Computers & Business Machines
Imagine the loss, 100 years from now, if museums hadn't begun preserving the artifacts of the computer age. The last few decades offer proof positive of why museums must collect continuously—to document technological and social transformations already underway.
The museum's collections contain mainframes, minicomputers, microcomputers, and handheld devices. Computers range from the pioneering ENIAC to microcomputers like the Altair and the Apple I. A Cray2 supercomputer is part of the collections, along with one of the towers of IBM's Deep Blue, the computer that defeated reigning champion Garry Kasparov in a chess match in 1997. Computer components and peripherals, games, software, manuals, and other documents are part of the collections. Some of the instruments of business include adding machines, calculators, typewriters, dictating machines, fax machines, cash registers, and photocopiers
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Personal Digital Assistant, Apple Cadillac PDA
- Description
- This portable, pen-operated personal digital assistant has a black plastic case and a clear screen. A space for an electronic pen is above the screen, although the pen presently with the device does not fit into the space. The pen can be plugged in to either the left or the right side of the Cadillac.
- Below the screen is an Apple logo. A tag on the left of the screen reads: SEUTØ13. A tag on the back reads: SEUTØ13 (/) IC.
- The Cadillac is a manufacturer’s prototype of the Newton personal digital assistant – Apple would sell the Newton from 1993 until 1998. This example of the Cadillac was owned by Rodney Sol Furmanski (1963-2009), a mechanical engineer by training who worked at Claris as a test engineer. He used the object to test the Newton operating system.
- Source:
- Accession file.
- date made
- ca1990
- maker
- Apple Computer, Inc.
- ID Number
- 2010.0023.1
- accession number
- 2010.0023
- catalog number
- 2010.0023.1
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
