Post AMCgwcfLQyimb0592e by ewankeep@mspsocial.net
 (DIR) More posts by ewankeep@mspsocial.net
 (DIR) Post #AMCgwYI9hFnN1vCZLE by ewankeep@mspsocial.net
       2022-08-04T20:22:25Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       What do people consider 'forever' file formats. I.E file types that are open source and won't become obsolete quickly and can run on minimalist computers. I know that lots of people consider txt's to be pretty good for everything plain text, but what about odt and odf for word processing and spread sheets? Is  ogg, flac or acc better than mp3 for music and audiobooks? Giff for images? I'm a sci-fi writer and want to know what 'old tech' might still be useful in the future. Thanks Mastodon!
       
 (DIR) Post #AMCgwYyLAPXV8kwG5w by tost@mk.toast.cafe
       2022-08-05T02:17:47.214Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @ewankeep@mspsocial.net hi! I'm a fantasy writer but also a tech person (sadly), so you might find my opinion an interesting intersection.File formats have a couple of interesting intersections in what they can require and achieve.The simpler a file format is, the easier it is to (re) implement from scratch (something that may end up being needed in case of a catastrophe), and ensures it being commonplace in some regard (such as by just... being really widespread). This is the case with .txtThese "simple" formats are fairly limited, though. For instance, the audio one like this is the .wav, and the image one is .bmpYou might notice they are huge and have significant limitations.One way to go "beyond" those is by having non-software (or software-optional) approaches to extension - this is why markdown (.md) is so commonplace - it works as a plain .txt but you can also do additional things with it.This includes stuff like spreadsheets - via org mode, for instance, where there's some automatic processing that can take place.Some formats, meanwhile, are defined by the data model, which in turn are influenced by the underlying material conditions. Sqlite works great when B-trees work on your storage medium, and not so much when they don't.These formats aren't quite as "simple" as the "simple" formats, but they are less restricted, more featureful, and maintain a "simplicity" due to their ties to what is underlying them.The thing is, these data model formats really do strongly depend on the "underlying" tech. Oh, your civilization found a way to encode data in crystals in a wide variety of applications? Out go all of your featureful formats!So there is a constant balance to be had between "simple" formats and "optimized" formats - both of which are "forever", but with specific conditions attached (not needing additional functionality and the underlying data model being applicable respectively). It's only the "complex" formats that are unlikely to last - ones that optimize for the specific use-case without being logically tied to the underlying data format (most of the examples you've given).So to me, it would depend on the setting and the growth of the civilization - what kinds of technologies did they discover? This would directly determine what "old tech" they still use, and what would feel alien to them.One example of this already happening is tar - tar archives made sense because of the tape data model (Tape ARchive), but we still use them for historic reasons ... except outside of unix, where zips are far more commonplace (being a simpler archival format, though not by that much).So it's very much something that I would personally reason through for any given civilization, setting, etc.Though I also recognize it'd take quite a lot of technical knowledge to be able to do this ^^;;Good thing I can just write about cursed books of knowledge instaed 😄
       
 (DIR) Post #AMCgwcfLQyimb0592e by ewankeep@mspsocial.net
       2022-08-04T21:12:55Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Great ideas all!  I'm writing a near-future (Climate Apocalypse) scene where a group of techies are trying to get a council of Grandmothers (whose job it is to look to the Seventh Generation - 250 years), to sign off on the neo-tribes building their own wrist-decks with the specs of a Commodore-64, 8-bit type machine. (I've heard of people building 8-bit chips in their DIY garage labs IRL) There is high tech in-world, but not likely to last past another supply chain break, post peak oil.
       
 (DIR) Post #AMFG3S8PUzGV7H0UIy by gamer@bungle.online
       2022-08-06T08:09:25.650Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @ewankeep@mspsocial.net flac would be best for music since it's got the best tagging system + lossless, but i'd bet more on wav + txt for metadata in a future scenario