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Paul Allen Buys Old MITS Building
u2mr2os2 writes "Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has purchased the building where Microsoft had its first office along with MITS (Altair creator). The long term plan for this is to possibly turn it into a computer museum. Sure, it would be MS tilted, but at least it'll give other geeks a reason to come visit Albuquerque (it's not as bad as The Pirates of Silicon Valley portrayed. Story is in the local papers.."
Paul Allen left Microsoft in 1983, that's a long long time ago. Among the reasons were serious disagreements with Bill Gates about the direction of the company.
Since then he has been mostly playing (not very successfully) with the capital gained by owning Microsoft stock, including investing in companies that are rather anti than pro Microsoft. For example, he is one of the main investors behind Transmeta.
Microsoft tilted, indeed... But hey, anything goes when we are talking about MS, right?
When men used to be men
It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. And I did, although it was 20 years ago. It was truely a beautiful area (at least, outside the city limits - The sunsets are unbeleivable). But, when I lived there, jobs were very scarce, homelessness was a HUGE problem, and you had to kick the used needles the druggies left behind out of the way to play in the parks.
Granted, that WAS 20 years ago, things have probably changed for the better. One can hope, at least.
psmylie's dictionary: Godzillion (noun) Any number large enough to destroy Tokyo
Rich
OK Hemos, did you actually pay for this link? Be honest!!!
I have a page with a couple pieces of interesting PC (Including early microsoft) history. Check them out Here
Granted it's not the New Mexico address, but still very interesting.
Included is pics of MSDOS 1.1, CP/M X86 1.0 (a tad too late), and a sheet from the Basic manual of an old Z80 based Computer (which came in a woodgrain case, probably about 1977). This Basic manual page was the only reference to Microsoft i could find.
Yeah. But how is Paul Allen going to make that building in Alberquerque or wherever it is look like a pile of multicolored sheet metal bent into the shape of a melted wax candle?
--- Jump!! Fire!! Bullet time!! - Lego version of the Matrix
He left MS 18 years ago :P Really a good news to associate with MS ;-)
When men used to be men
>Sure, it would be MS tilted, but at least it'll
>give other geeks a reason to come visit
>Albuquerque
Oh, come on. Who wouldn't want to visit Albuquerque? People there are so friendly, they'll gladly shave your back for a nickel!
Actually, IIRC the beginning of the twentieth century was known for child labor, sweatshops and the company towns that gave rise to unions.
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"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
You know, it's funny how people bitch about the ANWR as though the Democrats could do no wrong, yet fail to ever mention the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA) which had been closed since Harding, but was opened up by Clinton.
Both major parties suck.
-- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
Not all bad....but one big strike against:
TICKETMASTER
Grown a little? Try one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the U.S over the last 20 years.
If the IT scene was just a little more hopping, like the Bay Area or Seattle, this place would be perfect.
No, Thursday's out. How about never - is never good for you?
I doubt it. As long as it remains a "museum" and not a corporate "experience" it should stay close to its roots.
Although, that's not to say MITS had very moral roots to begin with (see Levy's "Hackers").
- I don't care if they globalize against free speech. All my best free thoughts are done in my head.
I don't know about the rest of you, but what's the point of having an old-computer museum if we can't play with the technology.
"Ah yes, the old hands-on-imperative" they'll say, "those were the days!"
Hey kid, get the heck away from my PDP.
[haven't you tried FunWithPerl?]
I realize everyone loves computer museums (and who wouldn't?) but can't we put these old buildings to better uses?
Homelessness is an important social problem facing our society today. Millions of Americans live without a roof over their heads, and millions more are fleeing abusive relationships or other forms of domestic violence and need a place to stay before they can move on.
The average 5-floor office building can house more than a hundred people in dormitory-like conditions. Most office buildings are already well connected to utilities like water and electricity, and most already have kitchen facilities. It's a simple matter of tearing out the old boardrooms and putting in optional heat and massage.
It's important to remember the past, but what if the past wasn't worth remembering? What if the past was filled with obsolete technologies, dust and cobwebs, and the napoleonic powergrabs of technologists? Should we be commemorating that? Or should we move on with our lives and put our heritage to better uses? I submit it's the latter.
When we look back on the beginning of the twentieth century, should we remember it as a time of corporate conquest? Or should we recognize it as a time when we came together as one global community and solved the social and economic problems that plagued our ancestors?
Paul Allen is better suited to achieving these goals than the rest of us, because of his large bank account. If he doesn't take steps today, then it's our duty to enact confiscatory tax laws to take his money and put it to better uses. It's the moral thing to do.
... a seventy-foot-high replica of an Altair, with and stoplights for the panel LEDs.... and it'll all work. Swarms of employees will show up every morning, turn it on, and manually enter a copy of the first version of Microsoft Basic using a backhoe to flip the six-foot-long toggle switches. Then put in "Lunar Lander" or something and run that all day, and then shut it off to go home at night.
Microsoft Museum(tm)? That's impossible! How can you reboot a museum?!
Disconnect your television. Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions. They're probably lying. Don't be a sheep.
I just happend to have run across an ad for a MITS calculator and posted a scan here - from 1972 "Electronics Illustrated" magazine. They were shortly thereafter to come under a lot of pressure from Japanese calculator mfgs (recall that Intel started making microprocessors for a Japanese calculator client) and MITS had to find a new product quick, which turned out to be the Altair personal computer kit.
A complete shame that Ed Roberts isn't involved in any of these latest events.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
I read somewhere that Paul Allen is still into hacking PDP-11s and other DEC oldies but goodies. I belive that MS used PDP-11 hardware to cross-assemble early Microsoft products. I heard that he is still a participant in the crowd that hacks old deck hardware. The guy can't be all bad. Anyway, he's a big baseball fan so that's a plus in my book too.
Why, thank you for asking. In truth, the winner was this guy.
"Winner" being a relative term, of course.
Got a full tank of hot grits and a penis bird in the glove box.
Do not lean on case.
-Omar
...that Microsoft are going to be the sole owners of the ONLY MS Computer Museum in the whole of Albuquerque? Have they learned nothing from the Justice Department experience? This is clearly yet another demonstration of Microsoft's domination of the marketplace!
;-)
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The gift of death metal does not smile on the good looking.
Will the building have a parking garage?
Got a full tank of hot grits and a penis bird in the glove box.