Us vs. Museums

From: jerryjh_at_imt.net <(jerryjh_at_imt.net)>
Date: Tue Mar 6 02:58:55 2001

On 2001-03-04 classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org said:

>The Museums clearly serve several useful purposes, such
>that I think the "us vs. them" label is inappropriate.

Oh well. At least it got some attention. ;-) The "vs."
might just as well be thought of as "private collectors"
in *contrast* to "museum collections".

>1. They are higher profile that individual enthusiats
>and therefore a magnet for systems that might otherwise
>end up in the dumpster or with scrappers.

What do you mean by "higher profile"? There are some private
collectors, no doubt, with noble and intelligent motives
rivaling that of some museum staffs.

>2. They tend to be open to the general public making
>the machines accessible to anyone who wants to see
>them.

What would you suggest is the foremost reason for "seeing"
them?

>3. They educate the public about the value of
>preserving old computers, and introduce new people to
>the hobby. (I know some may not think this is
>necessarily a good thing.)

Would you suppose that there are other causes even more
significant than encouraging computers as a hobby through
museum displays?

>4. The curators tend to be schooled in preservation,
>and while they may not operate their machines, they
>usually keep them safe, dry, etc.

Private collectors can do the same, if they wish, although
I doubt that many private collectors would enjoy "dead"
machines as well as "live" ones.

>5. They can usually accommodate the very large
>machines that many collectors don't have the room for.

Yes, I have seen such a museum, which has ambitious plans
for doing just that.

>6. Museums can sometimes undertake restoration
>projects that require the coordination of people and
>resources that individuals would unlikely be able to
>accomplish on their own, such as those undertaken by
>The Computer Museum History Center located at Moffett
>Airfield.

Is there a URL for it?

>7. Museums don't sell on eBay (or sell at all for that
>matter); a number of "us" do.

Personally, I prefer to see what I'm buying first -- especially
when it's something like an old computer that I'd want to
examine closely for condition, etc..

Jerry... on his IBM PC/AT 5170 Model 339 | My laptop computer's a
***** 9600kbps/30MB HD/512k RAM/8 MHz | Tandy TRS-80 Model 100

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Received on Tue Mar 06 2001 - 02:58:55 GMT