CHM Blog
The CHM blog showcases ideas and insights from our vibrant community in Silicon Valley and around the world. We take you behind the scenes of our programming, collections, and exhibits. Connecting the past to the present and into the future, we decode technology for everyone.
Curatorial Insights
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Curatorial Insights
Insight into “The Innovators”
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
In the closing pages of his epic 2007 biography “Einstein: His Life and Universe,” author Walter Isaacson observed that Albert Einstein not only was a scientist who sought a unified theory that could explain the cosmos. Einstein also was a humanist who believed that freedom was the lifeblood of creativity.
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Curatorial Insights, From the Collection
Yesterday’s Tomorrows: The Origins of The Tablet
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
By 1987, the PC revolution was well entrenched and underway. Desktop PCs were standard hardware for home enthusiasts, businesses, government agencies, and computer labs tucked away in college campuses. However, some prognosticators were also fast at work forecasting the future of a new generation of computing devices –
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Curatorial Insights
It’s About Time: The Computer on Your Wrist
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Ubiquitous, wearable computers have been a dream since at least the 1930s. The recent announcement of the AppleWatch has renewed interest in computerized wristwatches and revived the idea of a wrist-worn computer that is cool.
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Curatorial Insights
Lost and Found: Andy Warhol’s Amiga Artworks
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Scattered on floppy disks and hard drives around the world, there may be millions of works of art created on now-archaic computer systems.
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Curatorial Insights
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Saturday, May 24, 2014
At Westwood Elementary in Santa Clara, California, in room 17, there was an Apple II computer, and at recess, if you’d earned enough classroom points, you could play one of a dozen or so games. They were the standards found in every classroom in 1983.
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Curatorial Insights, Internet History Program
Where to? A History of Autonomous Vehicles
Thursday, May 8, 2014
When Robert Whitehead invented the self-propelled torpedo in the 1860s, the early guidance system for maintaining depth was so new and essential he called it “The Secret.” Airplanes got autopilots just a decade after the Wright brothers. These days, your breakfast cereal was probably gathered by a driverless harvester.
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Curatorial Insights, Internet History Program
Happy 25th Birthday to the World Wide Web!
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Twenty five years ago this month, Tim Berners-Lee first proposed what became the World Wide Web. Today it is living up to its ambitious name, serving three billion people with many more yet to come. To mark the anniversary, we’re telling the story of those early days in this article and in our annual issue of Core m
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Curatorial Insights
The Future of Computer Games: 25 Years Later
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
SpaceWar! the granddaddy of computer games, debuted in 1962. Since then games have evolved, both in the technology they use and in the role they play in the lives of people of all generations. New game sales surpass many other entertainment media and get press coverage to match.
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Curatorial Insights
The Homebrew Computer Club 2013 Reunion
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Before 1975, the computer was an exotic and expensive tool for engineers, scientists, and businesses. By 1985 the computer had been “democratized”, and anyone with the need, the interest, and a few thousand dollars could have one of their own.
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Curatorial Insights
A Curator’s Wish: The SynthAxe
Thursday, October 24, 2013
I’m often asked if there were one object in the entire world that the museum could acquire, what would it be? It’s a tough question, there are seminal machines that would be amazing to include in the collection. But in my heart, there’s one piece that I have searched for tirelessly which would be outstanding to have: T