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<\/a>\u201cIt\u2019s quite endearing in many ways,\u201d Spicer added. \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to see these people, some of whom came from across the country, even around the world. So yeah, hands-on demos of historical systems from probably the \u201960s to the \u201990s, and you can learn preservation tips from other people who are preserving their own systems. They come to learn from the masters, so to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet perhaps the most mind-blowing machine currently on display at the Computer History Museum just might be the RAMAC 305, part of IBM\u2019s groundbreaking 1956 computer system developed at 99 Notre Dame Ave. in downtown San Jose, IBM\u2019s original West Coast R&D lab. The RAMAC was the prototype for all hard drives that we still use today. Without exaggeration, almost everything we do in terms of hard drive storage originated in that lab, in that building, which has sat empty and ignored for years because nobody in San Jose seems to care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn history, we talk about the importance of place. Or the magic of place,\u201d Spicer said. It isn\u2019t exactly the Grand Canyon or the Louvre, but 99 Notre Dame is important, even if for only a few. \u201cYou can take scientific tours of Paris that will take you through the buildings where Lavoisier and Pascal and Descartes and all these characters worked,\u201d Spicer added. \u201cAnd it\u2019s a wonderful way to see Paris, but it\u2019s really of interest only to science nerds. And that\u2019s, in a way, I guess, what\u2019s going on here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone who ever saved anything to a hard drive has that building to thank, at least partly. It\u2019s just overwhelming to contemplate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe amount of data that we generate on a daily basis, on this planet, and it\u2019s all getting stuffed on hard drives from that core, from that seed, still today,\u201d Klein said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, informal talks have ensued, with San Jose City Hall and retired IBM employees that worked on the RAMAC, as well as the landlord, but no serious civic interest in the history has ever come to fruition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regardless, the Vintage Computer Fest will only get bigger and more expansive, with or without San Jose. Next year, in addition to the existing West Coast and East Coast festivals, there will be one in Canada and a few others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking to folks in Europe and South America and elsewhere,\u201d Klein said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking to get these shows going wherever people want to do it. We want the federation to be an umbrella organization for the hobbyist community, much like the museum is an umbrella organization for the history of these machines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Vintage Computer Festival West takes place Aug 1, 10am-6pm, and Aug 2, 10am-5pm, at the Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View. Tickets: connect.computerhistory.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When a few thousand computer freaks and their grandchildren congregate for a few days at the Computer History Museum, enlightenment ensues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14789,"featured_media":20183246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[1686],"tags":[20271,17172,20270],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n