** Tim Green timothy.j.green@gmail.com [2006-01-16 09:29]:
On 1/15/06, Anthony Anson tony.anson@zetnet.co.uk wrote:
I have *LOADS* of old DOS and CP/M programs and data on 3", 3.5 " and 5.25" floppies, and without a drive, these are inaccessible innit.
When did you last _want_ to access your old DOS and CP/M stuff? If it is so important, like the BBC Model B based laser disc 900th anniversary Doomsday Book, maybe now is the time to migrate and run an emulator.
** end quote [Tim Green]
A very bad example if you don't mind me saying so ;) I have one of these Doomsday systems (although as yet un-tested since I rescued it) and they are very tied to the capabilities of the BBC Micro hardware. There is even a university (I forget which one) working on getting it running on a PC, but it is a major piece of work, and doesn't simply run in an emulator. This is largely due to the mix of data and video stored on the discs where the BBC could handle and modern PCs cannot (not sure whether they could with direct access to the LVD player itself or not).
It's a good enough point though, but I still want to archive my old floppies onto CD or DVD, and I'll not be getting rid of the original disks. But then I have a selection of old machines that I am keeping (not x86 ones - too boring) - which reminds me, I probably ought to get my hands on a few more 3" drives to keep my old Amstrad and Sinclair machines going if I need the parts :)