29 Jan
2009
29 Jan
'09
1:56 p.m.
Ye gads... If that's the leading publication on
Computer History, it
looks like the market could stand another. Something more along the
lines of the excellent UK magazine "Retro Gamer" perhaps, with
articles written by (and for) normal (if a bit fannish) humans and
lots of pictures of old hardware and stuff.
One thing I have learned working at a museum is there is a lot more
to the discipline of the history of computing than being a fan and
having nostalgia for the subject. I was fortunate to have the chance to
have long talks with Doron Swade on what it is like to be a curator at
an institution that has existed for hundreds of years, and the responsibility
that is involved with that position.
There was a very good article on the problems of creating an institution
to preserve computing history (in particular, the Charles Babbage Institute)
"Arthur Norberg, the Charles Babbage Institute, and the History of Computing"
in the Oct-Dec 2007 issue of the Annals, in particular, the collections policy
and focus that they created at CBI.
"Retrocomputing", nostalga, and eye candy seem to be more of what you are
interested in, than the discipline of historical preservation and interpretation,
which is where the Annals and other journals on the history of technology are
focused.