Completed Netflix? Indulge your inner nerd with a virtual talk from a computer museum

The UK's halls of computing geekery continue to be shut thanks to the ongoing pandemic. However, virtual tours and talks are on offer for those seeking a diversion from streaming platform bingeing. Museums have endured a tough time since restrictions were first imposed. As well having to close in response to government …

[Danny 2]

the Bletchley Park estate (although independent of the Bletchley Park Trust)

Splitters! Cable splitters.

[martinusher]

You know you're old when......

....you visit one of these museums and you find that you know more about the hardware and software than the docents running the place.

[Gene Cash]

Re: You know you're old when......

That's like when I visited Art Of The Motorcycle, and the first 4 motorcycles I learned to ride on were in the museum.

[Tim99]

Re: You know you're old when......

A friend of ours went to the Museum of Childhood (Sudbury). Her gymslip, complete with her name tag sewn inside was on display. She was quite indignant until she realized it was >60 years old...

[Will Godfrey]

Hmm

Been a while since a made a donation to TNMOC. I'll have to shake the cobwebs off my wallet

[John Brown (no body)]

Paid for virtual tours?

Surely some of the conferencing apps have a way of being locked other than to paying visitors. Is anyone, anywhere, doing paid guided tours of musuems, galleries or castles/ruins etc? Large groups would be possible assuming it's a "no questions" type tour, maybe allow typed questions/responses, or more personalised small groupr tours where people can speak to the guide. I'd pay for that.

[Martin an gof]

Re: Paid for virtual tours?

The obvious answer is to sell 'tickets', either through an online shop if they have such a thing, or through a third party such as Eventbrite. Email the access code for the meeting - all the main platforms support this I think. Even the very smallest museums could set that up.

M.

[Dave559]

Re: Paid for virtual tours?

Extra bonus points to the first museum that sets up an R2-D2-like droid to do the virtual tour. Program it with the areas it can go, give you the directional control (within the permitted areas of movement), and control of the camera zoom if you want to "peer in close" at a particular exhibit, and I reckon you could be on to a winner?

[Cynic_999]

Why scheduled times?

Surely a virtual guided tour can be recorded once and watched at any time? It could be distributed & payment received the same way as any subscription video service such as Netflix. I just don't see the reason why it can only be watched at scheduled times.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Why scheduled times?

Somebody has to go in and turn the computer on and then off at the end.

[PeterO]

Re: Why scheduled times?

You are not just watching a pre-recorded video. Every tour is different. We have multiple tour guides and each has their own style. Also we can tailor tours in terms of duration and content to meet specific groups requirements. And how would you ask questions of the guide on a pre-recorded tour ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Why scheduled times?

Would be good to have options. Benefits you as well. Guides that are pre-recorded for us unsociable people who'll watch it and not want to ask questions. But you also do the live ones for people who do.

[PeterO]

Fame at last :-)

"a talk on vintage computer emulation by ALGOL 60 and Elliott 803 botherer Peter Onion." March 6th if you are interested :-)

[deadlockvictim]

Re: Fame at last :-)

And I thought I knew my Onions!

Date noted in calendar.

[Elledan]

Defining what's 'essential'

Over the past months it haven't been just museums which have found themselves in dire financial straits, but also zoos and similar places which rely on people to physically drag themselves over to look at what's on display. Now that the only 'essential' places that are still open are supermarkets (and offices & schools apparently, at least in Germany), it seems that we have to look at what we consider to be 'essential' in a variety of scopes.

During a pandemic, obviously only food and shelter are the true essential needs. But afterwards? What when many of those 'non-essential' businesses and museums and zoos have gone bankrupt? I'm sure we could piece together again what we had before, but it's decidedly easier if that won't be necessary.

That said, I really hope that things like virtual tours (maybe VR, even?) become more commonplace. When people talk about things like telepresence robots (i.e. tablets-on-a-segway), it's usually in the vein of scoffing at something perceived as utterly useless. But what if one could sign up for a tour, inhabit one of those telepresence robots for the duration of the tour and get something akin to the full-body experience, including being able to move around, get up close looks and conceivably tele-use physical objects like keyboards and joysticks? None of this is technology that's particularly new or groundbreaking.

Even beyond pandemics, I think it would be great to play tourist in whatever museum, zoo or similar for a few hours, without having to suffer through the logistics of physically moving one's body there. But maybe that's just the recluse in me speaking :)

[Anonymous Coward]

Refused my offer of a free donation

I offered some years back to donate a service manual for a very early laptop (the grand daddy of all laptops) it has a 1 in it's name. Anyway that fell on deaf ears so I will be keeping that one safe and eventually sell it. Oh well

[Uncle Ron]

Stupid Netflix Reference

It would take several adult lifetimes of all waking hours to "complete Netflix." Why make this stupid reference?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Stupid Netflix Reference

You <------------> the joke

Please report to your nearest hospital urgently for your sense of humour injection.

Your chorticle levels appear to be dangerously low.

[Hugh 5]

Brilliant shout out re appeal. Donated and lo they now have reached their target. Thanks @Elreg!