Living Computers: Museum + Labs (LCM+L) is a computer and technology museum located in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. LCM+L showcases vintage computers which provide interactive sessions, either through time-sharing operating systems or single-user interfaces. This gives users a chance to actually use the computers on-line or in person in the museum. An expansion adds direct touch experiences with contemporary technologies such as virtual reality, self-driving cars, the internet of things, and robotics. This puts today's computer technology in the context of how it's being used to tackle real-world issues. LCM+L also hosts a wide range of educational programs and events in their state-of-the art classroom and lab spaces.
According to LCM+L's website, their goal is "to breathe life back into our machines so the public can experience what it was like to see them, hear them, and interact with them. We make our systems accessible by allowing people to come and interact with them, and by making them available over the Internet."
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
History
LCM+L (originally known as Living Computer Museum, and before that, PDPplanet.com) was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, on January 9, 2006. Through PDPplanet users were able to telnet into vintage devices and experience timesharing computing on equipment from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and XKL.
Users around the world can now request a login through the LCM+L website and telnet into systems from XKL, DEC, IBM, Xerox Sigma, AT&T, and CDC.
Living Computer Museum opened to the public on October 25, 2012 and guests can now visit in person to interact with the collection of Mainframes, Minicomputers, Microcomputers and Peripherals the museum has on display. Various and changing exhibits in the museum show how much computers and technology have changed over the last 50 years and are changing still.
On November 18, 2016 the institution changed its name to Living Computers: Museum + Labs to reflect its enlarged goals of igniting curiosity through direct touch experiences with contemporary technologies as well as vintage computers.
Living Computer Museum Video
Interesting facts
- Paul Allen also founded the Museum of Pop Culture, or MoPOP (earlier called EMP Museum) and the Flying Heritage Collection.
- On March 17, 2010, it was recognized by Washington State Senate Resolution 8721 "for its role in the preservation of the history of information technology".
- In 2013 Seattle Weekly voted the museum the "Best Geeky Museum" because it highlights "an essential part of Seattle binary history- the founding of Microsoft and its role in establishing Seattle as a tech-driven industry".
- LCM was the main sponsor of the Seattle Retro Gaming Expo in 2016.
- Various artifacts from the museum have been borrowed and featured in TV shows such as Mad Men and Halt and Catch Fire, and movies such as Tomorrowland.
Collections and exhibits
The collection consists of publicly donated items and Paul Allen's personal collection. The working computers on display include 1 supercomputer, 7 mainframes, 10 minicomputers, and over 3 dozen microcomputers.
In April 2017 a permanent exhibit entitled From the Garage to the iMac: 1976-1999 was unveiled. On display is an operable Apple 1 that visitors can interact with, as well as Apple II, III, Lisa II, Macintosh, and NeXT computers.
LCM+L is still actively collecting and restoring vintage computers. See the want list for important items the collection is looking for.
A list of most of the computers currently on display, and those coming soon, can be found below.
On display and available for public use
Apple
Atari
Commodore
Compaq
Cromemco
Data General
Digital Equipment Corporation
DELL
IBM
IMSAI
Interdata
MITS
Microsoft
NeXT
Osborne
Processor Technology
Radio Shack
Sun Microsystems
Tandy Corporation
Teletype Corporation
Texas Instruments
Xerox
Exhibits
Control Data Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation
IBM
Vulcan
XKL
Available online through Telnet
Digital Equipment Corporation
Xerox
XKL
Control Data Corporation
Under restoration
Bendix Corporation
Control Data Corporation
IBM
Programming languages available at LCM+L
- MACRO (Assembler for the PDP systems)
- JCL
- APL
- C
- LISP
- BASIC
- COBOL
- FORTRAN
- sh
- awk
Operating systems available at LCM+L
- Tops-10 v7.04
- TOPS-20 v7.1
- OpenVMS 7.3
- UNIX v7
- CP-V
- UNIX SVR3
- BSD 4.3
- NOS 1.3
Games available to play, by computer
Photos
In the media
- Daily Mail - Is this robot better at Pokémon Go than you?
- Engadget - Inside Seattle's invitation-only VR summit
- Engadget - We took a nostalgic look around Seattle's Living Computer Museum
- FC Technology - Welcome to 1986: Inside "Halt and Catch Fire's" High-Tech Time Machine
- Forbes - Bill Gates and Paul Allen Reunite and Recreate Classic 1981 Microsoft Photo
- Fox News Travel - Seattle's Living Computer Museum: not just for techies
- Geek Wire - Paul Allen's quest: A 32-bit computer built by Interdata
- Geek Wire - Go inside Paul Allen's Living Computer Museum with this 3D virtual tour
- LA Times - High-tech effort calls up smartphones for Ebola Battle
- NYT Bits - A Place where Old Computers Go to Live
- Oregon Live - Living Computer Museum offers a hands-on tour of the digital age
- Oregon Live - Paul Allen's Living Computer Museum pays homage to trailblazing PCs
- PDP-7 Lights Up the Living Computer Museum
- Seattle Times - Paul Allen's new Seattle computer museum not just for geeks
- Science Daily - Inside Seattle's Living Computer Museum
- Seattle Weekly - Best Geeky Museum: Living Computer Museum
- The Economist - Keeping skin out of the game
- The Stranger - Two Geeks and an Art Critic Visit Paul Allen's Living Computer Museum
- USA Today Video - Seattle's Living Computer Museum Tempts Tech Tourists
- WSJ Video - A Look Inside Paul Allen's Living Computer Museum
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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