The Computer Museum of America reclamation project

(computer-museum.org)

2 points | by rbanffy 5 hours ago ago

2 comments

  • k310 3 hours ago ago

    Sigh, I offered cool IMSAI gear with loads of cards to a computer museum, and they preferred "autographed" stuff, "prestige" items, negating the pioneer spirit of those of us who soldered countless thousands of parts, sockets and interconnects.

    Dsigned by Ty Warner, of course) the experience will live with me as long as I live and can instill in younger people that pioneer spirit (perhaps with SBC's and real-world interfaces) and fun times growing up with these gizmos.

    I don't see them as museum pieces to be hung on a wall, and guarded. What good does that do in the tech world as opposed to the art world? I recall hearing about the greatest art theft of all time, IIRC, the one at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. [0]

    I previously visited that museum, at a time when passive photography was considered harmful (probably a holdover from the Salem Witchcraft Trials, and thoroughly debunked) and got a raft of shit from a curator about having evil photographic gear in my possession.

    Since I never knew his name I never thought to look up whether he was one of the guards bound and gagged in the robbery.

    More to the point, "treasures" ( and these are treasures) are for fools to hoard, and you can learn from mere observation, whereas the old gizmos are still "playable"

    In fact, a few frayed ribbon cables still need replacement.

    UNLESS WE HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW TO DO SO.

    Claude refused to.

    [0] https://www.fbi.gov/history/cases-and-criminals/isabella-ste...

  • PaulHoule 4 hours ago ago

    It amazes me how difficult it is to keep computer museums alive.

    Like Boston used to have a great computer museum in the 1980s back when Boston had a computer industry. I guess though it is hard to keep a PDP-10 alive today and it's not impressive to kids today to play LUNAR LANDER on a VT-102.