RE: [-empyre-] Re: Preservation of digital media

["Jonathan O'Donnell" <jonathan.odonnell@ngv.vic.gov.au>]

Hi Lisa

...
> People refer to "dead media". I prefer to think of the
> media as going through "stages of currency" to use a great
> phrase I read on some archival email list ages ago.
> I use metadata to maybe slow or
> alter the process, but also to enhance the original object.
...
> I'd be interested to know of other people who may be exploring similar
> methods (especially any artist/archivists that are out there), or know
> of good online examples aside from the ones already listed in previous
> emails - which have been great - thanks!

** Device independence **

People doing Web accessibility think about making stuff that is independent
of any particular media.  The term that they sometimes use is 'device
independence'.  It means that people can look at the stuff on lots of
different devices (big and small screens, through speakers, Braille output
devices, things that haven't been invented yet...)

The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative guidelines for Web content are
currently being updated.  They are a bit of a read, but the ideas are good.
The overview of design principles is particularly interesting, I think.  I
think that you will find a lot of echoes with 'stages of currency'.

http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/#overview-design-principles

** Metadata **

In addition, Liddy Nevile (whose name will be known to the RMIT AIM people
(hi, David and co)) has been working on metadata for accessibility.  Both
Dublin Core and IMS have work underway in this area:

http://dublincore.org/groups/access/

http://www.imsproject.org/accessibility

** Emulation **

And all this talk about coping with obsolescence and emulation inspired me
to review my favourite example, the BBC Doomsday Video Disk project.  For
those who aren't familiar, over a million people in the UK contributed
statistical, photographic and written information about their local area.
This was published in November 1986 on two video disks.

Today, the video disks are in fine shape, but the special BBC computers,
video disk players and software are almost extinct.

The good news is that the BBC Doomsday Project has effectively been rescued.
Bit stream emulation was used to preserve the look, feel and function of the
original application.

http://www.si.umich.edu/CAMILEON/domesday/domesday.html

Jonathan O'Donnell
NGV Multimedia
http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au
+61 3 8620 2354