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Discovery of Cold War-era rare Eastern Bloc computers in a German hangar

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Re: Discovery of Cold War-era rare Eastern Bloc computers in a German hangar

#21

Post by asdefghyk »

Seems to be the origianl collector of equipment ...?

https://de-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Walter_Ameling_...

Seems he was owner of computer muesuem that closed in 2009 .

The next link has MUCH MORE DETAIL about the closure ...

https://de-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Computermuseum_...

https://web-archive-org.translate.goog/web/20230601221853/ht...

2 pages of links on Google for the name "Prof. Dr.-Ing. Walter Ameling" - However do not know if actually same person mentioned in articale.. Some of them seem to match up .

Re: Discovery of Cold War-era rare Eastern Bloc computers in a German hangar

#23

Post by hvs »

mh-cx wrote: post #5

As a German I wonder why was this treasure given away to a US museum? Also what is the legal status of ownership of all this? Would have been interesting to read more about this.

I know that as technologists we tend to think of this as "treasure" but most other people think of it as "large metal objects that are expensive to store or landfill." Maintaining, storing, and restoring them on top of that is also very expensive. Usually they'll give them to anyone willing to take them off their hands. We only need to look at the closure of the Living Computers Museum closing [1] to see that most people do not see the value in the history of computing. That's why the CHM is doing such is important work.

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

Re: Discovery of Cold War-era rare Eastern Bloc computers in a German hangar

#24

Post by expedition32 »

hvs wrote: post #23
mh-cx wrote: post #5

As a German I wonder why was this treasure given away to a US museum? Also what is the legal status of ownership of all this? Would have been interesting to read more about this.

I know that as technologists we tend to think of this as "treasure" but most other people think of it as "large metal objects that are expensive to store or landfill." Maintaining, storing, and restoring them on top of that is also very expensive. Usually they'll give them to anyone willing to take them off their hands. We only need to look at the closure of the Living Computers Museum closing [1] to see that most pe…

In my country museums have accumulated so much paintings and historical artefacts over the last 200 years that most of the collection is sitting in climate controlled vaults.

Re: Discovery of Cold War-era rare Eastern Bloc computers in a German hangar

#25

Post by expedition32 »

bratwurst3000 wrote: post #16
aldrich wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read on to the last paragraph, I think what they meant to hint at is this: > And about those WWII bombing raids? Midway through our work, we noticed a demolition team carefully dismantling a live 500-pound Allied bomb just 350 feet from our location. According to a local office worker, this wasn’t unusual; numerous unexploded bombs had been found on-site in the years prior, prompting evacuations in 2004. If you live…

little anecdot. I have a garden in my hometown in germany and the garden was only so cheap because it is impossible to build on it because it has wayyyy to many WWII Bombs underneath and its not economical to get rid of them.

It makes me worried for Ukraine. I fear parts of that country will just be wasteland no matter who wins.

Re: Discovery of Cold War-era rare Eastern Bloc computers in a German hangar

#26

Post by bratwurst3000 »

expedition32 wrote: post #25
bratwurst3000 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

little anecdot. I have a garden in my hometown in germany and the garden was only so cheap because it is impossible to build on it because it has wayyyy to many WWII Bombs underneath and its not economical to get rid of them.

It makes me worried for Ukraine. I fear parts of that country will just be wasteland no matter who wins.

maybe it takes the edge of. my city was completly destroyed by bombings. took 15 years and it was back again and germany was ok after war. I hope the best for ukraine. It is worth it

Re: Discovery of Cold War-era rare Eastern Bloc computers in a German hangar

#27

Post by cocodill »

jeffwask wrote: post #8
mh-cx wrote: post #5

As a German I wonder why was this treasure given away to a US museum? Also what is the legal status of ownership of all this? Would have been interesting to read more about this.

It's a pretty monumental effort to transport, store, refurbish and show these massive computers. There aren't a lot of organizations even willing to put in the effort which is why most of this stuff gets landfilled or sent to the recycler. I would assume they asked around and no one else was interested.

There is HNF in about 250 km from Aachen. Transportation there would probably be cheaper.

Re: Discovery of Cold War-era rare Eastern Bloc computers in a German hangar

#28

Post by jamesfinlayson »

jeffwask wrote: post #8
mh-cx wrote: post #5

As a German I wonder why was this treasure given away to a US museum? Also what is the legal status of ownership of all this? Would have been interesting to read more about this.

It's a pretty monumental effort to transport, store, refurbish and show these massive computers. There aren't a lot of organizations even willing to put in the effort which is why most of this stuff gets landfilled or sent to the recycler. I would assume they asked around and no one else was interested.

Yeah an old colleague told me that a decommissioned mainframe where he'd worked had reportedly been sold for scrap metal.

Re: Discovery of Cold War-era rare Eastern Bloc computers in a German hangar

#30

Post by ramplank »

expedition32 wrote: post #25
bratwurst3000 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

little anecdot. I have a garden in my hometown in germany and the garden was only so cheap because it is impossible to build on it because it has wayyyy to many WWII Bombs underneath and its not economical to get rid of them.

It makes me worried for Ukraine. I fear parts of that country will just be wasteland no matter who wins.

understandable, but then we have wo1 and the old battlegrounds in Belgium and northern France are not wastelands. They do still find tons and tons of old bombs each year though farmers drive with a armor plates under there tractors and they pile up the unexploded explosives next to their field
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