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Book shows computers in all their geeky glory

When Mark Richards looks at those same computers, he sees art.

You might come to see things the same way if you pick up Richards' new book, "Core Memory: A Visual Survey of Vintage Computers." In a stunning mix of art photography and geek worship, Richards has managed to focus on the digital guts of computers and transform them into vibrant portraits that conjure both emotion and nostalgia.

It all started on a visit to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View a few years back, as Richards tells it. He was there to see a temporary exhibit but was quickly drawn to the museum's permanent "Visible Storage" exhibition, an amazing collection of computers dating back over half a century to the industry's earliest punch-card dinosaurs. All the biggies are there: the Univac, the Johnniac, the Altair 8800, the Cray supercomputers. There's even an Apple I, housed in its original wood casing and signed by Steve Wozniak.

"I got wrapped up into the beauty of the machines, the human aspect of the machines," said Richards, a former newspaper photographer who shoots on a freelance basis these days. "I was struck by how much we are reflected in the design. The intricate wiring reminded me of the veins and arteries in our own bodies.

"They're obviously historical objects, right up there with the printing press. But they need to be appreciated as art, as well. I see it as a geek. And I see it as an artist."

Anyone who picks up this book -- or visits the Computer History Museum, where giant versions of Richards' photos are hanging on display -- will see both sides of that coin immediately. Flipping through the pages and reading the accompanying text written by John Alderman, the reader gets a visual tour of technology's evolution coupled with astonishing facts and figures.

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For instance:

-- The Univac I was built in 1951 as the first commercial computer in the United States. It was a data processing machine aimed at business and government users. It used a mercury tape device to store information, sending sound waves through a tube of mercury to communicate. Richards' pictures show the mercury tubes in colorful detail, evoking images of a jet engine or a turbine of some sort. It didn't exactly fly off the shelves for its manufacturer, Remington-Rand. Perhaps the $300,000 price tag had something do with it. It didn't help that the famed Univac had only 20 KB of memory, either.

-- The Illiac IV was a supercomputer built by Burroughs Corp. in 1975 at a whopping cost of $31 million. The work was done on the campus of the University of Illinois, which was forced to move the whole thing to NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View after Vietnam War protesters threatened to shut down the project due to its ties to the military-industrial complex. The project stalled at Ames, but the remains proved great fodder for Richards. Thousands of blue and red wires are intertwined inside the Illiac, going this way and that, and looking very much like our very own bloodlines. "It's like we made computers in our own image," said Richards.

-- Who could forget the Commodore 64? Built in 1982, this little beauty was one of the first machines that made it to the family living room. To this day, people collect them and reminisce about their earliest programming efforts on this rudimentary PC. It had 64 KB of random access memory and cost $599. But it had color and sound, and was just about the only thing that gave the Apple II a run for its money. Richards uses his keen eye to focus in on the Commodore's revolutionary keyboard, which was one of the first to be multifunctional. Just seeing it brings back memories for most any geek.

And so it goes throughout "Core Memory," being published by Chronicle Books, which is not related to this publication. Personal memories intertwined with historical minutiae and artistic beauty. It's hard to believe that such a geeky topic could produce great art, but it's right there on the pages (which are numbered in a binary fashion that only a real nerd could love.)

So, what was Richards' favorite object d'art? He doesn't hesitate to say it's the Apollo Guidance Computer, built in 1965 by Raytheon in concert with MIT. Technically, it's a miracle that man ever took one small step, much less a great leap. The Apollo computer had a paltry 4 KB of RAM. But it worked on the Apollo moon missions, effectively keeping the spacecraft on time and on target.

Richards was intrigued by the technicalities, but obsessed with the artistic elements.

"The Apollo works on three different levels: Extremely geeky. Extremely historical. And extremely beautiful," Richards said. "Artistically, some of the equipment actually looks like an Egyptian necklace. It really looks like fine art to me. Historically, this thing sent us to the moon ... with almost no RAM! Yet it worked.

"It works on so many levels

About The Museum-
The Computer History Museum is the world's largest and most significant history museum for preserving and presenting the computing revolution and its impact on the human experience. Come and discover how computing became the amplifier for our minds and changed the way we work, live and play. We hope your visit will be educational and entertaining, and that the legacy of these innovations will inspire you and many others for generations to come.
Whats Inside The Museum-
The Computer History Museum is a busy place with year-round events dedicated to celebrating computer history. The Museum offers a highly respected speaker series with scholarly historical perspectives by and about the computing industry. In monthly talks, leading innovators, industry giants, engineers and scientists share their personal insights and stories about developments and discoveries that have shaped our world.

For over a decade, the Computer History Museum has been publicly recognizing individuals of outstanding merit and accomplishment who have made revolutionary and lasting contributions to the field of computing at its signature Fellow Awards Celebration.

The Museum hosts special events such as commemorative reunions to capture and preserve stories from the people who were instrumental in creating history at notable information industry companies as well as industry conferences and computer fairs. Recent events, such as AppleLore hosted 1200 Apple Computer alumni, employees and fans, who came together to celebrate Apple Computer's historical contribution from its inception in 1976 through 1993.

CORE, the Museum's publication keeps you informed through articles about industry leaders, computing breakthroughs and Museum news.

And so much more. We encourage you to become involved!
Contact Address:
Computer History Museum
1401 N Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, CA 94043

Tel: (650) 810-1010
Fax: (650) 810-1055

Release link: http://www.computerhistory.org/