Library of Congress Blog: Even More Fun with File Formats!. “As usual, we’ve been hard at work with our file format descriptions or (FDDs) which include many hours of technical research, fact checking and generally nerdy deep dives into format specifications and standards. For the first time, we’ve decided to publish our 2022-2023 workplan which lists format descriptions that are expected to be added to the site in the coming months. It is not definitive as sometimes priorities change but, instead, is an overall indication of planned work.”
Tag Archives: vintage file formats
NARA: NARA’s Digital Preservation Framework Goes Live as Linked Open Dataset
NARA: NARA’s Digital Preservation Framework Goes Live as Linked Open Dataset. “Beginning today, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is making its Digital Preservation Framework available as a Linked Open Dataset, a first for the agency…. The Digital Preservation Framework describes best practices for the preservation of 684 file formats, some dating back to the first transfers of electronic records to NARA 50 years ago.”
How-To Geek: How to Play Adobe Flash SWF Files Outside Your Web Browser
How-To Geek: How to Play Adobe Flash SWF Files Outside Your Web Browser. “Adobe has ended any and all support for Flash. The company has now removed the download link to the Flash Player from its website, too. The program is still available on the Wayback machine for the time being.”
Chrome Unboxed: ChromeOS can now open 7z, ISO, RAR and many other newly supported archival formats
Chrome Unboxed: ChromeOS can now open 7z, ISO, RAR and many other newly supported archival formats. “Most notably among the above newly supported formats are ISO and 7z. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve already received 7-zip folders from others or transferred them myself (RAR is a thing of the past for me), and simply couldn’t open them. I think the more users see that ChromeOS can do what Windows can – at least for the basics, the more they will be willing to invest in it or integrate it as a part of their workflow.”
All Hyped Up for HyperCard: Further Adventures with an Apple Legacy Format (Library of Congress)
Library of Congress: All Hyped Up for HyperCard: Further Adventures with an Apple Legacy Format. “Jacob and Hilary assisted in updating and expanding the Sustainability of Digital Formats website, which provides information and analysis on over 500 digital file formats and offers guidance on the long-term preservation of digital content at the Library. Through their work, they assisted in providing current information on file formats to users at the Library of Congress and throughout the international digital preservation community. In this blog post, Jacob and Hilary discuss their research on the HyperCard file format.”
The Shields Gazette: South Shields ship experts begin mammoth 3D-modelling project they admit may never be complete
The Shields Gazette: South Shields ship experts begin mammoth 3D-modelling project they admit may never be complete. “Since the late 1990s, South Shields Marine School has been one of only two UK centres – and the only teaching college – to create advanced graphics of ships and port and marine landscapes…. In that time, the marine school’s 3D-modelling team has made digital models of around 200 vessels and 120 ports or sea areas.”
Vice: Tracing the Sprawling Roots of Flash Preservation
Vice: Tracing the Sprawling Roots of Flash Preservation. “Once the platform for kooky animations and experimental games, Flash is no longer a staple for weird digital art, having just completed its stagger towards its end-of-life—with the long march towards its decline finally coming to a head.”
MakeUseOf: 4 Ways to Play Adobe Flash Games Without Flash
MakeUseOf: 4 Ways to Play Adobe Flash Games Without Flash. “Flash was a pillar of the internet through the 2000s and over a period of 20 years built a gaming legacy of unprecedented proportions, spanning tens of thousands of games. Now, as the websites hosting Flash content come down, many people are wondering, ‘will Flash’s gaming legacy suffer the same fate?’ In this article, we list a handful of projects intent on preserving Flash games for future generations.”
Jalopnik: When Adobe Stopped Flash Content From Running It Also Stopped A Chinese Railroad
Jalopnik: When Adobe Stopped Flash Content From Running It Also Stopped A Chinese Railroad. “Adobe’s Flash, the web browser plug-in that powered so very many crappy games, confusing interfaces, and animated icons of the early web like Homestar Runner is now finally gone, after a long, slow, protracted death. For most of us, this just means that some goofy webgame you searched for out of misplaced nostalgia will no longer run. For a select few in China, though, the death of Flash meant being late to work, because the city of Dalian in northern China was running their railroad system on it.”
Fast Company: Adobe Flash is about to die, but classic Flash games will live on
Fast Company: Adobe Flash is about to die, but classic Flash games will live on. “While the official version of Flash is going away, there are still plenty of ways to relive the plug-in’s glory days. Taking a little nostalgia trip might be one of the most comforting ways to wind down a brutal year.”
Internet Archive: Flash Animations Live Forever at the Internet Archive
Internet Archive: Flash Animations Live Forever at the Internet Archive. “Great news for everyone concerned about the Flash end of life planned for end of 2020: The Internet Archive is now emulating Flash animations, games and toys in our software collection.”
COGConnected: Flashpoint Project Archives 36,000 Flash Games Offline
COGConnected: Flashpoint Project Archives 36,000 Flash Games Offline. “Flashpoint is a colossal offline archive of every Flash game the team can scoop up, preserved and protected from ultimate destruction. Flash is vanishing from the internet forever, you see. Adobe is officially killing the system on December 31st, 2020. That means BlueMaxima has less than a year to save every game they can from the slowly sinking ship.”
The Register: Google goes full Anti-Flash-ist, boots Adobe’s insecure monstrosity out of web search index
The Register: Google goes full Anti-Flash-ist, boots Adobe’s insecure monstrosity out of web search index . “Google plans to help Adobe’s Flash exercise its right to be forgotten – by gradually stripping the animated content from its search index, starting some time later this year.”
Genealogy’s Star: The Dangers of Using GEDCOM
Genealogy’s Star: The Dangers of Using GEDCOM. “Even back in the time when GEDCOM was commonly used to transfer genealogical data between two programs, the process produced an ‘error’ file with information that could not be copied. Over time, the information that is not transferred has grown as programs implement features that are not supported by the old GEDCOM standard. I have discussed the use of GEDCOM or mentioned the problems associated with using GEDCOM to transfer genealogical data in at least 20 previous blog posts.”
CNET: Adobe Shockwave gets the ax on April 9
CNET: Adobe Shockwave gets the ax on April 9. “Adobe is retiring Shockwave. On April 9, the browser-based multimedia platform will be discontinued and the Shockwave player for Windows won’t be available for download.” ooooh, I am feeling ooooold.