Hacking Telidon in the 21st Century
Join us for a chance to learn about the restoration of Telidon, the technology behind InterAccess's founding and the 40th anniversary exhibition, Remember Tomorrow: A Telidon Story.
Telidon art was long thought to be "dead as a doornail" due to the extreme obscurity and obsolescence of the specialized computing devices required to view it. Known as "Telidon decoders," only a few thousand of these devices were manufactured in the 1980s, and very few have survived in a functional state. This talk will briefly cover the significance of Telidon art in the context of 1980s computing technology, and describe the challenges involved in building a Telidon decoder in the present day. Specific attention will be given to data recovery from old media, custom software development, the strengths and weaknesses of emulation, how to draw Telidon graphics, and why a hair iron was a key project requirement.
Friday, September 8, 2023
6 – 7:30PM EST
In-person at InterAccess, 950 Dupont St or Online with Zoom (link sent upon registration)
FREE (Register here)
ABOUT THE ARTIST
John Durno is a Librarian at the University of Victoria, where as Head of Library Systems he leads the team responsible for digital asset management, digital preservation systems, web development, server administration, and specialized desktop deployments. His research interests include the recovery and restoration of Telidon graphics and supporting technologies, and curating a collection of historic computers, software, and documentation.
ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION
We regret that at this time InterAccess does not have barrier-free access; we are currently working to improve the accessibility of all facilities. There are five steps up to our main entrance, with automatic doors. Once inside all facilities are on the same level, and there is an accessible single-user washroom inside the unit.
Feel free to reach out to art@interaccess.org with any questions or requests for this event.
Image courtesy of John Durno.