from Hacker News

Paul Allen's Computer Museum to Be Auctioned

by RobertJaTomsons on 6/26/24, 12:29 PM with 28 comments

  • by samwillis on 6/26/24, 12:45 PM

    There was a really good post with significant background earlier this year:

    > Is the Living Computer Museum Dead?

    https://www.pcjs.org/blog/2023/02/16/

    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34831880 (238 comments)

    > At the time, Vulcan CEO Bill Hilf framed the closure both as an unavoidable consequence of COVID-19 and as a difficult decision that was actually in keeping with Paul Allen’s wishes – that how Paul wanted his money to be spent after he was gone was very different from when he was alive.

    > Yet it’s almost impossible to square the idea that Paul Allen, after investing so much time, energy, and money in the Living Computer Museum and its people – not to mention his express hope that efforts like his would not be “lost to time” – would have also left instructions that could somehow be interpreted to justify completely shutting down LCM after his death.

  • by gtirloni on 6/26/24, 12:51 PM

    My initial thought was "why don't they donate it to another vintage computing museum?"

    https://www.geekwire.com/2024/seattles-living-computers-muse...

    > The estate previously teamed up with Christie’s for a November 2022 auction of 155 masterpieces from Allen’s extensive art collection. It was the world’s most successful single-owner fine art auction ever, raising a record $1.62 billion.

    I'm sure they are expecting a huge payout here as well. Understandable but sad nonetheless.

  • by skellera on 6/26/24, 12:59 PM

    Really sad to see something so amazing get picked apart for its value.

    I really wish Paul set up endowments to continue his projects. I don’t know if he knew how his sister would handle his estate but it doesn’t seem like what he wanted.

  • by Teslazar on 6/26/24, 4:38 PM

    This one hurts... I visited the Living Computer Museum in 2017 and it was amazing. Here's a selection of some photos I took: https://photos.app.goo.gl/VUVXQ1cG3zWAMWY3A My favorite photo here is the one of the Xerox Altos available to play multiplayer Maze War (one is a real Alto and the other two are emulated).

  • by blackeyeblitzar on 6/26/24, 12:48 PM

    I wish someone like Bill Gates would step in to save the museum and its items.

  • by ChrisArchitect on 6/26/24, 1:52 PM

  • by KabukiOrigin on 6/26/24, 1:28 PM

    Not everything in the LCM collection is owned by LCM; some is on loan. Hope Christie's figures that out.

  • by hnpolicestate on 6/26/24, 2:37 PM

    Give 1/3 to LGR, 8 bit guy and curiousmarc?

  • by GauntletWizard on 6/26/24, 4:04 PM

    Now is a good time to be thankful for and get involved in the still-active computer history museums: https://computerhistory.org/ https://m.facebook.com/bloopmuseum/