3 ms·

Hard to pack those circular cray machines together though. And people would keep sitting on them. Check out the Paul Allen auction https://www.christies.com/en

Hard to pack those circular cray machines together though. And people would keep sitting on them. Check out the Paul Allen auction https://www.christies.com/en/stories/paul-allen-computer-collection-d946162ef5744d7bb43c4459733bf9cf https://www.christies.com/en/stories/paul-allen-computer-col...

smegger001 2y ago
to be fair it does look like a bench seat
- sjm-lbm 2y ago
  Wait, serious question: was it not a bench seat? I've always assumed it was, and a quick Google finds several places claiming they were bench seats, though none of them terribly authoritative.
  - datameta 2y ago
    The "bench" exterior was an aesthetically minded comfortable seat, but inside was much of the cooling system.
    - ForOldHack 2y ago
      Filled with that ... coolant. Pics or it didn't happen? The Bench: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cray-1#/media/File:Cray-1-p1010237.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cray-1#/media/File:Cray-1-p101...
  - kjs3 2y ago
    Yes, you can sit on them. I have.
  - creer 2y ago
    Perfectly functional as a seat.
kjs3 2y ago
You don't want to pack them too tight for heating/cooling reasons; it was never intended to be 'compact'. Plus, you'd loose the cool factor of having a Cray in your datacenter to show off to visitors.
- rbanffy 2y ago
  > Cray in your datacenter You’ll want it next to your lobby, in the “computer aquarium”.
ck2 2y ago
Ah it's got the Altair 8800 ! Cray was fascinating but the Altair changed everything and I'd oddly rather play with a working Altair in a museum than a Cray https://www.nutsvolts.com/magazine/article/micro_memories_200301 https://www.nutsvolts.com/magazine/article/micro_memories_20... https://www.nutsvolts.com/uploads/wygwam/NV_0103_Driscoll_P4050310-V2.jpg https://www.nutsvolts.com/uploads/wygwam/NV_0103_Driscoll_P4...
- rbanffy 2y ago
  You can play with mine. docker run -p 8823:8823 rbanffy/altair-mpm
jasomill 2y ago
Given its historical importance and rarity, $5,000–$8,000 for a working Alto seems like a bargain. Somebody who cares as much as I do, please buy this!

smegger001 2y ago

to be fair it does look like a bench seat

sjm-lbm 2y ago
Wait, serious question: was it not a bench seat? I've always assumed it was, and a quick Google finds several places claiming they were bench seats, though none of them terribly authoritative.
- datameta 2y ago
  The "bench" exterior was an aesthetically minded comfortable seat, but inside was much of the cooling system.
  - ForOldHack 2y ago
    Filled with that ... coolant. Pics or it didn't happen? The Bench: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cray-1#/media/File:Cray-1-p1010237.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cray-1#/media/File:Cray-1-p101...
- kjs3 2y ago
  Yes, you can sit on them. I have.
- creer 2y ago
  Perfectly functional as a seat.

kjs3 2y ago

You don't want to pack them too tight for heating/cooling reasons; it was never intended to be 'compact'. Plus, you'd loose the cool factor of having a Cray in your datacenter to show off to visitors.

rbanffy 2y ago
> Cray in your datacenter You’ll want it next to your lobby, in the “computer aquarium”.

ck2 2y ago

Ah it's got the Altair 8800 ! Cray was fascinating but the Altair changed everything and I'd oddly rather play with a working Altair in a museum than a Cray https://www.nutsvolts.com/magazine/article/micro_memories_200301 https://www.nutsvolts.com/magazine/article/micro_memories_20... https://www.nutsvolts.com/uploads/wygwam/NV_0103_Driscoll_P4050310-V2.jpg https://www.nutsvolts.com/uploads/wygwam/NV_0103_Driscoll_P4...

rbanffy 2y ago
You can play with mine. docker run -p 8823:8823 rbanffy/altair-mpm

jasomill 2y ago

Given its historical importance and rarity, $5,000–$8,000 for a working Alto seems like a bargain. Somebody who cares as much as I do, please buy this!