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(It's been discussed in a previous /. thread, I know)

In 1999, the late and lamented Boston Computer Museum closed its doors and moved organizationally to the Museum of Science, while its artifacts moved to The Computer Museum History Center in Moffett Field, California.

Here's a last-gasp look at its virtual existance, thanks to archive.org.

Not to mention the skin effect Skin effect for dummies It would seem that what works for one electromagnetic phenomenon should have analogs in other similar situations.

the Boston Computer Museum website is here. Several exhibits moved to Boston's Museum of Science and other 'artifacts' are in this new Californain museum.

The related Kuro5kin article has a handful of useful links and a good summary of this new museum's background, funding, etc.

the Boston Computer Museum website is here. Several exhibits moved to Boston's Museum of Science and other 'artifacts' are in this new Californain museum.

The related Kuro5kin article has a handful of useful links and a good summary of this new museum's background, funding, etc.

See details here

Which is really said, since it was a really great place. The huge collection of old stuff they had is now out at moffet field, as seen in at http://www.computerhistory.org

I was said to see that stuff go.

I still miss the Computer Museum. :(

I visited Boston for the first time at the end of last year. I had a few days spare, so the Boston Computer Museum was an obvious visit. Finding that it had been absorbed into the Museum of Science wasn't too bad, but what happened to all the exhibits ? Shipped out to storage in California and "... The Best Software for Kids Gallery(TM), now part of an expanded Cahners ComputerPlace". - Just as you describe, it had been reduced to a trivialised version of MSN.

I've a better computer museum in my own shed 8-(

OK, so the Virtual FishTank is excellent, but that's an exhibit on behaviours, not on computer history.

obkarmawhore: Not quite computers, but immensely cool electrical oddities.

Note the sequence of ISS images -- some are blurry, but one in the sequence is sharp.

Ground based telescopes are limited by convection cells that roil the image. Anybody who's looked at a planet through a small telescope pushed to the limits of its usable magnification has seen this.

However, there are brief instnaces where you happen to be looking through a patch of stable atmosphere, as can be clearly seen in the image sequences -- one is much clearer than the others. Ron Dantowitz from the Boston Museum of Science discovered the technique of using individual video frames (actually he used half frames from an NTSC CCTV camera) to get unprecedented resolution images of satellites from small telescopes. For instance he has taken ground based pictures of the shuttle where you can see whether the cargo bay doors are open or closed. He put images of spy satellites on the web and got a prompt visit from some NSA spooks who wanted to know how he got them. The cool thing about this is that works in broad daylight, so you don't have to be up freezing your butt off after midnight.

here are some samples, unfortunately without captions, and here are a few with captions.

The ISS pictures in the article were even better; perhaps the state of the art has advanced, or the observer was lucky.

In Q3A, I already use my left-hand on the keyboard for actions, so I don't foresee any kind of problems with gaming there.

I also type approximately near 80WPM with two hands, I don't foresee having much trouble getting my left-hand to do alone.

This is a nice compromise between chording keyboards and QWERTY-- I can't find a "standard-standard" for chording anywhere so I've avoided trying to get hardware like that. The Happy Hacking Keyboard I've seen has squeezed down the size of the keys (and rearranged a few) so much that I found it to be a real pain to use.

One thing I noticed about the HalfKeyboard was the "reversal" of the phantom hand keys--

;lkj
ASDF

--

Perhaps you might want to consider pursuing Computer History as a passionate hobby while making the big bucks in boring old programming or engineering?

The Computer Museum in Boston has recently been aquired by the Science Museum (in boston) as the Computer Museum was not doing well. They hadn't had a new exhibit in ages and all the old ones were either out of date or needing repair in general. They are in a state of disorder last I heard since they are moving to the Museum of Science area, but they might still be taking donations. The science museum has a webpage at http://www.mos.org i don't know if that includes the Computer Museum though.

Fantasia 2000: The Museum of Science is currently not showing the "IMAX" movie "Fantasia 2000." According to Cherie Rivers, manager of Omni programs at the Museum of Science "The nonnegotiable requirement to show Fantasia 2000 exclusively for four months with no other film programs allowed was unacceptable to the Museum of Science since it would deny the Museum the opportunity to present our mission related film programs."

Along with the world's largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator, the museum's Theatre of Electricity puts on a great show.

Michael J.

Along with the world's largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator, the museum's Theatre of Electricity puts on a great show.

Michael J.

Along with the world's largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator, the museum's Theatre of Electricity puts on a great show.

Michael J.

Man, when I was a kid, I cringed at the Tesla coil thingy they have at Boston's museum of science.

You mean their gigantic Van DeGraff generator? That thing's awesome =) I remember trips to the museum when I was about 8 years old, younger even, and getting freaked out by that thing. A couple years older, and it was a great adrenaline rush. Even today (I'm 17, btw) it's great entertainment. There's nothing like the raw power of electricity to get your juices flowing. *grin*

By the way, that link above has some great pics along the same lines as the ones in this article, plus goes into a lot of the mechanics behind it all... check it out.

This reminds me of the Boston Museum of Science's Theater of Electricity... very neat.

This reminds me of the Boston Museum of Science's Theater of Electricity... very neat.

If you live in the northeast, or ever travel there, be sure to check out the lightning show at the boston museum of science. they have the worlds largest van de graaff generators, with a guy in a cage that gets hit by bolts. Also, the museum is just great in general.

If you live in the northeast, or ever travel there, be sure to check out the lightning show at the boston museum of science. they have the worlds largest van de graaff generators, with a guy in a cage that gets hit by bolts. Also, the museum is just great in general.

If you live in the northeast, or ever travel there, be sure to check out the lightning show at the boston museum of science. they have the worlds largest van de graaff generators, with a guy in a cage that gets hit by bolts. Also, the museum is just great in general.

If you live in the northeast, or ever travel there, be sure to check out the lightning show at the boston museum of science. they have the worlds largest van de graaff generators, with a guy in a cage that gets hit by bolts. Also, the museum is just great in general.

I think one of the wrongest things in our society is that if a man is interested in being supportive to girls and isn't a father or school teacher, he's looked at funny.

Seriously, if you're looking for a way to contribute to this specific social agenda (more women in technical fields), don't bother with tutoring -- look for an opportunity to mentor. Tutoring provides specific academic help to kids having trouble, which while being noble and good, is not the demographic you're looking for. You want to connect the the smart girls who need general support and guidance, so they don't get derailed from the high road to Geekdom.

To that end, look into volunteering with a school math, science, computer, or chess club; or volunteer to a local Girl Scouts branch. Or find a local homeschooling organization and get word out you're willing to mentor in whichever field. I think there is an opportunity for scientists (if you're an academic) to volunteer through the Boston Museum of Science, which has Science-by-mail, a scientist-pen-pal service for kids. Surely other opportunities abound.

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I've suggested before that this is one of the few affordable commercial uses of spaceflight at this time. Were NASA not so puritanical, it would probably have been done by now; I think the first IMAX-3D space porn movie will make a ton of money.

On the other hand, "Severed Dreams" might be a good choice. Rerender all the CGI at ten times the old resolution, make a 15/70 print (IMAX/Omnimax form factor, thrice the height of a normal 70mm image) and drop it into the projector at the Museum of Science. Some ungodly amount of amplifiers (20kW total, I think) and a five-story dome. Comparing it to a flat-screen IMAX system is like comparing a fully loaded S/390 G5 (40k simultaneous connections, eats multiterabyte databases for breakfast) to a Presario with 64 MB of RAM and NT 5.0^W^WWindows 2000 b2.