Clueless Museums (was: Final Xerox Star demo)

From: William Donzelli <william_at_ans.net>
Date: Fri Jun 5 01:20:01 1998

> Agreed. But such details are not lost by putting in 'original' spare
> parts - parts that would have been used to keep it working anyway.

Yes, that is a good point. In the case of the PDP-8, I think the card
would have been part of a valid restoration attempt.

> Sometimes the history of a particular machine is important.
> In the latter case, IMHO, it should be perfectly acceptable to combine
> parts of 2 machines to make one working one, or to put in new (or NOS)
> spare parts.

I will agree here. Historical fabric (the official term for the history of
a specific artifact) for some machines is very deep, (for example, some
of the RS/6000 "T3Bs" I have mentioned in the past - actually probably
harder to find individual machines that did more to the world) and should
really be hacked on much. If the fabric is lost forever (maybe if you
picked up a new PERQ at a radio rally/hamfest, and the seller had no idea
where the machine came from, or even what it is), restoring the machine is
not going to rip it further.

> That's what's broken. Often a machine is taken out of service because
> it has failed.

I do not think that is the case with the big/professional stuff (sorry
micro guys). I would say that 99 out of 100 are retired in fully operable
condition. New or old, the good stuff like VAXen, Ciscos, AS/400s, etc.
just does not fail very often.

> The aim should be to restore it using original parts (or
> NOS parts, or even new parts that are functionally equivalent to the
> old), so that the function of the machine is preserved

Oh, I am all in favor of restoration, but I do think that one should try
to preserve the machine as best one could. Every repair changes a machine,
maybe a little, maybe a lot. The changes add up over time on all of the
machines out there, then you end up with a bunch of torn historical
fabric. Witness what has become of the classic cars from the 1940s - so
many have been souped up, chopped, and modified, that it is now very hard
to find one in restorable cherry condition. The same thing has happened to
many classic military aircraft - sure there are quite a few P-51s left,
but only a few are even _close_ to being original.

Now I know that I tend to be a bit preachy and extreme about this, but we
only keep our computers for a short amount of time. When we die, the
computers do not come with us - hopefully they fall into the hands of
other interested folks. In a sense, we are only gaurdians. I can not force
people to make "responsible" repairs or modifications - I am sure a lot of
people think I am talking out of my butt - but I can try to slow down the
inevitable degradation our computers go thru while in use.
 
> We've had this discussion before (and we'll have it again).

Its a hell of a bunch more fun then the past flame wars.

> I'll drag out
> the standard 'test case'. You've got a computer system. To make it
> interesting, we'll make it a rare one, less than 10 remaining. A chip has
> failed. You've got an electrical replacement, but from a different
> manufacturer and with a different date code. What do you do?

OK, lets take my Interdata 14. As you may know, ten captive survivors may
be in excess for all Interdatas. A chip blows (I think it uses DTL - it
has been a while), perhaps a weird one. If I really wanted the machine
working again, I might kludge up a functionally equivalent module and
solder it on the board in such a way that the pads do not take to much
abuse. I would then go on a search for a suitable replacement, of the same
manufacturer and date code. Even though the type might be mighty weird,
one will show up on some scrap boards. I might have to wait a while, but
just about any chip can be found if one actively looks. When the proper
chip is found, a proper repair is made. Of course the old, blown chip is
filed away and suitable documentation is made up.

William Donzelli
william_at_ans.net
Received on Fri Jun 05 1998 - 01:20:01 BST