Steve Wozniak with George Stibitz's one-bit computer from 1936
On January 13th, the seven-year-old Computer History Museum will open its first truly full-blown permanent exhibit:, the 25,000-square-foot, $19 million “Revolution: The First 2000 Years of Computing.” It’s been a long time in the making: It features a spectacular collection of computers and related apparatus begun by DEC founder Ken Olsen and computing legend Gordon Bell back in the mid-1970s, which spent some time at Boston’s now-defunct Computer Museum before making its way to its current home in Mountain View, California, within walking distance of the Googleplex.
The museum invited reporters for a sneak peek of the new exhibit this morning, and while it’s a work in progress–we saw mainframes still wrapped, Christo-style, in protective plastic wrap–it was a remarkable experience. Part of what made it remarkable was our guide, Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak.