DuckHook
February 15th, 2016, 04:56 AM
Just had the chance to visit the Computer History Museum in San Jose, and all I can say is "Wow". If you are ever in this neck of the woods, you owe it to yourself to pop into this place.
I've visited dozens of museums ranging from the Louvre, Vatican and Hermitage to most of the Smithsonians, but for geeks and fanatics of the computing world, this is the one. For a guy like me whose memories and associations with the industry go back decades, it was more like visiting a holy shrine than a museum. If your interest is only moderate, you can get through it in a couple of hours. But if you are interested in things in depth, then a full day may not suffice. I arrived at opening time and left at closing (10:00 to 5:00) and barely squeezed everything in.
I'm a history buff and already know a lot about the industry's past, and I was still blown away by the depth and breadth of the info presented. There's a real pride and joy here in the industry, the heritage, and the effect it has on our lives, and even my wife, who is not really that into tech, found the day absolutely fascinating. It covers everything from humanity's earliest calculating devices to the invention of the abacus, slide rules, jacquard looms, 1800s card readers, vacuum tubes, transisters, integrated circuits, central processing units, supercomputers and beyond.
You will find a lovingly restored PDP-1, a fully functional IBM 1401, an ENIAC, a UNIVAC, a CRAY 1, 2 & 3, and the piece de resistance, one of only two working Babbage Difference Engine No. 2s in existence. There are literally thousands of other computers displayed, big and small, and I must confess to getting a lump in my throat standing in front of the first computer I ever worked on: an Olivetti Programma 101.
There are great biographies on the historical titans: from Ada Lovelace to Babbage, Turing, Von Neumann, Shockley, Kilby, Noyce, Moore, Cray, Hewlett and Packard, up to more modern tech giants like Gates, Allen, Berners-Lee, Woz and Jobs. Even Linus gets a plaque all to himself, though Linux is given rather short shrift, but hey, it's in silicon valley, about silicon valley, sponsored by silicon valley geeks and mainly about the hardware.
Just two cautions: it is an intensive survey of computing history and may not appeal to all, and some exhibits run only on specific days. On the day we were there, neither the PDP-1, the IBM 1401, nor the Babbage engine were running. Make sure you check the website or call ahead for the right days if you want to actually see these amazing colossi of yesteryear churning through actual code.
All-in-all, I have to say that it's one of the best museums I've ever visited. And while you're here, spend an hour or two at the nearby Intel museum too where you will get a fascinating little tour of the Intel history in chip miniaturization and fabrication.
I've visited dozens of museums ranging from the Louvre, Vatican and Hermitage to most of the Smithsonians, but for geeks and fanatics of the computing world, this is the one. For a guy like me whose memories and associations with the industry go back decades, it was more like visiting a holy shrine than a museum. If your interest is only moderate, you can get through it in a couple of hours. But if you are interested in things in depth, then a full day may not suffice. I arrived at opening time and left at closing (10:00 to 5:00) and barely squeezed everything in.
I'm a history buff and already know a lot about the industry's past, and I was still blown away by the depth and breadth of the info presented. There's a real pride and joy here in the industry, the heritage, and the effect it has on our lives, and even my wife, who is not really that into tech, found the day absolutely fascinating. It covers everything from humanity's earliest calculating devices to the invention of the abacus, slide rules, jacquard looms, 1800s card readers, vacuum tubes, transisters, integrated circuits, central processing units, supercomputers and beyond.
You will find a lovingly restored PDP-1, a fully functional IBM 1401, an ENIAC, a UNIVAC, a CRAY 1, 2 & 3, and the piece de resistance, one of only two working Babbage Difference Engine No. 2s in existence. There are literally thousands of other computers displayed, big and small, and I must confess to getting a lump in my throat standing in front of the first computer I ever worked on: an Olivetti Programma 101.
There are great biographies on the historical titans: from Ada Lovelace to Babbage, Turing, Von Neumann, Shockley, Kilby, Noyce, Moore, Cray, Hewlett and Packard, up to more modern tech giants like Gates, Allen, Berners-Lee, Woz and Jobs. Even Linus gets a plaque all to himself, though Linux is given rather short shrift, but hey, it's in silicon valley, about silicon valley, sponsored by silicon valley geeks and mainly about the hardware.
Just two cautions: it is an intensive survey of computing history and may not appeal to all, and some exhibits run only on specific days. On the day we were there, neither the PDP-1, the IBM 1401, nor the Babbage engine were running. Make sure you check the website or call ahead for the right days if you want to actually see these amazing colossi of yesteryear churning through actual code.
All-in-all, I have to say that it's one of the best museums I've ever visited. And while you're here, spend an hour or two at the nearby Intel museum too where you will get a fascinating little tour of the Intel history in chip miniaturization and fabrication.