I wanted to share with you an amazing undertaking which is happening on the internet to save for posterity the digital information we have online. In the words on the Internet Archive Software Collection;
The Internet Archive- a treasure trove of resources!
The Internet Archive Software Collection is the largest vintage and historical software library in the world, providing instant access to millions of programs, CD-ROM images, documentation and multimedia.
The collection includes a broad range of software related materials including shareware, freeware, video news releases about software titles, speed runs of actual software game play, previews and promos for software games, high-score and skill replays of various game genres, and the art of filmmaking with real-time computer game engines.
Imagine how much communication we do digitally and with the speed at which technology evolves and changes how much information is lost forever? Think about how important the written word has been to the history of humans? In the current climate where technology is moving ever rapidly forward and data is transient and software can be removed or difficult to use in todays computing environment, it would be sad to lose some of the data, files and information forever.
A non-profit organisation, the Historical Software Archive had the mission of making old programs and games accessible in-browser, a large undertaking indeed! (the games were originally released for platforms such as the Atari 2600, Apple II, and Commodore 64)
Pitfall, a true classic.
Recognise the game?
Copyright is an interesting issue as most of the software is still covered under the laws but it will be interesting to see if these companies decide to press on and request a cease and desist order. I for one hope that the archive remains and continues to build it's collection, archiving for future generations is important!