Much of the discussion so far has been about whether
old software and/or old gadgetry works or not.
'Solutions' such as robust, open source,
non-proprietary software may only hold true so long as
we confine ourselves to individual programs or
machines. This is, if you like, a diachronic issue:
backwards compatibility.
What about synchronic compatibility? Network
compatibility.
My code may be fine, but if it looks for something on
the network and that disappears: we get an error. The
best we can do is to maintain the work (when you make
a machine you also make a machine-minder). But that
may not be enough.
It can be that someone changes the format of the page
unawares. Or someone's website disappears. But, the
problem can be deliberate. A well-known wiki-based
'open content' project recently changed their page
format to thwart one of my programs (not paranoia:
they recorded the decision for posterity!).
My point is that, obviously, networked art/media is
vulnerable whatever programming language it uses.
Wayne.
www.in-vacua.com
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