Basurama. Lector universal de formatos
Obsoletos is a project created and produced by Basurama for the research, conception and diffusion of creative systems for the treatment of technological residues, understanding this to be any obsolete or outmoded electronic device, storage media or hardware.
The format is the form of information. The evolution that has taken us from vinyl records all the way to memory cards is neither coincidental nor well-meaning. Every society codes its creations—regardless of whether they are art, press or leisure—in commonly used existing formats. On the other hand, various industries—mainly content and IT—invest their efforts in renewing these formats at regular intervals, each time promising larger capacities in smaller sizes but at higher prices. While fulfilling these promises, every time new formats are introduced thousands of less popular works are lost if they do not interest somebody enough to convert them to the new format.
The universal format reader is an ideal non-existing device for reading any paper, tape, cassette, card or disk used as a storage medium and then translating its information into a different language. With this enabling approach, Basurama believes that the digital coding of analogical formats is sufficient to overcome the obsolescence of contents.
The conception of a universal format reader is a long-term project for the construction of a device capable of reproducing old formats and digitalising information. Given the enormous amount of existing formats and the limited resources available to Obsoletos, this project is posited as a series of successive workshops and encounters where the number of formats the device is capable of reading is gradually extended, the digitalisation method is improved and the automatic functioning process refined.
Funded by: Plan Avanza del Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio
LABmóvil, the multi-year project funded by the Plan Avanza in the framework of the Strategic Action on Telecommunications and Information Society, within the National Plan for Scientific Research, Development and Technological Innovation 2008-2011, Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade. With this program, LABoral undertakes to contribute and enhance the generation of innovative digital content aimed at promoting the implementation of the Information Society among citizens, and promote the creation of open space for innovation by developing sustainable alternatives aimed at change the current production model through the intensive use of new mobile technologies and networking for the dissemination of knowledge.
