Post AYqCPf0DiMIvmsvqM4 by aristofontes@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by aristofontes@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #AYjpb2Lz4FqQMOgwPQ by hannah@posts.rat.pictures
2023-08-14T22:49:50Z
1 likes, 7 repeats
It’s cool that you can just pick up and read a book from 100 years ago with no special tools or procedures or conversion software
(DIR) Post #AYl45fzmXgpHeSt4bo by chris@s.the-brannons.com
2023-08-15T14:29:51.431372Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@hannah @lanodan Well, you probablycan't if you're blind. The oldest braille book I've seen was a copy ofthe Gospel of Matthew from the early 1930s. It wasn't in good shapecirca 1990 when I found it. Braille on thermoform has even less of alifespan.OTOH I can download a book from Project Gutenberg produced 40 years agoand read it with `less`.
(DIR) Post #AYl4As8moXM6ldZoLg by lanodan@queer.hacktivis.me
2023-08-15T14:51:39.289410Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@chris @hannah And I guess audio books aren't much better in terms of age?
(DIR) Post #AYlW9jFZBIdvcWzVcu by chris@s.the-brannons.com
2023-08-15T20:04:51.820201Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@lanodan @hannah Wouldn't be surprisedif there are some fairly old phonograph records with audio books on them.Or magnetic wire spools. Open tape reels. Etc.But probably no or few full-length books from before the 1930s or so.I stumbled on some ancient 78-RPM records as a kid in the 1980s. These werethick and heavy. Like, the size of a standard 33 and 1/3 RPM record,but the thickness and weight of a glass dinner plate. One was from 1901,and it had a few minutes of comedy recorded on it.Assuming the media are properly preserved, you still need the technologyto play them.In the late 20th century, audiobooks for the blind were typically madein special formats. In the US: 4-track cassette at 15/16 inches persecond (half of standard speed), phonograph records at 8 RPM. The 4-trackmeant separate recording on each of the two stereo tracks of a side of a tape.One track would be recorded forward and the other reversed. With a computer,a standard tape deck, and the sox utility, anyone can decode these things.After the rise of Audible, all bets are off. Unless someone pirates anaudiobook and strips the DRM, no way will anyone be able to decode thoseat some unspecified point in the future. One good reason to pirate all thethings. DRM is an attack against culture akin to book burning.
(DIR) Post #AYnRIBNsLv6jjr0dMW by bonifartius@qoto.org
2023-08-16T18:20:52Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@hannah inb4 fraktur :P
(DIR) Post #AYqCPf0DiMIvmsvqM4 by aristofontes@mastodon.social
2023-08-14T23:54:44Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@hannah I have one printed in 1502 that doesn't even require a login and password!
(DIR) Post #AYqCPfoYhCZQJ0U2oi by hannah@posts.rat.pictures
2023-08-15T00:01:18Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aristofontes that’s super cool, what is it?
(DIR) Post #AYqCPgPmSoLQARtlpo by aristofontes@mastodon.social
2023-08-15T00:48:02Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@hannah It's a Latin edition of Lucan published by Aldus Manutius. One of the first pocket-sized books.
(DIR) Post #AYqCPh85o3n2Nsd9u4 by hannah@posts.rat.pictures
2023-08-15T00:59:59Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@aristofontes what a treasure
(DIR) Post #AYqCPhw4oDlwsu14oS by publius@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-08-18T02:18:12Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@hannah @aristofontes I've handled Aldine editions at the Harry Ransom Center, including one so old that the Greek typeface hadn't been cut yet, and the Greek characters are written in by hand in blanks left in the Latin printing, but I think the oldest books I actually own are late 19th century.There's a huge collection of Aldine editions coming up for sale soon, though, so they may become more accessible in the market.
(DIR) Post #AYqCXNWKb20dstdElk by bugsong@kolektiva.social
2023-08-14T22:59:08Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@hannah if it’s from really long ago you do start to need a conversion process but it’s much more forgiving than old data
(DIR) Post #AYqCXORPApfAjuKojI by shadyspotlight@mindly.social
2023-08-15T00:52:50Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@bugsong @hannah I found The Invisible Man hard to read, which tells you just how quickly phrases change. (On the contrary, I Am Legend was a breeze despite it being written around the same time.)
(DIR) Post #AYqCXPEgDd4vCjOAXA by cainmark@mstdn.social
2023-08-15T01:28:41Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
They are approximately 50 years apart.Phrases used to take 10 to 20 years to change.Now it's 6 months to a year. "It's totally rad to not be hep to jive gabbing if'n that's negative to y'alls lookout. "
(DIR) Post #AYqCXQ1FJ3vVdM6xEW by shadyspotlight@mindly.social
2023-08-16T02:45:23Z
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@cainmark also, you're right, the copy of IM I have was printed more recently. I mistook that date as the copyright. That explains so much, and I'm glad I brought it up so it could be clarified.
(DIR) Post #AYqCXQkGbfwHszAuPI by publius@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-08-18T02:19:25Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@shadyspotlight @cainmark Oh, I thought perhaps you meant the Ralph Ellison book, rather than the HG Wells.
(DIR) Post #AZ8zqPiN3UV8n6FSgS by Natanox@chaos.social
2023-08-15T23:09:26Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@bugsong @hannah Yeah, but it's more like reading Pascal code when you're only used to C++. You can still read it, it just takes a little time to adapt.
(DIR) Post #AZ8zqQMmdEpMoR9jfs by bugsong@kolektiva.social
2023-08-16T00:59:19Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Natanox @hannah this one might take me a minute
(DIR) Post #AZ8zqQyMNWswgyjkFE by tomjennings@tldr.nettime.org
2023-08-27T03:56:54Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@bugsongThere's a bug in line 23.@Natanox @hannah