22 Mar
1999
22 Mar
'99
8:33 p.m.
FWIW there are more than one kind of museum. There is a
"Tech museum"
kind that has a bunch of pretty displays behind plexiglass and the
"research" kind. (And a whole bunch that are somewhere in the middle).
If you have privileges at a research museum you can work on and/or use
parts of the collection that are not available for "general" use. I would
expect that a good research computer museum would be a great place to
visit.
All this talk of museums... I've been toying with the idea of trying
to set up something like that... Along the lines of RCS/RI...
I was wondering how such groups got started... how did/do they afford
storage places...
Are there people in the eastern-mass area who might be interestd in
trying to put one together?
What I've been thinking of is a place where people can put their
systems on display -- static while being worked on, with help
from volunteers, and dynamic once working. At least
when working
I would hope that people could use a terminal to use/program it.
Obviously, not everyone would be allowed to actually touch the
innards of a system or the removable bits... that would be
reserved for those who have an expressed interest/knowledge of
a specific system. Otherwise, people would have to settle for
terminal access, or supervised access.
I was thinking of contacting the current owners of the Maynard
Mill to see if there was any possibility of donation of (or
reduced rental) on a space there... it would be neat if some
DEC systems could return home for display...
What do people think?
What if we had a 'chain' of said museums, run by members of
the classiccmp list, all over the country... would make it
easier to have VCF-east,south, midwest, etc...
Pardon my ramblings... I guess I'm disappointed with the
Boston Computer Museum, some of what I've heard about the
Computer Museum at Moffett field is criminal, plus it is
too far away as is VCF, and with my schedule I've been unable
to get to RCS/RI...
(plus, I know my partner would like to see me move some of my
collection out... :-)
Megan Gentry
Former RT-11 Developer
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Megan Gentry, EMT/B, PP-ASEL | Internet (work): gentry!zk3.dec.com |
| Unix Support Engineering Group | (home): mbg!world.std.com |
| Compaq Computer Corporation | addresses need '@' in place of '!' |
| 110 Spitbrook Rd. ZK03-2/T43 | URL: http://world.std.com/~mbg/ |
| Nashua, NH 03062 | "pdp-11 programmer - some assembler |
| (603) 884 1055 | required." - mbg |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
22 Mar
22 Mar
11:58 p.m.
On Mon, 22 Mar 1999, Megan wrote:
All this talk of museums... I've been toying with
the idea of trying
to set up something like that... Along the lines of RCS/RI...
I was wondering how such groups got started... how did/do they afford
storage places...
My 1200sqft is very cheap at the moment (i.e. free) and I am able to take
advantage of great deals on accoutrements like ~1600sqft of steel shelving
for $200 by always trying to be in the right place at the right time.
Of course it wouldn't be entirely possible without the help of a great
group of collector's over here in the bay area that lend a generous hand
without too much prodding :)
What I've been thinking of is a place where people
can put their
systems on display -- static while being worked on, with help
from volunteers, and dynamic once working. At least when working
I would hope that people could use a terminal to use/program it.
I'm setting up basically an old technology renaissance center. A place
where hackers, nerds and geeks can go on weekends to work together on old
computers (and other old technology, but mostly computers), search through
the library of "obsolete" technical documentation I'm assembling for
informational or just recreational reading, and share their passions with
fellow enthusiasts. I hope to have it ready for the first general
assembly by the summer time (June or thereabouts).
Obviously, not everyone would be allowed to actually
touch the
innards of a system or the removable bits... that would be
reserved for those who have an expressed interest/knowledge of
a specific system. Otherwise, people would have to settle for
terminal access, or supervised access.
And ideally you'll train the ones who express an interest in wanting to
attain the knowledge necessary to be able to touch the innards. The whole
premise of my establishment is to be a center of learning.
I was thinking of contacting the current owners of the
Maynard
Mill to see if there was any possibility of donation of (or
reduced rental) on a space there... it would be neat if some
DEC systems could return home for display...
What do people think?
I think its a wonderful idea. More people should devote their time to
this sort of endeavor.
What if we had a 'chain' of said museums, run
by members of
the classiccmp list, all over the country... would make it
easier to have VCF-east,south, midwest, etc...
It would certainly make long trips to distant relatives more bearable for
us geeks if we knew there was a computer hacker's center nearby.
Pardon my ramblings... I guess I'm disappointed
with the
Boston Computer Museum, some of what I've heard about the
Computer Museum at Moffett field is criminal, plus it is
too far away as is VCF, and with my schedule I've been unable
to get to RCS/RI...
Passion and vision is all it takes.
(plus, I know my partner would like to see me move
some of my
collection out... :-)
Much of my reason for moving my stuff out of the garage was that it just
became entirely unwieldy. The secondary reason was my wife's constant
nagging. Wives just don't get it I guess. I wonder if Allison's husband
nags her about her garage? :)
Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't rub the lamp if you don't want the genie to come out.
Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0
See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details!
[Last web site update: 02/15/99]
23 Mar
23 Mar
12:11 p.m.
Actually sharing the Vision --
In monitoring this coversation I'm reminded about the eventual repository
of my collection. It is small by comparison to some of the collections I
hear described on this list but still I have s significant amount of house
space devoted to it.
My wife is very supportive but we both know the collection will eventually
need a home of it's own.
I think our vision of such a place may be something like a Cybercafe with
a dedicated place for old computer equipment to be renovated and
experimented with. Obviously there would be a place for visiting
computers systems as well as space for "The Collection".
If such an idea becomes a chain of such things so much the better. You
could end up with exchanges amonst collections similarly to the was Other
museums trade exibits.
I propose the Cybercafe part to raise enough revenue to pay for the space
but I down't really know if you could generate enough to keep out of the
red.
Other thoughts and ideas please.....
George
=========================================================
George L. Rachor Jr. george(a)racsys.rt.rain.com
Beaverton, Oregon http://racsys.rt.rain.com
United States of America Amateur Radio : KD7DCX
On Mon, 22 Mar 1999, Sellam Ismail wrote:
On Mon, 22 Mar 1999, Megan wrote:
All this talk of museums... I've been toying
with the idea of trying
to set up something like that... Along the lines of RCS/RI...
I was wondering how such groups got started... how did/do they afford
storage places...
My 1200sqft is very cheap at the moment (i.e. free) and I am able to take
advantage of great deals on accoutrements like ~1600sqft of steel shelving
for $200 by always trying to be in the right place at the right time.
Of course it wouldn't be entirely possible without the help of a great
group of collector's over here in the bay area that lend a generous hand
without too much prodding :)
What I've been thinking of is a place where
people can put their
systems on display -- static while being worked on, with help
from volunteers, and dynamic once working. At least when working
I would hope that people could use a terminal to use/program it.
I'm setting up basically an old technology renaissance center. A place
where hackers, nerds and geeks can go on weekends to work together on old
computers (and other old technology, but mostly computers), search through
the library of "obsolete" technical documentation I'm assembling for
informational or just recreational reading, and share their passions with
fellow enthusiasts. I hope to have it ready for the first general
assembly by the summer time (June or thereabouts).
Obviously, not everyone would be allowed to
actually touch the
innards of a system or the removable bits... that would be
reserved for those who have an expressed interest/knowledge of
a specific system. Otherwise, people would have to settle for
terminal access, or supervised access.
And ideally you'll train the ones who express an interest in wanting to
attain the knowledge necessary to be able to touch the innards. The whole
premise of my establishment is to be a center of learning.
I was thinking of contacting the current owners
of the Maynard
Mill to see if there was any possibility of donation of (or
reduced rental) on a space there... it would be neat if some
DEC systems could return home for display...
What do people think?
I think its a wonderful idea. More people should devote their time to
this sort of endeavor.
What if we had a 'chain' of said museums,
run by members of
the classiccmp list, all over the country... would make it
easier to have VCF-east,south, midwest, etc...
It would certainly make long trips to distant relatives more bearable for
us geeks if we knew there was a computer hacker's center nearby.
Pardon my ramblings... I guess I'm
disappointed with the
Boston Computer Museum, some of what I've heard about the
Computer Museum at Moffett field is criminal, plus it is
too far away as is VCF, and with my schedule I've been unable
to get to RCS/RI...
Passion and vision is all it takes.
(plus, I know my partner would like to see me
move some of my
collection out... :-)
Much of my reason for moving my stuff out of the garage was that it just
became entirely unwieldy. The secondary reason was my wife's constant
nagging. Wives just don't get it I guess. I wonder if Allison's husband
nags her about her garage? :)
Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't rub the lamp if you don't want the genie to come out.
Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0
See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details!
[Last web site update: 02/15/99]
12:32 p.m.
On Tue, 23 Mar 1999, George Rachor wrote:
Actually sharing the Vision --
I think our vision of such a place may be something like a Cybercafe with
a dedicated place for old computer equipment to be renovated and
experimented with. Obviously there would be a place for visiting
computers systems as well as space for "The Collection".
Wow! That's almost identical to my vision, except I also thought about
doing internet serving/consulting out of the cybercafe. (You gotta have a
good internet connection anyway, so why not host webpages, do design,
etc.) If you have the skill, you might also want to do 'antique' computer
repairs as well. (Just think, if people want to pay $15k for an altair,
what will they pay to have it fixed when it breaks? No flames please,
just trying to profit from the speculators.) You might want to have a
workbench area equipped with some basic test equipment for other
collectors to work on their machines. (I, for example, don't have any
good work area right now. Hopefully in my next move :-)
If such an idea becomes a chain of such things so much
the better. You
could end up with exchanges amonst collections similarly to the was Other
museums trade exibits.
Would you imagine this as a franchised chain? or just a loosely knit
network of similar businesses?
I propose the Cybercafe part to raise enough revenue to
pay for the space
but I down't really know if you could generate enough to keep out of the
red.
My thoughts are, you have to make enough money just selling coffee and
sandwiches to make the cyber part work. I'm not convinced there's any
real money in the cyber part. (But in internet consulting there is.)
ttyl
srw
8:45 p.m.
I propose the Cybercafe part to raise enough revenue to
pay for the space
but I down't really know if you could generate enough to keep out of the
red.
Other thoughts and ideas please.....
George L. Rachor Jr. george(a)racsys.rt.rain.com
Beaverton, Oregon http://racsys.rt.rain.com
Simple, serve good food of a wide variety, and put it near one of the local
Intel plants. Between Ronlar Acres and Jones Farm would probably be the
best. The down side being that rent around here for the kind of space
needed is probably murder!
For places that don't have the advantage of Intel plants to draw a crowd,
I'd suggest placing it near a College. For either including some kind of
gaming set up might be helpful. Both multi-player computer games, and
stuff like "Magic:The Adiction".
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
9:03 p.m.
On Tue, 23 Mar 1999, Zane H. Healy wrote:
Do you want to run a vintage computer workshop or a restaurant? There's
too much work for in either to do both..
I propose the
Cybercafe part to raise enough revenue to pay for the space
but I down't really know if you could generate enough to keep out of the
red.
Other thoughts and ideas please.....
George L. Rachor Jr. george(a)racsys.rt.rain.com
Beaverton, Oregon http://racsys.rt.rain.com
Simple, serve good food of a wide variety, and put it near one of the local
Intel plants. Between Ronlar Acres and Jones Farm would probably be the
best. The down side being that rent around here for the kind of space
needed is probably murder! For places that don't have the advantage of Intel
plants to draw a crowd,
I'd suggest placing it near a College. For either including some kind of
gaming set up might be helpful. Both multi-player computer games, and
stuff like "Magic:The Adiction".
Hmm, not a bad idea. Start collecting classic arcade games and create a
an arcade with classic games. You'd have a good target market:
middle-aged people wanting to play the games they enjoyed in their youth
with more quarters to spend than they did when they were teens. It could
provide a good stream of income to support the museum.
Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't rub the lamp if you don't want the genie to come out.
Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0
See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details!
[Last web site update: 02/15/99]
10:06 p.m.
Hmm, not a bad idea. Start collecting classic arcade
games and create a
an arcade with classic games. You'd have a good target market:
middle-aged people wanting to play the games they enjoyed in their youth
with more quarters to spend than they did when they were teens. It could
provide a good stream of income to support the museum.
Sam, you're evil :^) Toying with these poor middle-aged people, proving
their reflexes aren't what they used to be. I on the other hand didn't
have the reflexes or the quarters. Ah, well at least MAME is finally
adding support for "Star Castle" :^)
Be aware "Classic Arcades" aren't a huge money maker. Those machines take
up a lot of room.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
24 Mar
24 Mar
5:51 a.m.
At 18:45 23.3.1999 -0800, you wrote:
I propose the
Cybercafe part to raise enough revenue to pay for the space
but I down't really know if you could generate enough to keep out of the
red.
Other thoughts and ideas please.....
George L. Rachor Jr. george(a)racsys.rt.rain.com
Beaverton, Oregon http://racsys.rt.rain.com
Simple, serve good food of a wide variety, and put it near one of the local
Intel plants. Between Ronlar Acres and Jones Farm would probably be the
best. The down side being that rent around here for the kind of space
needed is probably murder!
For places that don't have the advantage of Intel plants to draw a crowd,
I'd suggest placing it near a College. For either including some kind of
gaming set up might be helpful. Both multi-player computer games, and
stuff like "Magic:The Adiction".
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
6:05 a.m.
Sorry, my last E-Mail was plain mistake,
I was trying to reply to another letter
and did not notice which mailbox-window was active!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Thorhallur Ragnarsson Electronics Technician/Instructor
Bjarmastig 1 Verkmenntaskolinn Akureyri
IS-600 AKUREYRI Box 280
Iceland IS-602 AKUREYRI
E-Mail: thorh(a)ismennt.is Iceland
--------------------------------------------------------------------
23 Mar
23 Mar
1:20 a.m.
Megan wrote:
What if we had a 'chain' of said museums, run by members of
the classiccmp list, all over the country... would make it
easier to have VCF-east,south, midwest, etc...
That is a really good idea! One of the perceptive comments made at last
years VCF was that it was a "social gathering." It was and is wonderful to
be able to meet and talk with others who enjoy collecting this stuff. A BIG
advantage is that any future dealings with people we meet are based on
something other than just email. This personal network of people we know
makes for a higher confidence level with any transactions that might take
place.
9423
days inactive
9425
days old
9 comments
7 participants
participants (7)
-
dastar＠ncal.verio.com -
george＠racsys.rt.rain.com -
healyzh＠aracnet.com -
marvin＠rain.org -
mbg＠world.std.com -
scott＠saskatoon.com -
thorh＠ismennt.is