Re: [Pan-users] Re: OT: freedomware vs... Was: Building Pan on Windows?

[Leslie Newell]

> What?
>
> If you're talking about the period between *purchasing* Windows (usually 
> as part of a bundle with the computer) and when it goes into lock-down 
> mode because you haven't registered, I think you're missing the point 
> of "try before you buy" is that you get to try *before* you buy.
>   
How about <http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/cc442495.aspx>. 
Alternatively it is perfectly legal to borrow a Windows CD from someone 
and install it. It will work for a time before you have to either 
register or uninstall it.

> Only if you don't care about accessing your data in ten years time.
>
> The period of the 1980s through to the 2020s (at least!) will be a 
> future dark age to historians. So many of our historical records are 
> *already* unreadable, after a mere decade or so. Paper, vellum and 
> papyrus lasts for centuries when treated well, electronic records 
> become obsolete and unreadable before you can say "what do you mean we 
> don't have a computer capable of running the only application that can 
> read the data file?".

Most applications that handle data that can sensibly be edited in 
another application at least offer an option to export the data in a 
relatively common format. For instance most CAD packages offer dxf 
export/import. The problem is that many applications have data that only 
makes sense if it is handled by that application. For instance my CAM 
software stores heavily processed CAD drawings. There is no point making 
the data format open because there is no other application that could 
make any sense of it. If my code was open source you could then use the 
data but we have already discussed why that is not practical.

IMHO the greatest threat to long term storage of data is failure to back 
it up.

Les