I had a thought once that the ultimate computer museum would be in orbit. Actually, I think there was some Star Trek episode along those lines (not the one where Data was captured to be put into a museum, but something similar).
I like how having the old hardware gives physical "witness" and "evidence" that all the old stories are true - people did invent and create these things, they didn't just appear from aliens. I get sentimental thinking how we're the "last generation" to know the world before computers. I understand computers have technically "run the world" maybe since the 1950s (in terms of big business accounting and logistics, air traffic control, world banking, the tech that got us to the moon, and long distance calls -- my father says he remembers talking to a switchboard operator and asking to be connected to his grandmother by first name, i.e. "Hi Susan, can you connect me to Martha Bell?", and the operator recognized his voice and made the connection). But you know what I mean -- a world with no smartphone, no spycams at every corner, no logins, paying with cash, and NOT having 24/7 international news. Not saying things were better, just that it's a transition in humanity and we are "digital pioneers." What if the next "country" isn't physical, but is a whole virtual space? I think the day is coming on that -- if we can't move out into space, folks might "move" into the meta-virtual space perhaps. And why can't CyberSpace be a new "continent" or multiple ones? Humans shouldn't live like chickens in a henhouse (well, in my opinion) -- but on the other hand, maybe that's a necessary step to (eventually) get the critical-mass of engineering/theoretical physicists-type stuff in virtual space that does lead to more advanced techniques to get into space? And if ISP servers are in orbit, what jurisdiction do physical governments now have? Not saying any of that is a Good-Thing - however, in general, we can't stop "progress." I see these online quantum computers that we can rent time on now -- and it's like the 1950s/1960s all over again, when they rented time on mainframes. We'll see where it leads! "smaller" collections - those are important, we need backup and redundancy for all the usual reasons. Fires and weather calamity still happen. But as the cost of real estate and land increases, that also increases the tax burden -- sadly, eventually we can't reserve comfortable space for old equipment. If computer museums become "Digital Temples" and we start the Order of Bit Twiddlers, could we then claim a religious exemption for tax purposes? On Tue, Oct 18, 2022 at 10:46 AM William Donzelli via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > > All you need is a the local government to declare eminent domain and > > greater user for the public good. > > Those would be the "significant barriers to cross". > > -- > Will >
