Xerox Alto on ebay (not mine!)

On 10/15/2010 3:13 PM, Teo Zenios wrote: such museums are rare. for the most parts museums (and libraries) operate as businesses and need customers and income. They will make or rent exhibits that generate traffic. they rarely place a lot of emphasis on the longevity of every little bit that could exist in their sphere of influence. the rare exceptions are such as the CHM and the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian is picky about what it takes, but preserves artifacts quite meticulously. The CHM has a lot of nice stuff, and from what I've seen preserves what it accepts quite well. I mentioned libraries, because they are at the bottom of the food chain in my book. There are countless elaborate collections of books dispursed to the far winds by clueless librarians. The rare exception and model you would think would exist is a person like Al Kossow. He is the rare archivist, who has the mission to save the software and ephemera of computing, and actually knows what he is doing. Most librarians, and such operations as almost any "Discovery Museum" or such has the mission to bring in bodies and collect money. the rare well finance serious collector probably is the best hope for your rarities if you pass them on, as most of the museums frequently already have what they need, and won't take say the complete apple collection from the Newton to the latest Macintosh LC3.