Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CO R E 1 . 2
IN THIS
ISSUE
A NEW VISION
Im extremely excited and grateful for this
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve as The
Computer Museum History Centers new
Executive Director and CEO. We have an
important dream to preserve and present the
artifacts and stories of the information age
and a rapidly unfolding plan to make it a reality.
Our strategic advantages not only go beyond our
growing, world-class collection of artifacts but
also include people who make daily commitments
of energy, time, and money. We have the best
staff, volunteers, Board of Trustees, and donors
of any organization Ive ever seen!
June 2000
A publication of The Computer Museum History Center
CO R E 1 . 2
A New Vision
J o h n C To o l e
Mission
To preserve and present for posterity the artifacts and stories
of the information age
Executive Staff
John C Toole
Executive Director and CEO
Vision
To explore the computing revolution and its impact on
the human experience
Karen Mathews
Executive Vice President
Eleanor Weber Dickman
Vice President of Development & Public Relations
C O M M U N I T I E S the organizations,
institutions, societies, and groups that will
become our partners in building a persistent
collaborative network for the longer term.
O P E R AT I O N S the principles, policies,
technology, and people to operate a world-class
museum ecosystem that will exceed all your
expectations.
Theres so much more to be done, but I know you
can tell that we are swiftly moving the museum
into its next phase! This translates into a call to
help in various ways: 1) Take the time to get
involved as a volunteer, innovator, contributor,
donor or lecturer in capturing, preserving, and
organizing history; 2) Help us spread the word
about our mission, and encourage others to get
involved; 3) Give us your ideas, concerns, and
suggestions; 4) Carefully consider contributing to
the strong financial base we need each year
to operate, and to our capital and endowment
opportunities that we will be announcing soon.
Again, thanks for your help we will always need
it! Youll hear from me often as we build this
living legacy aimed at preserving the invention
that has given each of us so much and has truly
changed the world.
Karen Mathews
9
Fo c u s o n P e o p l e
Charlie Pfefferkorn
Board of Trustees
Lee Courtney
C Gordon Bell
Microsoft Corporation
10
Fr o m t h e C o l l e c t i o n
Peggy Burke
1185 Design
Dag Spicer
Andrea Cunningham
Cunningham Communication
Samuel Fuller
Analog Devices
Eric Hahn
Inventures Group
11
Gardner Hendrie
Sigma Partners
12
Annual Supporters
Peter Hirshberg
Interpacket Group
Charles H (Chuck) House
Intel Converged Communications Group, Dialogic Division
Dave House
Christine Hughes
Highway 1
Recent Donations
Membership Information
10
13
U p co m i n g Eve n ts
Steve Kirsch
Propel Software Corporation
Ike R Nassi
Cisco Systems
Suhas Patil
TUFAN
Bernard L Peuto
Concord Consulting
John William Poduska Sr
Advanced Visual Systems
BACK COVER
BACK
Mystery Items
from the Collection
F Grant Saviers
Private Investor
John Shoch
Alloy Ventures
Pierluigi Zappacosta
Digital Persona
J o h n C To o l e
Cover Photo
An operator sits at the IBM Stretchs
impressive console (see pg 10).
OUR
BEGINNINGS
by Eleanor Weber Dickman
2
CO R E 1 . 2
T H E E A R LY Y E A R S :
P EO P L E A N D P R O G RA M S
P R E S T I G I O U S PA R T N E R S H I P S
In 1988, the Museum signed a collaborative
agreement with the Smithsonian Institutions
National Museum of American History. The joint
arrangement was with the Division of Computers,
Information and Society, whose scope
encompassed historical research, preservation,
and exhibition. The Computer Museum developed
a common catalog and a database of both
collections, with the goal of preserving all
important artifacts.
A NEW HOME
CO R E 1 . 2
I N T H E B EG I N N I N G
The Museum relocated to Museum Wharf in the heart of downtown Boston, where it lived for many years
THEN
Building 126 at Moffett Field, beside the worlds largest dirigible hangar
A W O R T H Y I N H E R I TA N C E
CO R E 1 . 2
The museum boasts more than 3,000 computer artifacts, 1,000 films
and videos, 5,000 photographs, as well as several thousand linear
feet of catalogued documentation and gigabytes of software
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Gordon Moore, Len Shustek and Dave House admire the collection
after Moores recent lecture at the Visible Storage Exhibit Area
NOW
REPORT ON
MUSEUM
ACTIVITIES
by Karen Mathews
The year 2000 has been action-packed so far and I certainly believe that there is no stopping us now.
Engaging the creative, competent, principled leadership of John Toole is a real coup, and the Museum is
already benefiting from his presence. If the Museum offered stock Id be buying it up, because this
organization is a definite winner. Board, staff and volunteers continue to pull together here to create
wonders the drive, stamina and collective abilities are phenomenal. Numerous developments of late have
furthered the Museums mission to preserve and present the artifacts and stories of the information age.
Here are just a few:
Gray-Bell Archive
Donor Notes
S p e c i a l Eve n t
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Fo c u s o n P e o p l e
VOLUNTEER
CHARLIE PFEFFERKORN:
M A S T E R O F S PA C E
AND TIME
by Lee Courtney
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Vo l u n t e e r N o t e s
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Dedicated volunteer Ed Thelen and Museum Curator (and forklift operator) Dag Spicer
unload one of many artifacts from a recent shipment
C H A R L I E P F E F F E R KO R N .
Since arriving in the Silicon Valley over 25 years ago, Charlie has
worked for several companies in various technical, managerial, and
consulting roles, including working with the ILLIAC IV and other
computing projects at NASA Ames. He is also actively involved in
the Software Development Forum in San Jose, where he serves
as a member of the Executive Council and as co-chair/founder
of the International Software SIG. He is also a Visiting Fellow and
Pubmeister for the Silicon Valley World Internet Center.
Lee Courtney is also a volunteer and the volunteer coordinator at
The Computer Museum History Center
THE
IBM STRETCH SYSTEM
T h o m a s J W a t s o n S r, f o u n d e r o f I B M
1 0 0 T I M E S FA S T E R
In a famous memo dated October 25, 1954, Dunwell wrote:
The Datatron program is intended to assure IBM a
preeminent position in the field and will take a giant step
and make substantial advances on all fronts. A team of
senior IBM technical and management staff met to consider
building what John von Neumann had earlier exhorted them
to create: the most advanced machine possible in the
present state of the art. Besides allowing IBM to leapfrog
its main competitor, Dunwell argued that the machine would
allow IBM to unify its various computer products roughly
divided along scientific and business lines thus greatly
reducing manufacturing costs and simplifying IBMs
engineering and production processes.
MECHANICAL CALCULATORS
SUPERCOMPUTERS
WORKSTATIONS
UNIT RECORD EQUIPMENT
IBM Type 3741 Dual Data Station (1984),
X1806.2000, Gift of Bill Richardson
IBM Type 3742 Dual Data Station (1984),
X1803.2000, Gift of Bill Richardson
ST R E TC H S P ECS
11
CO R E 1 . 2
In the early to mid 1950s, IBM and UNIVAC, the only two
large companies building computers, were considering the
use of transistors in their products. Though the transistor
effect had been discovered in 1947 at Bell Labs, vacuum
tubes remained commonplace in computer hardware, while
American manufacturers struggled to make a reliable,
mass-producible transistor.
RECENT
D O N AT I O N S
CO R E 1 . 2
10
by Dag Spicer
T H E FA S T E S T W AY T O S U CC E E D I S T O D O U B L E Y O U R FA I L U R E R AT E .
Fr o m t h e C o l l e c t i o n
OTHER/SPECIAL PURPOSE
MICROCOMPUTERS
FURTHER READING
MINICOMPUTERS
CORE SUPPORTERS
D O N O R S O F $ 1 , 0 0 0 A N D A B OV E T O T H E 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 A N N U A L F U N D
ACM - SF Bay Area Chapter
Gene & Marian Amdahl
David L Anderson
David & Madalyn Babcock
John & Sheila Banning
Gwen & C Gordon Bell
Jeff & MacKenzie Bezos
Steven Blank & Alison Elliott
Gary Boone
Ned Chapin
Christopher Charla & Carrie Shepherd
Richard J Clayton
Computer Reseller News
Andrea Cunningham
Yogen & Peggy Dalal
William Davidow
Enrica DEttorre & Pierluigi Zappacosta
Disk/Trend
Gordon E Eubanks
Fish & Richardson
Bob Frankston
Marc Friend
Robert B Garner
Charles & Nancy Geschke
James Gray
Elaine & Eric Hahn
Gardner Hendrie & Karen Johansen
Peter Hirshberg
Dr & Mrs Marcian E Hoff
Chuck & Jenny House
Dave House
Christine Hughes & Abe Ostrovsky
Hal Jesperson
Robert E Kahn
Ernest E Keet
Harold Kellman
A future lecture will feature Dave Ditzel talking about his experiences with the Fairchild Symbol,
a one-of-a-kind machine he was delighted to re-discover at a recent visit to the Museum
Dennis Ritchie
Toni & Arthur Rock
Dave & Jan Rossetti
Peter & Valerie Samson
Grant & Dorrit Saviers
John Shoch
Len Shustek
Alvy Ray Smith
Mr & Mrs Robert F Sproull
Skip Stritter
Richard Tennant
Larry Tesler & Colleen Barton
John & Elizabeth Toole
I Curtis Widdoes Jr
Ann Winblad
William Wulf & Anita K Jones
Cindy & Peter Ziebelman
UPCOMING
EVENTS
D O N O R S O F U P T O $ 1 , 0 0 0 T O T H E 1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 A N N U A L F U N D
12
CO R E 1 . 2
E A R LY T R A N S I S T O R I Z E D
COMPUTERS
Richard L Grimsdale,
University of Sussex
Computer History Lecture
N OV E M B E R 9
S TA F F CO N TA C T
I N F O R M AT I O N
The Computer Museum History Center. Your donation will help preserve
the artifacts and stories of the Information Age for future generations.
CORE SUPPORTER
YES,
____ 8K ($8192)
about the programs and activities of The Computer Museum History Center, especially its plans for growth in the coming years.
J O H N TO O L E
Executive Director & CEO
+1 650 604 2581
jtoole@computerhistory.org
I want to help save computing history. Please process my donation at the level indicated below. I look forward to learning more
____ 4K ($4096)
____ 2K ($2048)
____ Enclosed is my check payable to: The Computer Museum History Center
____ 1K
($1024)
____ Charge my
Visa _____
Mastercard _____
GENERAL SUPPORTER
____ $500
____ $250
____ $100
Cardholders signature
P L E A S E P R I N T:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Affiliation __________________________________________________
Title ______________________________________________________
(please circle)
Email address
Home phone
work
home
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________
THANK YOU
Work phone
______________________________________________
Amy Bodine
Collections Intern
+1 650 604 2577
bodine@computerhistory.org
Dag Spicer
Curator & Manager of Historical Collections
+1 650 604 2578
spicer@computerhistory.org
Karyn Wolfe
Development Coordinator &
Special Projects Manager
+1 650 604 2570
wolfe@computerhistory.org
Chris Garcia
Historical Collections Coordinator
+1 650 604 2572
garcia@computerhistory.org
Karen Mathews
Executive Vice President
+1 650 604 2568
mathews@computerhistory.org
Wendy-Ann Francis
Office Administrator
+1 650 604 2579
francis@computerhistory.org
Gwen Bell
Founding President
+1 650 604 2571
bell@computerhistory.org
T H E CO M P U T E R M U S E U M H I STO RY C E N T E R
Moffett Federal Airfield
Building T12-A
Moffett Field, CA 94035
+1 650 604 2579
+1 650 604 2594 (fax)
or
T H E CO M P U T E R M U S E U M H I STO RY C E N T E R
PO Box 367, Moffett Field, CA 94035
www.computerhistory.org
AT T E N D I N G E V E N T S A N D
TO U R I N G T H E CO L L ECT I O N
13
Richard Lary
Walter Leuchs
Donald & Alice Loughry
Carl Lowenstein
Steven Mayer
Landon Noll
Andreas Nowatzyk
Richard Pekelney
Scott Peterson
Robert Praetorius
Bill Pratt
Daniel Rubin
Rita Saltz
John Sanguinetti
Roger Smith
CO R E 1 . 2
Les Earnest
Douglas G Fairbairn
David H Floyd
Jerry Fochtman
John and Wendy-Ann Francis
Bill and Peri Frantz
Dwight Freund
Alan Frisbie
Rev Dr Christopher Garcia
Robert Goldberg
Thomas Gould
Patricia Nelson Herring
Imagine Media
Mark Kaminsky
Thomas Kurtz
COMPUTER BOWL
K I C K- O F F E V E N T
www.computerbowl.org
T H E FA I R C H I L D S Y M B O L
MACHINE
David Ditzel, Transmeta
Computer History Lecture
GENERAL SUPPORTERS
Adobe
Anonymous
Paul Armer
Dennis Austin
Autodesk
Allen Baum & Donya White
Erich & Renee Bloch
Vinton Cerf
Compaq Corporation
George Comstock
George Conrades
Samuel Cooke
Michael Coulter
Lee Courtney
John Dykstra
JUNE 22
MYSTERY ITEMS
from the Collection of
The Computer Museum History Center
W H AT I S T H I S ?
This item will be explained in the next issue of CORE.
Please send your best guess to mystery@computerhistory.org
before 7/15/00 along with your name and shipping address. The
first three correct entries will receive a free poster:
2 5 Y E A R S O F M I C R O P R O C E S S O R E VO LU T I O N
NONPROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA
PERMIT NO. 50