Comment by operatingthetan
6 hours ago
Paul Allen did not structure the financials for it to succeed, which is unfortunate. I got to go there once and it was amazing.
6 hours ago
Paul Allen did not structure the financials for it to succeed, which is unfortunate. I got to go there once and it was amazing.
I also went there, shortly before it shut down during the pandemic. A friend talked me into visiting when we’re were in town for a scientific meeting. I am so glad I went.
The museum on the afternoon we visited was nearly empty. As a result, the museum docents were happy to let us monopolize their time. I mentioned offhandedly that I had always wished I could try programming SmallTalk on an Alto, and the docent said with a grin “sure!” He reloaded their Alto with a programming environment and gave me a short tutorial. I quickly crashed the machine, but I had a lot of fun along the way.
I got to try many other machines that night. I often think with sadness about how my students will no longer be able to easily have this experience.