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> Then there is also a problem of software preservation: How can people today or in the future interpret those WordPerfect or WordStar files from the 1980s, whe
by hashkb 7y ago
> Then there is also a problem of software preservation: How can people today or in the future interpret those WordPerfect or WordStar files from the 1980s, when the original software companies have stopped supporting them or gone out of business?
This issue in particular we have great solutions for (open formats / text), but they are of course less profitable than only-my-app-can-read-this formats.
- Crinus 7y agoFWIW those particular formats are widely understood even if they are proprietary (well, at least in WordStar's case). And as long as the software runs (be it natively or via an emulator or VM), you can always open and convert/print the files (e.g. you could use vDOS to run WordStar or whatever and use its printer emulator functionality with Windows' PDF printer to create a PDF from the WordStar files).
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]