Clueless Museums (was: Final Xerox Star demo)

From: William Donzelli <william_at_ans.net>
Date: Fri Jun 5 23:32:29 1998

> Yes, but that need not be lost by replacing parts IMHO.

It can (see below).
 
> IMHO none of the history of that machine has been, or will be, lost by
> repairing it. It'll be electrically identical to the service manuals when
> I've finished. And it'll be displaying images again.

But electrically identical only addresses the function of the machine.
What about the construction of the machine? If some ICs are replaced with
those of another vendor, and the pulled parts trashed or lost (it
happens, as they are often seperated from the machine), how does one know
that the manufacturer of the computer used the first vendor? This issue
might get very interesting in ten years, with the current x86 chip wars,
where marketing is more important than performance. For the older machines
that we enjoy, some of the weirder manufacturers and variations can get
forgotten (like 74xx TTL made by Sylvania, or National 74xx in white
ceramic and gold packages!).

> I still can't understand why restoration -- meaning using identical parts
> to the original ones, maybe with different date codes or from different
> families (LS .vs. L TTL, for example) loses the fabric of a machine.
> We're not talking about modifications here.
 
> Perhaps I've just been unlucky, but 90% of the minis and workstations
> that I've saved have needed minor repairs (dirty contacts, burnt-out
> bulbs, defective fans, maybe the odd blown chip) to get them back to
> perfect condition.

Maybe they have been sitting around in sheds and cellars? I am always
decomissioning stuff, and it almost is still quite functional.

> We are not talking about modification.

But sometimes repairs turn into modifications.
 
> Of course by doing that I complement the museums :-). They preserve
> unrestored machines that don't work but are in some sense original,
> whereas I repair machines (hopefully in a responsible manner) so that
> they work and can be demonstrated, but maybe not all parts are quite the
> right date.

My point is that if one chooses, a happy medium can be met - full
functionality and little torn fabric.

William Donzelli
william_at_ans.net
Received on Fri Jun 05 1998 - 23:32:29 BST