[clug] Keeping Data Alive

[Scott Ferguson]

Many years ago I was trying to find a home for some ancient computer 
equipment (Southern Cross TV) - wound up donating it to the Sydney 
Powerhouse Museum. They were (then) collecting software and hardware for 
the purpose of preserving data for future use (from memory) I "think" 
the contact was "Conell" (or Conelly??).

There is the Australasian Digital Recordkeeping Initiative 
(http://www.adri.gov.au/) and "Future Proof : protecting our digital 
future / State Records New South Wales" available at 
http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/4760433. And this 
http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/publicsector/erk/dtf/tofcont.htm.

There is/was an American project with similar intentions... I recall 
talking to a retired IBM engineer about it some years ago (sent him some 
early PS/2 - RS* 2.8MB floppy drives). Someone with current contacts in 
IBM (Miller Building Greenway??) might be able to track that down - the 
location is/was in the States, wherever it is that IBM keep all there 
old hardware. The folks at MCA Mafia may have more current information. 
If you are interested I could have a dig through old shipping records 
(when I get some free time).

Of course it's not just a matter of preserving the hardware necessary to 
access the data - the software is also required. How long before Clipper 
becomes ancient and unknown?

Hope that helps.