(2004-07-14) Bricklin Software Long Now

Dan Bricklin on "Software that lasts 200 years (the Long Now)". Some interesting bits, and a good argument for Open Formats vs Dead Media, at least via data export (actually, export is not sufficient unless the standard procedure for "archiving" old records uses that export, rather than the native/binary format). I'm not quite clear on how this need differs from private-business software. And he seems to focus on the pure-custom vs packaged-software extremes (Custom Software vs Shrink Wrap), ignoring how much SmallCo activity there is in customized proprietary libraries (e.g. Accounting System-s), etc.

Aug20 Update: interesting thought about his statement that government systems (EGov) can't be dependent on unpaid labor (Open Source). Hmm, if you think about small towns joining a CoOperative to host a WebApp hosting environment and project management, it's possible that volunteer labor could accomplish something. True, garbage collection apps are kinda boring, but think of local community colleges (College Education) doing ApprenticeShip programs... (now we just have to get everyone to agree on a Python-based framework...)