Engineers take pride in fixing things, conservators in preserving them. There is a direct conflict between restoration, which often involves physical intervention, and conservation, which subscribes to the notion that the object is an inviolate part of historical evidence and should not be modified. This presentation e
Was Babbage an impractical dreamer, or a designer of the highest calibre? Could his engines have been built in the previous century, and if so, would they have worked? The Science Museum built a complete Babbage engine from original designs in time for the bicentenary in 1991 of Babbage's birth. This presentation will
Historians like to let things settle a bit before doing history, but how is that possible when the subject of historical inquiry is computing, which seems to re-invent and redefine itself every few months? The author, a curator in the Space History Department of the National Air and Space Museum, will describe his rece
The lecture takes place in front of The Johnniac! This remarkable machine is part of Computer History Museum's permanent collection.
Seventeen years ago, the computer interface technology we take for granted today was new and strange, difficult even to describe. These quotes from a 1981 Xerox Star brochure show how people were fumbling for words to describe the new computer desktop technology: "Objects displayed on the Xerox 8010 screen are freely m
The lecture takes place in front of 400 square feet of actual SAGE hardware, including Weapons Director and Intercept Technician consoles. This equipment is from the last functioning SAGE center in North Bay, Ontario (Canada), decommissioned in 1982. The USAF SAGE Film "In Your Defense" will also be shown. More photos.
Dick Watson will begin the program with an overview of the period. John Fletcher will take us back to the earliest times, since he came to Livermore first. And Jed Donnelly will discuss operating system developments with the network extensions.
