Vintage Computing Files Archive

It is my belief that archives like this one should be provided without any limitation to the end users ability to utilize the archive. These archives are getting harder and harder to find and because of that we all should do what we can to let those who want to mirror our archives do so. As such I am now bringing this archive to the vintage computing community. I have not and will not put any limitations on how users can utilize the archive provided here. Users can freely download as much or as little of the archive as they want. Users can also freely contribute as much or as little to the archive as they want. This way people will be able to mirror the archive easily which will help ensure the files contained in this archive have a nice long life span. This will also allow this archive to grow freely and become an ever increasingly useful resource to fellow vintage computing hobbyists. It is my hope that people will take advantage of the great disk space and bandwidth provided here and both contribute to and download from this archive. This will allow users to have a good solid place to go whenever they are in need of a file for their vintage computing hobby. With the resources provided here it is my hope that with others contributions and utilization of this archive that this will become a great resource for all vintage computer hobbyists. That's right, there is no certain vintage computing era this archive is limited to (except the 2000+ computers and their related files), as it is my hope that this becomes a great central archive of everything vintage computing. A resource that makes the vintage computing hobby easier and less intimidating by not requiring hobbyists to go all over the internet for the files they need. Hopefully someday this goal will be met for the benefit of everyone who enjoys vintage computing as a hobby. Enjoy! :-)

You can get to my archive via the following url: http://vintage.tsfsc.com/

FAQ

How can I contribute to the archive?

To contribute to the archive use your favorite ftp client with the following connection information:

FTP Server: pepsi.dreamhost.com
Username: hexpubup
Password: hexupload

To expedite the sorting of uploads please do the following when uploading files to the archive:

* Look for a folder corresponding to the type of computer your files are related to (Apple, DEC, Commodore, etc)

* If one exists go in it and place it in the correct category sub folder (e.g. Utilities, Multimedia, Office, etc)

* If the folder corresponding to the type of computer your files are related to doesn't exist or the correct category subfolder doesn't exist create it and place your files inside of the folder (if you create a category subfolder for a category that doesn't exist publicly and your files are determined to be able to be legally hostable, the new category will be created publicly with your files inside of the new category)

This will help speed up the sorting of the uploads by avoiding mess and clutter as much as possible. Thanks! :-)

Uploaded files are not instantly made publicly available as it is necessary to review the files for possible legal issues which could prevent them from being able to be shared publicly on the server, the upload folder is checked daily and any newly uploaded content that is deemed legally sharable ( e.g. abandonware and/or software which was made by a company that no longer exists or still exists but has long since abandoned the software and does not care if the software is shared) will be sorted in the appropriate publicly accessible folders.

What era or type of vintage computer related files are allowed in this archive?

There is no specific era or vintage computer that this archive is restricted to as long as the file(s) don't relate to any computer made in 2000+. It is my hope that this becomes a great central archive of everything vintage computing. A resource that makes the vintage computing hobby easier and less intimidating by not requiring hobbyists to go all over the internet for the files they need. Hopefully someday this goal will be met for the benefit of everyone who enjoys vintage computing as a hobby.

Why should I contribute to/download from this archive?

This archive is unique in that it is maintained with the belief that there should be no limitations in place for how one can utilize this archive. This archive is hosted on a server with 200GB of disk space and 2.8TB of monthly bandwidth, this ensures that everyone can enjoy the archive equally. In addition this archive is hosted in a state of the art data center in the USA, this means that the server has high upload and download speeds, something not every vintage computing archive has unfortunately. The high bandwidth and disk space available for everyone's use ensures that everyone can equally enjoy this archive with nice fast speeds both up and down. This in turn makes it easy for people to download the files they need and for people to contribute to this archive without spending a lot of time doing either. In addition every file uploaded is backed up locally so that if the hard drive in the server goes bad the files will not be gone and can easily be reuploaded (and they would be as soon as the hard drive got replaced). Not only that but because I encourage people to mirror this archive you can rest assured that I will not be the only person with a backup of this archive so that these files will have a good, long life span.

Do you backup the archive?

Yes I sure do. Every time I check for new uploads I backup the uploaded content locally onto two hard drives.

Can I download the entire archive?

Yes! You certainly can using something like wget. I do not believe in limiting the potential of these types of archives as explained above and as such there is nothing stopping you from downloading the entire archive. In fact I encourage people to mirror this archive as it'll help ensure that the files stay around longer. Also note that while we won't stop people from downloading the whole archive for their own personal use ( i.e. they have no intention of later sharing the archive with others) it is preferred instead that in this case files are downloaded individually as needed.

What can I do if I find one or more files that are wrongly categorized?

Please email me at hexstar@gmail.com with the location of the file(s) in question and the location where you believe they should be moved to.

How can I contact you?

You can contact me at hexstar@gmail.com

When I hear of a new http archive starting up, i tend to
take it with a rather large lump of salt..having been
disappointed in the reality of the situation..
But having browsed this one, I'd have to say it has the
potential to rival, and easily , overcome, Info-mac , Umich,
or Ausmac..i found incredibly obsure stuff i'd been
serching for a very long time, and a very sizeable
catalog.....
This one' s the real deal folks...
Next time I clean out one of my old drives I'll donate some
fair amount rather than let it get lost forever..
Recommended!...

Thank you, I'm glad that you enjoy my archive :-). Due to the vast amount of vintage software that exists the archive is constantly being updated and is always a work in progress. As such it makes me very happy when I see that people are benefiting from my work as it makes it all worthwhile :-). Of course, uploaded contributions by using the public ftp account are always welcome and are a great way to give back if you enjoy this archive.

Very good but is not Microsoft Software copyrighted ???

All software is being hosted with the belief that they fall under the category of abandonware, and since archive.org received the following legal judgment: http://www.archive.org/iathreads/po... I feel that as a result all files being hosted are being done without any legal problems. Nonetheless I am fully willing to comply with any cease and desist orders should I receive any and in addition should any of you see any files you feel should really not be hosted then feel free to contact me with the urls of the files in question and I'll re-evaluate them and most likely remove them from the archive. Thanks for your interest in my archive, it makes all the work I'm putting into it worthwhile! :-)

Actually, *ALL* sodtware that's ever been written is
'copyrighted'..since the very act of writing it confers
copyright..
It's only what the owners allow or don't allow, given the
prevailing conditions and/or obsolescence of said
software that is subject to change.
Given a literal interpratation of the law as I understand it,
even all the donation thrift-stores, and all the used
software sellers, and anyone else with even 20 year old
software, are technically breaking the law, as strictly
speaking, it's not even legal to *Resell* software cd's and/
or disk packages! Unless it's explicitly allowed in the
EULA...
Somebody was asleep at the switch when that was
drafted...

That is true, but with the judgment archive.org got on legalizing abandonware: http://www.archive.org/iathreads/po... and with the fact that websites like the-underdogs.info also offer abandonware and have not encountered any legal troubles I feel that the hosting of software categorized as abandonware is a safe thing to do. Nonetheless I am fully willing to comply with any cease and desist orders should I receive any and in addition should any of you see any files you feel should really not be hosted then feel free to contact me with the urls of the files in question and I'll re-evaluate them and most likely remove them from the archive. Thanks for your interest in my archive, it makes all the work I'm putting into it worthwhile! :-)