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The Computer History museum in Mountain View is a great place, full of last century's technology. It organizes plenty of events, some of which I have attended, most notably the 20 year reunion of the team that launched the Mac marketing campaign in 1984.
Today I went to see a panel in honor of the 40 year anniversary of the launch of IBM's 360 computer, a machine that made history. The most well-known protagonist of that saga is Fred Brooks, and he was to be on the panel. He is best known for his famous book "The Mythical Man Month."
I had registered, and upon arriving received my badge and paid my $10. Supposedly entry is free, but what can you do if they hold the collection box right under your nose. Looking around, I had to notice that I was by far the youngest person anywhere in sight. Kind of a pity, but what can you do. So far so good, so to speak.
This time, however, when I tried to enter the presentation hall, I was held back and shown the way to an overflow room: They were expecting a lot of people, and as a non-member I would have to take a backseat to museum members. I find this highly annoying, after all, I paid my entrance fee like everyone else, and I had not been told about this. Moreover, it wasn't exactly apparent that the main room was filling up.
The panel didn't start on time, and when it finally came up on the screen, it was without sound. Apparently, the Computer History Museum is employing some of its very own ancient technology in its presentation system. Worse, they couldn't fix it. Getting more and more impatient at seeing but not hearing what I had come for, I eventually decided to leave.
One hour wasted, how annoying. I think I'll leave this Old Boys Club alone for the forseeable future.
Postscriptum: I wrote this entry on April 7, 2004. Today, on June 29, 2004, I received a letter thanking me for attending the event. The envelope also included a booklet called "The 360 Revolution" by Chuck Boyer. What a pity. I wished I could have participated in the event, it must have been pretty cool.
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