I remember years ago hearing about a program called PaperDisk, it did pretty much this same thing, I never used it though, but I found it really interesting, this would have been about 11 or 12 years ago.
Hey man, on my computer, I have over 100GB of data backup and files that are important on my 1TB HDD running Windows 7 Pro. Does PaperBack support file backup if a hard drive has over 100GB of data/backup?
@WinVistaUser2 You're going to need a LOT of paper. In your case, PaperBack is not the best option. (It is best suited to backing up a few very important files.)
Wow, it's 10 years ago! I remember seeing a technology very similar to this called INTACTA.code being shown on BBC's Tomorrows World... This could be what you're thinking of for Faxes! Shame it was never that popular, and Intacta seem to have ceased trading. 10 years later, Paperback might openly available solution!
my new pc doesnt have a floppy drive and i got a printer and scanner (a SCSI scanner that works with windows 95 - xp) it would help me because i download DOS games and programs that i use on my old pc with ms dos 6.22 and windows 95
If you really want or need one, eBay is probably the fastest and simplest. If you don't mind taking some time to look around, they still show up at swap meets, flea markets, junk stores, hamfests, and other similar events.
I've seen them show up on Curbside Discount from time to time. However, all of the ones I've found so far have been the ones that appealed to the home market--mostly Models 25 and 30 with I think one 55SX showing up over the years.
Looks like the scans in the Commodore mags looooooong ago where you scanned the cryptic image and got the ready typed BASIC program from the print magazine, way back when a copy on floppy, typing it from the magazine or downloading by 300 bps modem (if the publisher had a BBS) were the only other forms to get the program. People knock magnetics but I have floppies and tapes made in 1990 that still read like day due to proper airtight storage.
The software itself is pretty fast, and the Xerox Phaser 4400 that shows up in this video is frighteningly quick to get pages out.
I tried this first on a Fujitsu batch feed scanner at work, which was really fast.
I remember those cryptic looking printouts, although the only thing I ever saw firsthand that used them was an old Casio musical keyboard. You could scan the music into it with a light pen kind of thing and then hear a song when done. I also recall a product that faxed data this way.
This is sooooooo cool!!!! I mean come on, you back up lets say a music album, prints it out into a few sheets, and then you can store all your music albums in black file boxes on your shelf! It has "Ubergeek" written all over it and i love it! Deffo trying this out!
That's the time stamp on the file I fed it. I'm not up at that time, so I don't know what to make of it. My computer clocks are (usually!) set to the right time.
I tried to do this with a 180 KB picture, but I can't get it to work. I left the PaperBack options at their defaults, I printed the PaperBack output using an HP DeskJet 3320 inkjet printer at normal quality at 300dpi, and I scanned the output using a Brother MFC-240 all-in-one machine at 1200dpi. The quality map in PaperBack is just solid black with a few red squares here and there. Oh well...
Try a lower DPI with your DeskJet. The author of the program says that many inkjets can't manage clear output much beyond the 200 DPI mark.
Also make sure that you're not exceeding the true optical resolution of your scanner. If your scanner starts interpolating (doubling or otherwise expanding pixels) this will break the barcodes.
OK, thanks! I thought the higher the DPI the better!
Well, 1200 DPI is an option in the scanner's configuration program, but the next resolution below that is 600 DPI. It looks like quite a jump, so you may be right. I'll try 600 DPI on the scanner next time. I think a 90 MB 1990 X something pixel scan is a bit big to be appropriate, anyway.
If using less paper is what you want, the higher DPI will be better. I haven't explored the "why" but (IIRC) a 600 DPI printout recommends a 900 DPI scan. On the surface, I'd think there should be a 1:1 relationship.
Nearly all scanners can interpolate to get a higher resolution. It even works fine for a lot of things, but this application must not have any change in the pixels it put down and later sees.
You can also add more error correction to your paper backups in the options.
Wow! That is cool! I wonder why the developer would call his wonderful creation a joke?
Yep, even in this era, sometimes the old fashioned techniques are the best. I'm not saying that this idea is completely the best way to go, but it is certainly interesting and may actually prove reliable if someone were to do a long-term test with it.
Have you tried printing something with PaperBack, crumpling up the page(s) a little bit, then straightning it out and seeing how well it reproduces?
Keep in mind that paper can last for very long periods of time IF STORED PROPERLY, surpassing other storage media. That's why we could still make copies of the 1776 Declaration of Independence to this day and still read everything.
I see this working really, really well for small files, especially those grouped into a single larger container file.
I have yet to "stress test" PaperBack, but I will do so at some point. I also intend to set a few backups aside in a file cabinet and come back to them after a few years. (If they last 5 years, they're doing better than any SDLT320 tape I've seen so far.)
Interesting program but it seems to be a "a lot to do over nothing". I backup once a week with Norton Ghost to spare drives running in the same box. So once a week keeps things fresh and available.
I never liked Norton Ghost after working for a school district that insisted upon using it. At the time (2001) it just didn't work at all. Some of it was their insistence on cheap bottom of the barrel network cards that wouldn't handle multicasting Ghost sessions.
But those few machines that did pull through often had interesting problems that weren't present when a manual install was done. So that's what I got to do when Ghosting failed. (Hardware was all the same.)
...although I'd readily admit newer versions are better.
I've been using Windows' built in backup for my PCs, Carbon Copy Cloner for my Macs. Both work well, and go to USB or Firewire disks, some of which get kept offsite. Other backups are made to two USB disks attached to a Linksys NSLU2 device.
The Model M is still made! A company called Unicomp makes them - they do feel a bit 'cheap' compared to real 90s M keyboards but they are buckling spring. Plus, they have customer support you can understand.
I love the old M keyboards ... got 2 real ones and 1 unicomp and always looking to buy more
I have about a dozen like new M's - when I gave away 2 or 3 hundred PS/2's to a school I made them get their own KBs, I kept the M's. Sold 50 or so back in the early part of this decade and decided the last dozen were sticking with me.
Yep, the IBM Model M is truly the leader among keyboards! Luckily, a company called Unicomp bought the rights to the keyboard and produces them to this very day under the name "Customizer".
I'd like to get a USB version of the Customizer 'board for my Mac. I never really liked any of the Apple keyboards, although I didn't realize just how much I didn't like them until I found a USB to PS/2 converter and hooked an "M" up to a Mac.
How so? I know the older Apple Keyboards and the Apple Pro keyboard are okay to type on, but the new aluminum keyboards just doesn't look comfortable to type with. I haven't tried them, though.
The aluminum keyboard types just about the same way a Macbook does. I'm not crazy about it, but it's usable.
I work for a company that uses the Macintosh just about exclusively, and I've noticed that the some of the Apple keyboards don't live terribly long in a business environment. Plastic ones last about five years. A few aluminum ones have only managed a few months before getting "stuck key disease" or going totally bonkers.
@Armaangandevia1 Please don't do that. Take this as a polite suggestion not to "yell" with your keyboard or bicker on my channel/videos. I would appreciate it if you would at least avoid doing the latter. Thank you. :-)
That is a very interesting way of backing up files. I am a very in-organized person, (such as losing papers), so I don't thinks this would be for me, but it is a great idea for people that don't really have much to back up.
Is this how computers looked and people backed their up stuff way, way, way back in 2009? Wow... Times have changed...
biopower4t 3 months ago
@biopower4t Yeah, we have it good now. The world is even in color these days!
uxwbill 3 months ago
Comment removed
biopower4t 3 months ago
lol i worked for me!!
war4life3000 3 months ago
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nitin98d 9 months ago
@Xtrasmall1510 It's more a question of "how much paper do you have". This works best for smaller files.
uxwbill 9 months ago
I remember years ago hearing about a program called PaperDisk, it did pretty much this same thing, I never used it though, but I found it really interesting, this would have been about 11 or 12 years ago.
Lachlant1984 11 months ago
Windows 3.2? :)
AlexxSR 1 year ago
@AlexxSR Windows 3.2 was a Chinese language only release.
uxwbill 1 year ago
@uxwbill 3.11 My bad!
AlexxSR 1 year ago
@uxwbill 3.11 my bad
AlexxSR 1 year ago
Hey man, on my computer, I have over 100GB of data backup and files that are important on my 1TB HDD running Windows 7 Pro. Does PaperBack support file backup if a hard drive has over 100GB of data/backup?
WinVistaUser2 1 year ago
@WinVistaUser2 You're going to need a LOT of paper. In your case, PaperBack is not the best option. (It is best suited to backing up a few very important files.)
uxwbill 1 year ago
Wow, it's 10 years ago! I remember seeing a technology very similar to this called INTACTA.code being shown on BBC's Tomorrows World... This could be what you're thinking of for Faxes! Shame it was never that popular, and Intacta seem to have ceased trading. 10 years later, Paperback might openly available solution!
ianhawdon 1 year ago
OMG that is so useful!!
my new pc doesnt have a floppy drive and i got a printer and scanner (a SCSI scanner that works with windows 95 - xp) it would help me because i download DOS games and programs that i use on my old pc with ms dos 6.22 and windows 95
ashthepokemonmaster 1 year ago
That is a cool idea but sadly a waste of ink and paper.
Juggla17 1 year ago
This is pretty neat! Will have to play with it.
As for keyboards, I don't mind the aluminum Apple one (typing this on it) but the best KB to me will always be the IBM model M.
compactc9 2 years ago
That's very interesting.(-:\>
B.Champagne
~CHEERS~
Buchoass 2 years ago
Wer hat heutzutage noch soooo alte Hardware ???
jaddiH 2 years ago
wow that's cool :-)
ThisIs2009 2 years ago
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ImaChiNes01 2 years ago
Hmm, i'd have to use this for only the most important files, as i'm capable of burning through entire things of 8.5x11 pretty fast.
poopskinTheLiar 2 years ago
I just Paperbak'd my P70's Refdisk...well, the Refdisk download from your site, anyway...
poopskinTheLiar 2 years ago
Definitely a unique nifty idea, which I never knew even existed. Thanks for bringing it to our attention Uxwbill.
Ajaces 2 years ago 5
tell me, what would be the easy way to obtain a ps/2?
popmomcorn 2 years ago
If you really want or need one, eBay is probably the fastest and simplest. If you don't mind taking some time to look around, they still show up at swap meets, flea markets, junk stores, hamfests, and other similar events.
I've seen them show up on Curbside Discount from time to time. However, all of the ones I've found so far have been the ones that appealed to the home market--mostly Models 25 and 30 with I think one 55SX showing up over the years.
uxwbill 2 years ago
One drawback to paper - same as one drawback to magnetics - basement floods. You are all too familiar with that.
rhblakeman 2 years ago
Looks like the scans in the Commodore mags looooooong ago where you scanned the cryptic image and got the ready typed BASIC program from the print magazine, way back when a copy on floppy, typing it from the magazine or downloading by 300 bps modem (if the publisher had a BBS) were the only other forms to get the program. People knock magnetics but I have floppies and tapes made in 1990 that still read like day due to proper airtight storage.
Pretty cool find but it looks time consuming
rhblakeman 2 years ago
The software itself is pretty fast, and the Xerox Phaser 4400 that shows up in this video is frighteningly quick to get pages out.
I tried this first on a Fujitsu batch feed scanner at work, which was really fast.
I remember those cryptic looking printouts, although the only thing I ever saw firsthand that used them was an old Casio musical keyboard. You could scan the music into it with a light pen kind of thing and then hear a song when done. I also recall a product that faxed data this way.
uxwbill 2 years ago
This is sooooooo cool!!!! I mean come on, you back up lets say a music album, prints it out into a few sheets, and then you can store all your music albums in black file boxes on your shelf! It has "Ubergeek" written all over it and i love it! Deffo trying this out!
burkezillar 2 years ago
cool little program
RocketFast321 2 years ago
5:55 AM?? :-|
McVaio 2 years ago
That's the time stamp on the file I fed it. I'm not up at that time, so I don't know what to make of it. My computer clocks are (usually!) set to the right time.
uxwbill 2 years ago
soo cool!
wassahilden 2 years ago
I tried to do this with a 180 KB picture, but I can't get it to work. I left the PaperBack options at their defaults, I printed the PaperBack output using an HP DeskJet 3320 inkjet printer at normal quality at 300dpi, and I scanned the output using a Brother MFC-240 all-in-one machine at 1200dpi. The quality map in PaperBack is just solid black with a few red squares here and there. Oh well...
themaritimeman 2 years ago
Try a lower DPI with your DeskJet. The author of the program says that many inkjets can't manage clear output much beyond the 200 DPI mark.
Also make sure that you're not exceeding the true optical resolution of your scanner. If your scanner starts interpolating (doubling or otherwise expanding pixels) this will break the barcodes.
uxwbill 2 years ago
OK, thanks! I thought the higher the DPI the better!
Well, 1200 DPI is an option in the scanner's configuration program, but the next resolution below that is 600 DPI. It looks like quite a jump, so you may be right. I'll try 600 DPI on the scanner next time. I think a 90 MB 1990 X something pixel scan is a bit big to be appropriate, anyway.
themaritimeman 2 years ago
If using less paper is what you want, the higher DPI will be better. I haven't explored the "why" but (IIRC) a 600 DPI printout recommends a 900 DPI scan. On the surface, I'd think there should be a 1:1 relationship.
Nearly all scanners can interpolate to get a higher resolution. It even works fine for a lot of things, but this application must not have any change in the pixels it put down and later sees.
You can also add more error correction to your paper backups in the options.
uxwbill 2 years ago
ehhh Interesting? Very. Useful? Not so much.
I noticed you did take the Partnership. Congrats, Bill!
makaveli087 2 years ago
THAT IS AMAZING
Consider this youtube video Favorited and twittered out to my twitter, facebook, etc.
CWM480 2 years ago
Wow! That is cool! I wonder why the developer would call his wonderful creation a joke?
Yep, even in this era, sometimes the old fashioned techniques are the best. I'm not saying that this idea is completely the best way to go, but it is certainly interesting and may actually prove reliable if someone were to do a long-term test with it.
Have you tried printing something with PaperBack, crumpling up the page(s) a little bit, then straightning it out and seeing how well it reproduces?
themaritimeman 2 years ago
Keep in mind that paper can last for very long periods of time IF STORED PROPERLY, surpassing other storage media. That's why we could still make copies of the 1776 Declaration of Independence to this day and still read everything.
purpleravenstar 2 years ago
Yep, you're exactly right!
themaritimeman 2 years ago
I see this working really, really well for small files, especially those grouped into a single larger container file.
I have yet to "stress test" PaperBack, but I will do so at some point. I also intend to set a few backups aside in a file cabinet and come back to them after a few years. (If they last 5 years, they're doing better than any SDLT320 tape I've seen so far.)
uxwbill 2 years ago
nice concept man nice wherry nice! :D
37474748 2 years ago
Interesting program but it seems to be a "a lot to do over nothing". I backup once a week with Norton Ghost to spare drives running in the same box. So once a week keeps things fresh and available.
BonhommeRichard91 2 years ago
I never liked Norton Ghost after working for a school district that insisted upon using it. At the time (2001) it just didn't work at all. Some of it was their insistence on cheap bottom of the barrel network cards that wouldn't handle multicasting Ghost sessions.
But those few machines that did pull through often had interesting problems that weren't present when a manual install was done. So that's what I got to do when Ghosting failed. (Hardware was all the same.)
Once bitten, twice shy.
uxwbill 2 years ago
...although I'd readily admit newer versions are better.
I've been using Windows' built in backup for my PCs, Carbon Copy Cloner for my Macs. Both work well, and go to USB or Firewire disks, some of which get kept offsite. Other backups are made to two USB disks attached to a Linksys NSLU2 device.
uxwbill 2 years ago
Interesting backup method .
Also, is that an IBM Model M keyboard there? I have a couple, and they are great!
amfan12 2 years ago
It's a genuine Model M. As they say "type hard or go home"!
The only keyboard I know of that comes close are the ones HP sold that were made by Key Tronic. Those were very good as well.
uxwbill 2 years ago
The Model M is still made! A company called Unicomp makes them - they do feel a bit 'cheap' compared to real 90s M keyboards but they are buckling spring. Plus, they have customer support you can understand.
I love the old M keyboards ... got 2 real ones and 1 unicomp and always looking to buy more
Righty736 2 years ago
Yes! I know of Unicomp and would like to get a few of their 'boards at some point for comparison's sake.
I have a few unusual M variants, such as the small one without the numeric keypad and two with built in trackballs.
uxwbill 2 years ago
I have about a dozen like new M's - when I gave away 2 or 3 hundred PS/2's to a school I made them get their own KBs, I kept the M's. Sold 50 or so back in the early part of this decade and decided the last dozen were sticking with me.
rhblakeman 2 years ago
Yep, the IBM Model M is truly the leader among keyboards! Luckily, a company called Unicomp bought the rights to the keyboard and produces them to this very day under the name "Customizer".
themaritimeman 2 years ago
I'd like to get a USB version of the Customizer 'board for my Mac. I never really liked any of the Apple keyboards, although I didn't realize just how much I didn't like them until I found a USB to PS/2 converter and hooked an "M" up to a Mac.
The difference was astounding.
uxwbill 2 years ago
Yeah, the Apple keyboards look nice (especially the crystal-like Apple Pro keyboard, IMO), but they're not much to type on.
themaritimeman 2 years ago
I beg to differ
Jimbobmcsquarepants 2 years ago
How so? I know the older Apple Keyboards and the Apple Pro keyboard are okay to type on, but the new aluminum keyboards just doesn't look comfortable to type with. I haven't tried them, though.
themaritimeman 2 years ago
The aluminum keyboard types just about the same way a Macbook does. I'm not crazy about it, but it's usable.
I work for a company that uses the Macintosh just about exclusively, and I've noticed that the some of the Apple keyboards don't live terribly long in a business environment. Plastic ones last about five years. A few aluminum ones have only managed a few months before getting "stuck key disease" or going totally bonkers.
uxwbill 2 years ago
@themaritimeman THE ALU KEYBOARDS ARE AWSOME IM USING ONE RIGHT NOW AND LOVE USB PORTS ON THE SIDE
Armaangandevia1 1 year ago
@Armaangandevia1 Well, you've just demonstrated one flaw of them - the shift key sticks.
themaritimeman 1 year ago
@themaritimeman no you noob i did to make it like i was yelling
Armaangandevia1 1 year ago
@Armaangandevia1 Okey dokey then.
themaritimeman 1 year ago
@themaritimeman you retard hhhhhh it does not stick im using the caps lock for the yelling affect
Armaangandevia1 1 year ago
@Armaangandevia1 Please don't do that. Take this as a polite suggestion not to "yell" with your keyboard or bicker on my channel/videos. I would appreciate it if you would at least avoid doing the latter. Thank you. :-)
uxwbill 1 year ago
@Armaangandevia1 I know. That was a joke.
themaritimeman 1 year ago
That is a very interesting way of backing up files. I am a very in-organized person, (such as losing papers), so I don't thinks this would be for me, but it is a great idea for people that don't really have much to back up.
1990Olds98 2 years ago