On Tue, 23 Mar 1999, Tony Duell wrote:
> > If I were serious about creating a "museum" where I wanted people to be
> > able to handle the artifacts (and by the way, I am) I'd make sure that
> > each individual would be required to become a member, and membership would
> > entail some manner of education about proper handling of computer items,
> > including static discharge procedures, not pulling cards out of a live
> > system, etc. From basic electronics to storage media handling to
> > electrical safety precautions. Only after the new member passed this
> > training and proved competence would he/she be able to actively examine
> > and experiment with the artifacts.
>
> Err, can there be an exception for people with major collections of their
> own... Or am I going to have to be taught how to change an RK05 pack
> (when I can already realign the darn drives without thinking about it)
> ;-) :-) :-)
The charter will include language specifically permitting Tony Duell to
full and complete access to the collection :)
But seriously, I would require even the most obviously technically astute
person to take some sort of qualifying "quiz" to make sure they indeed
knew what they were doing. If they failed any part of this quiz, they
would then be required to go through the entire informational course so
that they would have all the information needed to minimize (and hopefully
eliminate) any damage they could conceivably cause to any artifacts.
Anyone who would go through the trouble to fulfill this requirement proves
their sincerity and earns the right to access the materials and artifacts.
> > This has the side benefit of weeding out the weekend engineers and
>
> What's a weekend engineer? It can't be the obvious thing of a chap who
> does engineering at the weekend, or all the serious hackers that I know
> would come under the definition...
Sort of like weekend-warrior. I don't know if that moniker is used
outside of the States. It basically refers to any average weenie who
leads a typical nine-to-five TV watching American lifestyle and then on
weekends does something relatively extraordinary to that lifestyle, like
taking a vehicle on an off-road excursion, taking a boat to the lake, etc.
A "weekend engineer" was meant to imply a less than technically astute
person who would attempt to seem more knowledgeable than they really are
when visiting a museum.
> > ensuring that the truly interested and dedicated get access to the stuff.
> > The rest just get to look at it :)
>
> But at least they get to see the real hardware and not some simulation or
> recording, right?
Right.
Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar_at_siconic.com
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Received on Mon Mar 22 1999 - 23:07:27 GMT