"Reality and Chimeras in the Preservation of Electronic Records" Presented as Apple ][ Word Processed File

by: David Bearman (Article) Jason Scott (Floppy Image)

Publication date: 2014-11-26

Topics: Emulation, Art

Language: English

The system will boot up into a "crack screen" for Dot Writer, mentioning the program having been cracked by The Prowler. Press ENTER/RETURN at this screen to finish booting the word processor.

The screen will be blank except for some menu items at the bottom, and the cursor will be blinking. Press the ESC key to bring up the operations menu, then press ENTER/RETURN to select the already-highlighted "Print and File Menu". Press the RIGHT ARROW key twice to hover over the "LOAD" selection, and then press ENTER/RETURN. You will be given a single file to choose to upload. Enter "1" and then press ENTER/RETURN to select "EMULATION' and load the textfile.

The system will then load the essay. You will be in a viewing mode, so use the M key to move the cursor down and read the entire article.

Ponder the arguments in the opinion piece as you read it within an Apple II emulator running a word processor presenting the article.

In 1999, David Bearman of Archives & Museum Informations, a company located at archimuse.com, wrote an opinion piece for D-Lib Magazine. Entitled "Reality and Chimeras in the Preservation of Electronic Records", the article dismisses out of hand the potential for Emulation as a storage/preservation solution for electronic records. A typical statement: "...the emulation solution would not preserve electronic records as evidence even if it could be made to work and is serious overkill for most electronic documents where preserving evidence is not a requirement." Bearman's proposed best solution is consistent upgrading of records to increasingly contemporary systems on a regular basis.

I decided that the best way to preserve Bearman's article would be to convert it backwards into an Apple II word-processed file, running in Dot Writer, a 1984 Apple II Word Processor so obscure that few records exist of the software itself, much less the process by which it came about.

Due to the JSMESS emulation system, it is possible to boot this "lost" word processor, as of this writing 30 years gone, and read Mr. Bearman's article proclaiming Emulation as an unrealistic, inaccessible solution, while sitting in a browser anywhere in the world.

Please read the instructions on the player page to load the textfile and operate the word processor.