HOWTO Study Computing Technically?
Thu, Jan 25
This is the companion lecture to the previous one on how to study computing anthropologically. In this session, we'll develop a technical approach to study computing, drawing on several different fields of computer science. The practice of the archaeology of hacking is challenging, in that we need a synthesis of technical and non-technical methodologies. We have three learning goals for today. By the end of our lecture class, you will:
- Understand that the Internet is not a museum or library, and that most data stored there is ephemeral.
- Witness some of the current efforts to preserve the history of hacking through digital techniques for historical preservation.
- Gain some familiarity with computational tools used for historical preservation.
The digital artifact for today is storage media.
The slides for today's lecture are available here.
Read This:
There is tremendous interest in the field of digital forensics right now. We can borrow a number of methods and procedures from digital forensics to study the history of computing from a technical perspective. However, since we're primarily interested in digital artifacts that are very old (relatively speaking), we need to turn to some of the earliest forensics literature. Fortunately for us, the University of Glasgow published this handy guide for historical preservation in the 1990s that made use of then-new forensics techniques: Digital Archaeology: Rescuing Neglected and Damaged Data Resources. Today's reading is Chapter 1 of this document.
Do This:
Technical Homework 00
See the instructions posted on the assignment's page.
This technical homework is due on 1/30 at 5pm.