Living Computers: Museum + Labs

Living Computers: Museum + Labs

Exterior of the Museum
Established	25 October 2012 (2012-10-25)
Location	2245 1st Ave S Seattle, Washington
Coordinates	47°34′57″N 122°20′05″W / 47.582487°N 122.334708°W / 47.582487; -122.334708Coordinates: 47°34′57″N 122°20′05″W / 47.582487°N 122.334708°W / 47.582487; -122.334708
Type	Computer museum
Founder	Paul Allen
Director	Lath Carlson
Curator	Aaron Alcorn
Public transit access	21, 594, 132, 106, 50, 102, 590, and 116 Bus Routes and the Link Light Rail
Nearest car park	Onsite and Street Parking
Website	www.livingcomputers.org

Living Computers: Museum + Labs (LCM+L) is a computer and technology museum located in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. LCM+L showcases vintage computers which provide interactive sessions, either through time-sharing operating systems or single-user interfaces. This gives users a chance to actually use the computers on-line or in person in the museum. An expansion adds direct touch experiences with contemporary technologies such as virtual reality, self-driving cars, the internet of things, and robotics. This puts today's computer technology in the context of how it's being used to tackle real-world issues. LCM+L also hosts a wide range of educational programs and events in their state-of-the art classroom and lab spaces.

According to LCM+L's website, their goal is "to breathe life back into our machines so the public can experience what it was like to see them, hear them, and interact with them. We make our systems accessible by allowing people to come and interact with them, and by making them available over the Internet."^[1]

History

LCM+L (originally known as Living Computer Museum, and before that, PDPplanet.com) was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, on January 9, 2006. Through PDPplanet users were able to telnet into vintage devices and experience timesharing computing on equipment from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and XKL.^[2]

Users around the world can now request a login through the LCM+L website and telnet into systems from XKL, DEC, IBM, Xerox Sigma, AT&T, and CDC.^[3]

Living Computer Museum opened to the public on October 25, 2012 and guests can now visit in person to interact with the collection of Mainframes, Minicomputers, Microcomputers and Peripherals the museum has on display.^[4] Various and changing exhibits in the museum show how much computers and technology have changed over the last 50 years and are changing still.^[5]

On November 18, 2016 the institution changed its name to Living Computers: Museum + Labs to reflect its enlarged goals of igniting curiosity through direct touch experiences with contemporary technologies as well as vintage computers.

Interesting facts

Paul Allen also founded the Museum of Pop Culture, or MoPOP (earlier called EMP Museum) and the Flying Heritage Collection.
On March 17, 2010, it was recognized by Washington State Senate Resolution 8721 "for its role in the preservation of the history of information technology".^[6]
In 2013 Seattle Weekly voted the museum the "Best Geeky Museum" because it highlights "an essential part of Seattle binary history- the founding of Microsoft and its role in establishing Seattle as a tech-driven industry".^[7]
LCM was the main sponsor of the Seattle Retro Gaming Expo in 2016.^[8]
Various artifacts from the museum have been borrowed and featured in TV shows such as Mad Men^[9] and Halt and Catch Fire,^[10] and movies such as Tomorrowland.^[11]

Collections and exhibits

The collection consists of publicly donated items and Paul Allen’s personal collection. The working computers on display include 1 supercomputer, 7 mainframes, 10 minicomputers, and over 3 dozen microcomputers.^[4]

In April 2017 a permanent exhibit entitled From the Garage to the iMac: 1976-1999 was unveiled. On display is an operable Apple 1 that visitors can interact with, as well as Apple II, III, Lisa II, Macintosh, and NeXT computers.

LCM+L is still actively collecting and restoring vintage computers.^[4] See the want list for important items the collection is looking for.

A list of most of the computers currently on display, and those coming soon, can be found below.

On display and available for public use

Apple

IBM

IMSAI

8080

Interdata

7/32

MITS

Altair 8800

Microsoft

NeXT Computer

Osborne

Executive

Processor Technology

Sol-20

Radio Shack

TRS-80

Sun Microsystems

Sun 3/160

Tandy Corporation

Tandy 1000

Teletype Corporation

Texas Instruments

TI-99/4A

Xerox

Sigma 9
Alto

System/360 Model 91 Front Panel

Vulcan

FlipStart

XKL

TOAD-1

Sigma 9

XKL

TOAD-2

Control Data Corporation

CDC 6500

Under restoration

Bendix Corporation

Bendix G-15 – Under Restoration, Coming Soon

Control Data Corporation

CDC 160-A - Under Restoration, Coming Soon
CDC 405 Card Reader - Under Restoration, Coming Soon

IBM

IBM System/360 Model 30- Under Restoration, Coming Soon
IBM 4361 - Under restoration, coming soon.

Programming languages available at LCM+L

MACRO (Assembler for the PDP systems)
JCL
APL
C
LISP
BASIC
COBOL
FORTRAN
sh
awk

Operating systems available at LCM+L

Tops-10 v7.04
TOPS-20 v7.1
OpenVMS 7.3
UNIX v7
CP-V
UNIX SVR3
BSD 4.3
NOS 1.3

Games available to play, by computer

Computer	Games
Atari 2600	Asteroids, Basketball, Super Breakout, Berzerk, Tutankham, Jungle Hunt, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Breakout, Warlords, Missile Command, Star Raiders, Yar's Revenge, Video Checkers, Haunted House, Demons to Diamonds, E.T., Laser Blast, Boxing, Sky Diver, Bowling, Slot Machine, Air-Sea Battle, Dragster (video game), Casino, Video Olympics, Sky Jinks, Tic-Tac-Toe, Space Invaders, Riddle of the Sphinx, Pengo, River Raid, Football, Starmaster.
TI-99	Chisholm Trail, Parsec, Hunt the Wumpus, Alpiner, Tombstone City, Blackjack and Poker, Hopper, Word Radar, Return to Pirate's Isle, Early Learning Fun, A-maze-ing, Tunnels of Doom, Minus Mission, Jawbreaker (video game), Equations, Household Budget Management.
TRS-80	Rat's Revenge, Star Trek, Invasion Force, Space Warp, Craps/Keno, Baccarat/Roulette, Slot Machine/Wheel of Fortune, Paddle Pinball
Atari 400	E.T. Phone Home!, Centipede, Missile Command, Galaxian, Ms. Pacman, Pacman, Star Raiders, Space Invaders, Jungle Hunt, Jumpman Junior, Qix, Frogger, Moon Patrol, BASIC.
Osborne Executive	Chessmaster, Bridge Master
Commodore 64	Choplifter!, Kickman, Bubble Burst, Rootin-Tootin', Congo Bongo, Beamrider, Contra, Castle Wolfenstein, Marble Madness, SimCity, Skyfox, Z-Pilot, Predator, Jordan vs. Bird, Battle of Guadalcanal, Pharaoh's Revenge, Crossfire, Zenji, Lode Runner, Enchanter, Hitchhikers's Guide to the Galaxy, Storm (video game), Uninvited (video game), Threshold (video game), Paperboy (video game), Lunar Leepers, Invaders of the Lost Tomb, Frogger, Dig Dug, Dark Side (video game), Cosmic Tunnels, G.I. Joe, Dark Tower, Tetris, Arctic Fox, Elminator (video game), Pitstop (video game), Visible Solar System, Bubble busters
Apple II	Zork, Crossword Magic, VisiCalc, Killed Until Dead
Amiga 500	Zany Golf, Earl Weaver Baseball, The Commissioner's Disk, Chroma Paint, Galactic Invasion, F/A-18 Interceptor, Rampage, Detonator, Space Battle, Civilization (video game), Midwinter (video game), Midwinter (video game)
Atari 1040 ST	Time Bandit, Tanglewood, Crack'ed, MicroLeague Wrestling, Sim City, Dungeon Master, Harley Davidson, Tetra Quest
IBM AT	Hoyle's Official Book of Games, Star Fleet I, Star Fleet II
Commodore PET	Star Trek, Rat's Revenge, PET MM
Apple IIC	Ulysses and the Golden Fleece, Wizard and the Princess, Rescue Raiders, Minit Man, Beyond Castle Wolfenstein, Asteroid Invasion, Flight Simulator II, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, Dig Dug, Moon Patrol, Jungle Hunt, Stickybear Numbers, Stickybear Opposites, Oregon Trail, Amnesia, Karateka, Summer Games, LOGO.
IBM PCjr	Demon Attack, BASIC
Tandy 1000	Maniac Mansion, Sim City, Arkanoid II, Turbo Champions, Solitaire, DOS 3.20 BASIC.
Compaq Deskpro 386S	Myst, Command & Conquer, Earthworm Jim, Total Annihilation, Chessmaster 5000, Monopoly, School House Rock, Risk
Dell XPS B733	The Sims, Fine Artist, Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, The Sims: Livin' Large, Age of Empires, Oregon Trail II
Gateway 2000 4DX-33	Creative Writer, Encarta '98, Encarta '98 Deluxe, Cinemania '98, Magic School Bus, Dinosaurs, Encarta '96 World Atlas, Microsoft Bob, Musical Instruments, Multimedia Schubert, Virtual globe
Xbox One	Madden NFL 15, Ori and the Blind Forest, Forza Motorsport 6, Pac-Man Championship Edition 2, Jurassic World, Flashback Classics Vol. 1, Flashback Classics Vol. 2, Stern Pinball Arcade, Mega Man Legacy Collection, Rare Replay, Minecraft, Abzu
Virtual Reality	Tilt Brush, Space Pirate Trainer, Job Simulator Demo, Audioshield, Snow Fortress, Spooky Night, The VR Museum of FIne Art, Cloudlands, VR Minigolf, Surge, The Night Café, Destinations, trials on Tattoine, theBlu, Google Earth VR, Rec Room, Spellbound, Broomball, NewRetroArcade, Neon, The Lab.

Photos

Harry Garland and Paul Allen at an event honoring computer pioneers at the museum in April 2013

Harry Garland and Bill Gates at the same event

A roughly 180° panorama of the "conditioned" room at the Living Computer Museum containing mainframes and large minicomputers.

In the media

References

↑ "What is Living Computer Museum?". Retrieved January 12, 2016.
↑ "Paul G. Allen Launches Web Site Dedicated to Early Computers; PDPplanet.com Site Celebrates Historic Mainframes and Minicomputers | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com.
↑ "Request a Login". Retrieved January 12, 2016.
1 2 3 "Home - Living Computer Museum". www.livingcomputermuseum.org. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
↑ "Seattle's Living Computer Museum tempts tech tourists". USA Today. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
↑ "Washington State Senate Resolution 8721"
↑ "Best Geeky Museum: Living Computer Museum". Retrieved 17 August 2016.
↑ "Seattle Retro Gaming Expo". Seattle Retro Gaming Expo. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
↑ "Fashion and Style: Episode 704: Mad Men: The Monolith". AMC.
↑ "Welcome To 1986: Inside "Halt And Catch Fire's" High-Tech Time Machine". 27 August 2016.
↑ "In the Media - Living Computer Museum". www.livingcomputermuseum.org.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Living Computer Museum.

Museums in the Puget Sound region
Art	911 Media Arts Center Bellevue Arts Museum Cascadia Art Museum Frye Art Museum Henry Art Gallery Monarch Contemporary Art Center and Sculpture Park Museum of Glass Museum of Northwest Art Olympic Sculpture Park Seattle Art Museum Seattle Asian Art Museum Tacoma Art Museum Whatcom Museum of History and Art
Aviation	Flying Heritage Collection Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour Heritage Flight Museum McChord Air Museum Museum of Flight Olympic Flight Museum Port Townsend Aero Museum
Children's	Hands On Children's Museum Imagine Children's Museum KidsQuest Children's Museum Seattle Children's Museum
Culture	Museum of Pop Culture Nordic Heritage Museum Northwest African American Museum Suquamish Museum Quinault Museum Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience
History	DuPont Museum Eastside Heritage Center Edmonds Historical Museum Harbor History Museum History House of Greater Seattle Issaquah Historical Museums Karshner Museum Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Museum of History and Industry Renton History Museum Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum Seattle Underground Washington State History Museum
Maritime	Browns Point Light Center for Wooden Boats Coast Guard Museum Northwest Northwest Seaport Snagboat Heritage Center Working Waterfront Maritime Museum
Military	Coast Guard Museum Northwest Lewis Army Museum McChord Air Museum Naval Undersea Museum Puget Sound Navy Museum Washington National Guard Museum
Natural sciences	Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture Museum and Arts Center, Sequim, Washington
Science and technology	America's Car Museum Bellingham Railway Museum Georgetown Steam Plant Living Computer Museum Museum of Communications Pacific Science Center SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention Vintage Motorcycle Museum
See also: List of museums in Washington and Museums and galleries of Seattle

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