4 Mar
2001
4 Mar
'01
1:43 a.m.
I don't know everyone's perspective on this issue, and it would be good to hear
some alternate viewpoints. Basically, I am against people giving classic
computers in working condition to museums. Instead, I believe that they should
donate or sell their machines to enthusiasts who will play with them and learn
things.
A while back, I ran across a person that had some hardware I wanted. He was
torn between selling it to me and giving it to a museum. I didn't have a lot
of money available to give him, and donation to a museum (a nonprofit) would
get him an impressive tax deduction. I did some research about what it takes
to start a nonprofit organization, but it looked too expensive (lawyers) and
time-consuming to be a viable option for me. I sent the following argument to
him:
While I would love to establish a collection of these
machines,
I'm definitely not a 'collector' as the term has come to mean
today; I'm not in it to get something rare, to make money, or
to have some pretty decorations in my house. While it would
certainly be nice to have a pretty system, my priority is to
get something that I can learn with. I want to *run* these
machines. I want to *explore* these machines. I want to *hack*
on these machines, to see what unexpected things they can be
coerced into doing. I want to get as close as I can to the
*experience* of computing in these machines' era. If these
machines go to a museum, they're just pretty art, and they will
educate _no_one_. They will sit behind glass walls, no one
ever will touch them again, and no one will ever turn them on or
keep them in working order. They are effectively lost. That's
little better then scrapping them, and you _KNOW_ how you feel
about that!
What do you think about this?
(BTW, if anyone wants to use the quoted paragraph, they are free to)
--
Jeffrey S. Sharp
jss(a)ou.edu
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4 Mar
4 Mar
4:36 a.m.
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9:23 a.m.
Jeffrey S. Sharp skrev:
I don't know everyone's perspective on this
issue, and it would be good to
hear some alternate viewpoints. Basically, I am against people giving
classic computers in working condition to museums. Instead, I believe that
they should donate or sell their machines to enthusiasts who will play with
them and learn things.
That depends on the museum. The one in Stenungsund, now sadly closed, had all
micros turned on, free for everyone to program or play on. Certainly, it's not
really an environment in which you would delve deeply into the machine,
thpough I think that a good museum should facilitate that, too, perhaps in
cooperation with usergroups, but at least it means a lot of people get hands-
on experience with uncommon machines.
--
En ligne avec Thor 2.6.
Was ist ein Erwachsener? Ein Kind, das vom Alter aufgepumpt ist.
--- Simone de Beauvoir
9:27 a.m.
Uhhh...
do you really have to ask...
Why can't you execute the paper work for a non-profit yourself? In RI,
it's $35.
M. K. Peirce
Rhode Island Computer Museum
Shady Lea, Rhode Island
"Casta est quam nemo rogavit."
-Ovid
On Sun, 4 Mar 2001, Jeffrey S. Sharp wrote:
I don't know everyone's perspective on this
issue, and it would be good to hear
some alternate viewpoints. Basically, I am against people giving classic
computers in working condition to museums. Instead, I believe that they should
donate or sell their machines to enthusiasts who will play with them and learn
things.
A while back, I ran across a person that had some hardware I wanted. He was
torn between selling it to me and giving it to a museum. I didn't have a lot
of money available to give him, and donation to a museum (a nonprofit) would
get him an impressive tax deduction. I did some research about what it takes
to start a nonprofit organization, but it looked too expensive (lawyers) and
time-consuming to be a viable option for me. I sent the following argument to
him:
While I would love to establish a collection of
these machines,
I'm definitely not a 'collector' as the term has come to mean
today; I'm not in it to get something rare, to make money, or
to have some pretty decorations in my house. While it would
certainly be nice to have a pretty system, my priority is to
get something that I can learn with. I want to *run* these
machines. I want to *explore* these machines. I want to *hack*
on these machines, to see what unexpected things they can be
coerced into doing. I want to get as close as I can to the
*experience* of computing in these machines' era. If these
machines go to a museum, they're just pretty art, and they will
educate _no_one_. They will sit behind glass walls, no one
ever will touch them again, and no one will ever turn them on or
keep them in working order. They are effectively lost. That's
little better then scrapping them, and you _KNOW_ how you feel
about that!
What do you think about this?
(BTW, if anyone wants to use the quoted paragraph, they are free to)
--
Jeffrey S. Sharp
jss(a)ou.edu
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5 X(+) R++ tv+ b+ DI++(+++) D+ G++ e> h--- r+++ y+++
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10:18 a.m.
On Sun, 4 Mar 2001, Jeffrey S. Sharp wrote:
I don't know everyone's perspective on this
issue, and it would be good to hear
some alternate viewpoints. Basically, I am against people giving classic
computers in working condition to museums. Instead, I believe that they should
donate or sell their machines to enthusiasts who will play with them and learn
things.
A while back, I ran across a person that had some hardware I wanted. He was
torn between selling it to me and giving it to a museum. I didn't have a lot
of money available to give him, and donation to a museum (a nonprofit) would
get him an impressive tax deduction. I did some research about what it takes
to start a nonprofit organization, but it looked too expensive (lawyers) and
time-consuming to be a viable option for me. I sent the following argument to
him:
But you have left out the vital piece of information! Did it work?
- don
While I would love to establish a collection of
these machines,
I'm definitely not a 'collector' as the term has come to mean
today; I'm not in it to get something rare, to make money, or
to have some pretty decorations in my house. While it would
certainly be nice to have a pretty system, my priority is to
get something that I can learn with. I want to *run* these
machines. I want to *explore* these machines. I want to *hack*
on these machines, to see what unexpected things they can be
coerced into doing. I want to get as close as I can to the
*experience* of computing in these machines' era. If these
machines go to a museum, they're just pretty art, and they will
educate _no_one_. They will sit behind glass walls, no one
ever will touch them again, and no one will ever turn them on or
keep them in working order. They are effectively lost. That's
little better then scrapping them, and you _KNOW_ how you feel
about that!
What do you think about this?
(BTW, if anyone wants to use the quoted paragraph, they are free to) --
Jeffrey S. Sharp
jss(a)ou.edu
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version 3.12
GCS/MU d-@ s-:+ a-- C+++(++++) UB+++$> P+ L+(++) E>
W++ N+(++) o? K? w++$ !O M(-) !V PS+++ PE Y+ PGP t+
5 X(+) R++ tv+ b+ DI++(+++) D+ G++ e> h--- r+++ y+++
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
2:31 p.m.
I sent the
following argument to him:
...
But you have left out the vital piece of information! Did it work? 
7:49 p.m.
But you have
left out the vital piece of information! Did it work?
It did make him ready to consider an offer from me, but due to money
constraints, I don't think I was able to offer him enough. :-(
8693
days inactive
8694
days old
6 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
-
ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
at258＠osfn.org -
donm＠cts.com -
jss＠ou.edu -
mikeford＠socal.rr.com -
optimus＠canit.se