest technology. But there’s a slightly unusual class of professionals who are only now beginning to grapple with things like CP/M,8-inch floppy disk drives and the Apple Lisa. These are the archivists, whose job is preserving cultural artifacts from all periods of history. That includes the recent past, whose technologies now seem paradoxically so strange and distant. The real-life consequences of that growing chasm between today’s digital technologies, and those that were commonplace 10, 20 or 30 years ago, are made evident in an article published by the Guardian last week:

    In the belly of a former whisky store in the inner Melbourne suburb of Brunswick lies a vast and varied collection of artefacts that feminist scholars can’t wait to get their hands on.

    Nearly 500 boxes in this dark, temperature-controlled warehouse hold a lifetime of handwritten letters, browning manuscripts and newspaper clippings.

    But there are more modern treasures too: floppy disks containing an unpublished book about Margaret Thatcher; two computers, a Mac Powerbook G4 and iMac G5; and voicemail recordings about dinner plans in 1976.

    These are all part of the archives of the well-known Australian writer Germaine Greer. According to the article, Greer has been hoarding personal documents and artifacts from the 1950s to the present day, which means they are in both analog and digital forms:

    Greer’s archive includes floppy disks, tape cassettes and CD-roms, once cutting-edge technologies that are now obsolete. They are vulnerable to decay and disintegration, leftovers from the unrelenting tide of technological advancement. They will last mere decades, unlike the paper records, which could survive for hundreds of years.

    It is an irony of these formerly high-tech holdings that they are far less durable than old-fashioned paper-based systems. And researchers studying them face problems of compatibility that simply don’t arise with paper. This is a major issue that is only now being faced, as cultural figures of Greer’s generation pass on their archives to universities and libraries, who must start to grapple with the core tasks of deciphering and preserving them.

    Source: Archivists Grapple With Problems Of Preserving Recent Culture Held On Tape Cassettes And Floppy Drives | Techdirt


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana 📎and tagged