Daily Archives: July 7, 2014

July 7, 2014 Federal Way, Washington, part 3

Bill also visited the Living Computer Museum in downtown Seattle, a small museum with a computer collection assembled by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen. The collection reflected milestones in the evolution of computers and how people use them. Paul Allen wanted to preserve the history that put he and Bill Gates on the path to founding Microsoft.

All of the computers are operational and are hands-on for the museum goers.

Letter from Paul G. Allen

It is possible that no other technology on earth has so continually renewed itself as computer technology. Advances in this field arrive in such swift succession that even the software and hardware of a few seasons ago are considered obsolete. The decades-old computers and software in this collection, therefore, are truly worthy of our preservation and study – both for the cutting-edge innovations of their day as well as for their historical significance.The Living Computer Museum also fulfills my hope that the achievements of early computer engineers aren’t lost to time. I wanted to provide a website and repository that recognized the efforts of those creative engineers who made some of the early breakthroughs in interactive computing that changed the world.

This is a paper card punch that Bill used during college to create computer programs

Bill used this Data General Nova computer and a Teletype to develop F-4 fighter jet simulation programs

Bill used paper tape for a short time to program computers from 1975 to 1984

Paul Allen and Bill gates in 1968 at a Seattle school

This is a typical 1977 memory module that would hold 8,000 characters

It use to take a crane to move one computer

This is the inside wiring of a Control Data computer from twenty years ago

The very popular Radio Shack TRS-80

This oversized box is a 3D printer making plastic parts

We stopped at an REI in Seattle, their flagship store, for a little shopping.

This REI store has everything for the outdoors!!!

Bill was excited to visit the Microsoft Campus and tour their Visitors Center where they have hands-on exhibits starting with their first personal computer to their latest innovations. It was interesting to read about the history of Microsoft.

Bill Gates in the lower left and Paul Allen in the lower right

Microsoft has many products on display in their visitor center

Lastly we visited the Boeing Future of Flight and Aviation Center in Everett, Washington north of Seattle. We explored the museum and then took a tour of the Boeing factory. They bused us from the museum over to the factory which is the largest building in the world by volume. It comprises 472,000,000 cubic feet, which equates to 75 football fields. We were taken to two separate areas of the building. In both areas we entered a underground tunnel and walked a third of a mile before being taken up on a freight elevator to a catwalk where we could look down and see the airplanes being built. We had an excellent, enthusiastic guide who did a great job explaining what we were seeing. We saw their new Boeing Dreamliner 787 which is being unveiled in England at the end of this month. We also saw how they are now building aircraft with the latest technology, including the use of composite materials which make the aircraft lighter and faster. It was an amazing experience! One note of explanation: we were not allowed to take cell phones, cameras, purses, etc on the tour, therefore, no pictures inside the factory! All the pictures you see here were taken in the Boeing Future of Flight Museum in a separate building from the factory.

Boeing’s technology

HK36 Fuel Cell Electric Airplane Demonstrator

July 7, 2014 Federal Way, Washington, part 2

July 7, 2014 Federal Way, Washington, part 1

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We prepared to leave Mount Rainier and head north towards Seattle. While we enjoyed our time “off the grid”, we were looking forward to once again having cell phone service, internet, and yes, satellite TV. This is not a vacation but a lifestyle, so we need internet access to check credit card activity, pay bills online, and stay in touch with family and friends. We also missed having access to news and weather via TV.

Our last day at the campground we met a couple from Holland. They flew into San Francisco, rented an RV from Camping World, and are now exploring the western U.S. They plan to be in Vermont in time to see the leaves change in the fall and then travel down the East Coast to Key West before returning the RV in Miami and flying home. He flew fighter jets at one time and was a pilot for British Airways. It was interesting talking with him but also alarming to hear him say it is so cheap for them to do this in the U.S. but would be much more expensive for us to do the same thing in Europe because their pound is worth so much more than our dollar. At one time they were almost even in value. So far we have met couples from Australia, Germany and Holland RVing around the United States.

On our way out of the park we noticed a “Volcano Evacuation Route” sign. Now we have seen “Hurricane Evacuation”, Tsumani Evacuation” and “Volcano Evacuation” route signs! After a short trip north we arrived at Dash Point State Park. The sites were pretty close together but we had good cell phone service, satellite TV, and it was a short drive to Seattle where we planned to do some sightseeing.

Instead of the Space Needle we decided to go to the Sky View Observatory at Columbia Center. Located on the 76th floor, it is twice as tall as the Space Needle and the tallest observatory on the west coast and the second tallest building west of Chicago. It is 932 feet tall and stands 1,043 feet above sea level. It provided us with a 360 degree view of Seattle and the surrounding area including Mt Baker, Mt. Rainier, the Cascades, the Olympic Mountains, as well as the Seahawk stadium. The day we went was relatively clear so we had a great view.

Seattle skyline as we drove into the city

The Seattle ball fields/stadiums

Bill was in his glory as we visited several technology and aviation museums. One was the Museum of Flight where he was able to go aboard a Concorde as well as the Air Force One used by Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, including the place where Johnson stowed his Stetson. He saw a M-21 Blackbird spy plane and a F/A-18 Hornet. He also saw the world’s first fighter plane, the only one of its kind in the world, as well as artifacts from the original Boeing factory including the first Boeing 747, aircraft from World War I and II. The museum included exhibits from the space age including a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.