4 ms·

It’s so incredibly stupid to sell off each piece of the museum - 50K for a DEC-10? Does the Allen estate really need the cash? Jody Allen is simply bent on dest

It’s so incredibly stupid to sell off each piece of the museum - 50K for a DEC-10? Does the Allen estate really need the cash? Jody Allen is simply bent on destroying her brother’s legacy. It was extremely cool and educational to visit the museum as an EE undergraduate, to visually see and use parts of the history of computing. It’s a massive loss to loose this collection. Some of the items we will never get back or see again.

glompers 2y ago
Could perhaps UW (for instance) EE or CS alumni arrange to bid and give the collection to the department at UW across town?
kragen 2y ago
as i said in another comment, that's possibly the only dec-10 in working condition in the world selling it off piece by piece probably improves the chances that the most important pieces will be preserved rather than the whole thing going to a scrap metal dealer
- anigbrowl 2y ago
  I doubt this. Not because I doubt your sincerity; I'm just pessimistic given the hostility displayed by the administrative class toward anything that doesn't have a currency symbol in front of it.
  - kragen 2y ago
    pdp-10 fans have currency symbols tho. lots of people on hackers-l are, as they say, financially independent, and a fair fraction of them are donors to the chm and fans of the pdp-10. plus you have the modern #pdp-10 freenode crowd
  - emmet 2y ago
    First time hearing "administrative class" and god that's fitting for the MBA crowd
    - IdPreferNotTo 2y ago
      aparatchiks we called them where i am from
vanchor3 2y ago
> It’s so incredibly stupid to sell off each piece of the museum - 50K for a DEC-10? Does the Allen estate really need the cash? Supposedly the proceeds are going to "charitable causes", though the article doesn't go into any more detail.
bdowling 2y ago
> Does the Allen estate really need the cash? The article doesn't clearly distinguish between the museum auctioning off the item it owns and the Allen estate auctioning the items that it had loaned to the museum, but there's a difference.
jojobas 2y ago
How much would you pay to get to see the DEC-10 again? Is there that much non-sentimental value about a working specimen as compared to docs and pictures?
mulmen 2y ago
> Jody Allen is simply bent on destroying her brother’s legacy. Jody Allen is respecting her brother’s wishes. Paul Allen wanted his estate liquidated and the proceeds donated to charity. That’s exactly what’s happening.

glompers 2y ago

Could perhaps UW (for instance) EE or CS alumni arrange to bid and give the collection to the department at UW across town?

kragen 2y ago

as i said in another comment, that's possibly the only dec-10 in working condition in the world selling it off piece by piece probably improves the chances that the most important pieces will be preserved rather than the whole thing going to a scrap metal dealer

anigbrowl 2y ago
I doubt this. Not because I doubt your sincerity; I'm just pessimistic given the hostility displayed by the administrative class toward anything that doesn't have a currency symbol in front of it.
- kragen 2y ago
  pdp-10 fans have currency symbols tho. lots of people on hackers-l are, as they say, financially independent, and a fair fraction of them are donors to the chm and fans of the pdp-10. plus you have the modern #pdp-10 freenode crowd
- emmet 2y ago
  First time hearing "administrative class" and god that's fitting for the MBA crowd
  - IdPreferNotTo 2y ago
    aparatchiks we called them where i am from

vanchor3 2y ago

> It’s so incredibly stupid to sell off each piece of the museum - 50K for a DEC-10? Does the Allen estate really need the cash? Supposedly the proceeds are going to "charitable causes", though the article doesn't go into any more detail.

bdowling 2y ago

> Does the Allen estate really need the cash? The article doesn't clearly distinguish between the museum auctioning off the item it owns and the Allen estate auctioning the items that it had loaned to the museum, but there's a difference.

jojobas 2y ago

How much would you pay to get to see the DEC-10 again? Is there that much non-sentimental value about a working specimen as compared to docs and pictures?

mulmen 2y ago

> Jody Allen is simply bent on destroying her brother’s legacy. Jody Allen is respecting her brother’s wishes. Paul Allen wanted his estate liquidated and the proceeds donated to charity. That’s exactly what’s happening.