[pups] ACMS (Australian 'puter museum) doomed?

[peter.jeremy@alcatel.com.au (Peter Jeremy)]

On 2003-Nov-11 14:18:24 +0100, "Fred N. van Kempen" <Fred.van.Kempen at microwalt.nl> wrote:
>Ow, c'mon.  In *australia*, how hard can it be to find or make 
>space for that priceless collection?  Geez!

Wide open spaces aren't necessarily ideal for storing historical
computers.  You need to store them in a controlled environment to
preserve them and this costs money.

And Australian governments don't seem to place a great value on
history:  Australia is one of the pioneering space nations.  We were
one of the first countries to launch our own satellite.  The launching
sites are recognized as part of Australia's heritage by organisation
such as the Institute of Engineers, Australia.  Our Armed Forces (with
the support of our Federal Government) uses those same launching sites
for target practice.

As far as private companies - it mostly comes down to the beancounters
demanding to know how spending money on preserving obsolete equipment
will help the bottom line.  The Corporate headquarters also generally
see outpost subsidiaries solely in terms on how much cash flows into
the corporate coffers.

On the positive side, Australia has managed to preserve the last
first generation computer extant anywhere (CSIRAC, built in the late
1940's).

Peter