Retrocomputing as preservation and remix

Takhteyev, Yuri; DuPont, Quinn

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/38392 Copy

Description

Title

Retrocomputing as preservation and remix

Author(s)

• Takhteyev, Yuri
• DuPont, Quinn

Issue Date

2013-02

Keyword(s)

• retrocomputing
• software preservation
• remix
• cultural informatics
• digital curation and preservation
• social computing
• social and community informatics

Abstract

This paper looks at the world of retrocomputing, a constellation of largely non-professional practices involving old computing technology. Retrocomputing includes many activities that can be seen as constituting “preservation.” At the same time, it is often transformative, producing assemblages that “remix” fragments from the past with newer elements or joining together historic components that were never combined before. While such “remix” may seem to undermine preservation, it allows for fragments of computing history to be reintegrated into a living, ongoing practice, contributing to preservation in a broader sense. The seemingly unorganized nature of retrocomputing assemblages also provides space for alternative “situated knowledges” and histories of computing, which can sometimes be quite sophisticated. Recognizing such alternative epistemologies paves the way for alternative approaches to preservation.

Publisher

iSchools

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/38392

DOI

https://doi.org/10.9776/13230

Copyright and License Information

Copyright © 2013 is held by the authors. Copyright permissions, when appropriate, must be obtained directly from the authors.

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