24 May
2010
24 May
'10
12:21 p.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-
bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of RodSmallwood
Sent: 24 May 2010 16:21
To: 'General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only'
Subject: RE: Anyone off to VCF-UK?
Well I investigated TNMoC...
I read through the web site and looked at the pictures. The text was a
lot
of waffle about how wonderful the forty good people are and please send
us
more money so we can talk more about ourselves. I'm sure their heating
bills
are very low as there's plenty of hot air already available!
Three so called galleries...
The first gallery held three large systems claimed to be operational.
No sign of the operators they should have had to run them so assumed
not
working.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TouLD9EOnQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPioENtAHuY
More results here:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=national+museum+of+computing&am…
f
I know they have created a new one recently demoing the PDP11 based system
used at the UK Air Traffic Control centre until a few years ago, but they do
not seem to have published it yet.
The second held a mixture of very common consumer type
systems from the
70's
& 80's. The working ones appear to have been dumped in the middle and
the
rest scattered around the walls on racks. At least group by
manufacturer and
age FGS!
Letting people just play with restored systems is as bad as not
restoring
them at all. The "forty good and true people" should be demonstrating
what
the systems could do. (From behind a suitable barrier of course) And if
heaven forbid! They can't, well rambling is a good hobby.
And the last one contains a Colossus rebuild (for BPT I assume)
Talk, waffle and hype will never make up for a lack of basic knowledge.
Rod
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-
bounces at classiccmp.org]
On Behalf Of Pete Turnbull
Sent: 23 May 2010 12:04
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: Anyone off to VCF-UK?
On 22/05/2010 19:36, Tony Duell wrote:
Possibly. One of my main moans about BP is that
they routinely ignore
enthusisats. They don't seem to believe you can be self-taught and
clueful. We can start the field-servoid war again if you like...
That really isn't true of TNMoC (though as has been pointed out that's
not the same organisation as the Bletchley Park Trust). TNMoC is run
almost entirely by volunteers, and I've not known them refuse any help
offered. Which is why I volunteered to help at VCF; that and talking
to
them (and Rich and Ian and others from this list) at the DEC Legacy
event.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York