I forgot to schedule this post, but it was great news: a 50+ year old Unix V4 tape that was discovered in November 25 and digitally restored in December 25.
This was a big step forward in restoring the History of Unix.
There was a lot of coverage, but I think this thread was was the coolest part. It starts at [Wayback/Archive] Rob Ricci: “While cleaning a storage room,…” – discuss.systems.
An archive of the tape is now at for instance UNIX V4 tape from University of Utah (raw) : Computer History Museum : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive.
Not just the tape was found back, also the 1974 letter accompanying it: Letter to Martin Newell on UNIX delivery to University of Utah : Ken Thompson : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive.
If you want to play around with it yourself, then try [Wayback/Archive] UNIX v4 (1973) – Vintage Terminals (which I found through the thread I mentioned above).
Two of the many articles that covered the recovery (pun intended):





