CAPS Release Timeline

[fiath]

How about a release timeline...

http://www.caps-project.org/images/timeline.png

[CodyJarrett]

Wow, my CAPS shares have rocketed! Sell, sell, sell!

[fiath]

I wouldn't sell if the value of my shares were doing that ;)

[Galaxy]

Looks like we're keeping you boys busy!

[killergorilla]

Stop wasting your time doing timelines you lazy caps people. Get on with building that time machine that writes ipfs to disks. :bowdown

[fiath]

Actually KG, that is an interesting point you bring up. I know you are half joking, but we have been thinking about the hardware a bit lately so this is to everybody who is interested in the hardware...

Firstly, I think everybody should know by now that making hardware to write IPF's is going to take some serious effort. A quick hack would be easily and cheap to do, but we are not into hacks, we are going to do it properly from the start or not at all. The mastering device (a-la Trace duplicator) needed is a very different thing than a piece of hardware that can "write disks".

On the other hand, the disks we are after are getting unreadable day-by-day. So to start on a hardware project means every minute would be time spent away from actual preservation. People may get frustrated by not being able to do what they want, but in the long run the simple fact is that nothing else makes sense. Ultimately we can spent the rest of our lives developing hardware, but we cannot spend the rest of our lives saving the software - because good copies simply won't be around.

Not really a tough choice to make. We would much rather go the "right" route than a "popular" one if that popular route doesn't actually further our preservation goals.

At the moment, time is better spent on something that is possible with slightly less money - preserving the games themselves, which gets increasingly harder! On the other hand, build us a gold making machine that magically fills our fund to the needed level (5-6 digit level), and your wish will be our command. ;)

Seriously though, if we manage to get funding from somewhere which allows us to do this thing without the "distraction" of our day jobs, I really believe we can solve the worlds software preservation problems. However, this is never going to happen from simple donations (that was never intended, as per the text on the accounts page). Only govenment/industry can get us the level of funding needed, and this may or may not happen any time soon.

Note about funding before we get flamed to pieces - we are talking about for CAPS here, we are not and never have been money grabbers, and is very obvious by our history. Unfortunately, a fact of life is that devoting all our energy to CAPS (some of us already do CAPS work "full time" - actually for more hours than "real" work) means we need money for the minor issues of supporting our families, etc.

Anyway, essay over. :)

[killergorilla]

Nice 'rant' ;) Fiath, hope you don't think I was whinging about the lack of a method of writing the disks back.

I've been quite vocal about CAPS (on this forum and on others) and how I love the project and the ideas behind it (even though I understand little to none of all that 'crap' on your site), and from my point of view I've got absolutely no need for a machine that writes them back anyway, of course I was only joking earlier but I've never felt the need for the machine (for my purposes) as I simply wouldn't use it. I think that floppy disks are the most evil thing on the planet and they should be destroyed (after being preserved) along with every episode of friends ;)

Just my 1.67 cents.

[fiath]

I wasn't ranting! :D:D:D:D:D I think ;) Anyway, dammit, I knew you would take that the wrong way.

I just like to explain all the issues once somewhere, and then whoever asks me the same thing in the future gets pointed to it instead of me writing it all again. As it happens, this time it was pompted in response to you. Don't take it personally ;)

[Big-Byte]

Have you tried applying for a lottery grant? They give out money for all sorts of strange things if you believe the papers.

[killergorilla]

Doh! :blased

The weird thing was I was trying hard not to make my reply seem like I was correcting you in some way. I wasn't replying to your post as such, I didn't mean to sound like I was 'answering back' to your points, I was trying to stay as far away from that as possible. I was just basically saying what I think about the subject. :blased

And the 'rant' bit was supposed to read 'essay' I though I was quoting you but you put 'essay over' not 'rant over', I'm so used to reading 'rant over' I just whacked it in. :blased

Oops :blased

[fiath]

@Big-Byte: We plan to do exactly that. However, the application needs to be very professional for any hope of success. Once we have a few coming surprises out of the way (which is taking most of my time right now), we will get on it. :)

@KG: Hehe, I think we are both reading into things too much! :D Lets quit while we are behind. ;)