A last look at the Living Computers museum before collection heads to auction
(2024/08/27)
- Reference: 1724786115
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/08/27/living_computers/
- Source link:
The Living Computers museum's tech collection is set for auction. Retired Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer took a last look and mused on the theme of donor's remorse.
Plummer, who recently [1]built himself a PDP-11 out of spare parts , noted that, despite the "abundance" of billionaires in the Seattle area who owe a substantial chunk of their fortunes to machines like the ones in the museum, "none of them were sufficiently compelled to become the patron."
Then again, as Plummer observed, it's up to individuals how they spend their money.
[2]
[3]Youtube Video
[4]
[5]
Despite this, the engineer said: "It's still a bad situation that all this hardware collected and working in one place and with a team to support it will be scattered to the winds of individual collectors, not unlike myself."
Plummer has quite the collection of vintage gear, although he's still looking for that perfect PDP-11/70 in the delightful burgundy color scheme.
[6]
The closure of the museum and the subsequent auction of its artifacts have proven controversial. The late Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, started the facility almost two decades ago, and the doors were flung open to the public in 2012.
[7]80 years ago, IBM gave Harvard University one of the world's earliest computers
[8]50 years ago, CP/M started the microcomputer revolution
[9]Microsoft founder Paul Allen's tech museum closes, sells off collection
[10]Remember when enterprise administration was more than just a browser dashboard?
The goal was to allow visitors to get their hands on vintage technology that might otherwise be imprisoned behind glass and never used again. Allen [11]died in 2018 and the museum was shuttered at the beginning of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. It never opened its doors again. Earlier this year, Allen's estate [12]opted to sell off the collection.
Plummer's farewell tour of the collection is a bittersweet moment for tech enthusiasts. It's a last hurrah for the hardware – replete with auction estimates – but also a reminder that such a collection is unlikely to be as accessible and complete in the near future.
The situation also serves to highlight the importance of such institutions. UK museums such as [13]Cambridge's Centre for Computing History and [14]Bletchley Park's National Museum of Computing have areas where visitors can get their hands on vintage hardware, and IT professionals of a certain age can wax lyrical about the good old days.
The engineer observed: "I wish it could have worked out differently. The other folks I feel sorry for are the people that donated computers or artifacts to the museum or sold them cheaply on the presumption that now they would have a permanent home.
[15]
"I don't know if there's such a thing as donator's remorse, but if there is, I suspect a few people are experiencing its sting about now." ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/23/build_your_own_pdp11/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zs5Mh@w@hKS-jz6zf6uP4QAAAA4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://youtu.be/OohnXELGQ74?si=9vyFoaz_pYuu2KMx
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zs5Mh@w@hKS-jz6zf6uP4QAAAA4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zs5Mh@w@hKS-jz6zf6uP4QAAAA4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zs5Mh@w@hKS-jz6zf6uP4QAAAA4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/08/harvard_mark_1/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/02/cpm_50th_anniversary/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/26/paul_allen_museum_closes/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/16/retro_enterprise_administration/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2018/10/16/microsoft_cofounder_paul_allen_dead/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/26/paul_allen_museum_closes/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/15/retro_computing/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2020/10/14/facebook_bletchley_park/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zs5Mh@w@hKS-jz6zf6uP4QAAAA4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Plummer, who recently [1]built himself a PDP-11 out of spare parts , noted that, despite the "abundance" of billionaires in the Seattle area who owe a substantial chunk of their fortunes to machines like the ones in the museum, "none of them were sufficiently compelled to become the patron."
Then again, as Plummer observed, it's up to individuals how they spend their money.
[2]
[3]Youtube Video
[4]
[5]
Despite this, the engineer said: "It's still a bad situation that all this hardware collected and working in one place and with a team to support it will be scattered to the winds of individual collectors, not unlike myself."
Plummer has quite the collection of vintage gear, although he's still looking for that perfect PDP-11/70 in the delightful burgundy color scheme.
[6]
The closure of the museum and the subsequent auction of its artifacts have proven controversial. The late Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, started the facility almost two decades ago, and the doors were flung open to the public in 2012.
[7]80 years ago, IBM gave Harvard University one of the world's earliest computers
[8]50 years ago, CP/M started the microcomputer revolution
[9]Microsoft founder Paul Allen's tech museum closes, sells off collection
[10]Remember when enterprise administration was more than just a browser dashboard?
The goal was to allow visitors to get their hands on vintage technology that might otherwise be imprisoned behind glass and never used again. Allen [11]died in 2018 and the museum was shuttered at the beginning of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. It never opened its doors again. Earlier this year, Allen's estate [12]opted to sell off the collection.
Plummer's farewell tour of the collection is a bittersweet moment for tech enthusiasts. It's a last hurrah for the hardware – replete with auction estimates – but also a reminder that such a collection is unlikely to be as accessible and complete in the near future.
The situation also serves to highlight the importance of such institutions. UK museums such as [13]Cambridge's Centre for Computing History and [14]Bletchley Park's National Museum of Computing have areas where visitors can get their hands on vintage hardware, and IT professionals of a certain age can wax lyrical about the good old days.
The engineer observed: "I wish it could have worked out differently. The other folks I feel sorry for are the people that donated computers or artifacts to the museum or sold them cheaply on the presumption that now they would have a permanent home.
[15]
"I don't know if there's such a thing as donator's remorse, but if there is, I suspect a few people are experiencing its sting about now." ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/23/build_your_own_pdp11/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zs5Mh@w@hKS-jz6zf6uP4QAAAA4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://youtu.be/OohnXELGQ74?si=9vyFoaz_pYuu2KMx
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zs5Mh@w@hKS-jz6zf6uP4QAAAA4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zs5Mh@w@hKS-jz6zf6uP4QAAAA4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zs5Mh@w@hKS-jz6zf6uP4QAAAA4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/08/harvard_mark_1/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/02/cpm_50th_anniversary/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/26/paul_allen_museum_closes/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/16/retro_enterprise_administration/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2018/10/16/microsoft_cofounder_paul_allen_dead/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/26/paul_allen_museum_closes/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/15/retro_computing/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2020/10/14/facebook_bletchley_park/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zs5Mh@w@hKS-jz6zf6uP4QAAAA4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
swm
I think this is a shame. As we move from written records to ephemeral computer records a lot of history will disappear in 100 years. You can't even read the old media because standards have changed and none of the current stuff will read the old media.
My thesis is on 9-track magnetic tape. I doubt I will ever be able to read it.
There are still computer museums around with working computers.
Criminal shame: this was an awesome place
Nick L
I was lucky enough to visit this museum twice when I visited Seattle as I was visiting the mothership. It was utterly awesome. Being able to get hands on with some of the most important hardware in computing history was brilliant, there was so much in there that was the spark of what we all use now… The shop was excellent too, selling kits, components, achievement badges… properly great place to geek out. It’ll be missed. Shame that they couldn’t make it work in Seattle: what chance have other places got?!
A story of things that didn't happen
So there's this really rich guy who gathered a bunch of (historically important! quaint! likable! fun! educational! all that and more!) computer junk and called it a museum.
What he didn't do was spin it off to be its own legal person, add an endowment, and gather a bunch of interested people to man the board.
So it really was a somewhat grandiosely named hobby project and whoever's running the estate happens to not share that hobby. Oh well.
Shouldn't be too hard for someone in the area to start a crowdfunding campaign to belatedly set up and fund that legal entity. Then make a package deal with the estate for a friendly price, saving them the trouble of the auction and keeping (perhaps even expanding, in time) the collection. Ping some of those friendly neighbourhood tech billionaires while at it.
But it won't happen. Because that's how this story goes. Now someone pray tell why this is so.
Or compare and contrast with the cray-cyber.org guys. That one runs on less money, but more enthousiastic people.