In Readme, historian W. Patrick McCray explores how influential books shaped the trajectory of computing innovations and ideas that echo in the current AI revolution.

Here’s what you’ll experience at this fireside chat with the author:

• A literary history of computing through bestsellers like Giant Brains, Cybernetics, Computer Lib/Dream Machines, The Big Score, Microcosm, DOS for Dummies, and more.
• Insights into how these books didn’t just explain technology but also inspired visions that transformed computing.
• A fresh perspective on how a centuries-old technology remains a force for change and understanding.

Agenda 

6:30 p.m.
Check-in Opens

7 p.m.
Program

8:20 p.m.
Book Signing

The post Read Me appeared first on CHM.

With the growth of modern AI, we’re seeing a robotics renaissance. Humanoid robots are stepping out of science fiction and into our daily lives. But what does that mean for us?

Join industry innovators as we explore how these machines are reshaping our expectations of technology, companionship, and what a healthy relationship with technology might look like.

Here’s what you’ll experience:

• Insights from leading experts.
• A deep dive into how humanoid robots redefine what it means to be a “robot” and how we might live alongside them.
• Opportunities to ask questions and engage with thought leaders who are shaping the future.

Agenda 

6:30 p.m.
Check-in Opens

7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
Program

The post The Future of Humanoid Robots appeared first on CHM.

Click here to buy tickets.

The post TechFest appeared first on CHM.

Pixar’s IPO roadshow in November 1995 was a high-wire act. Two weeks before the premiere of Toy Story—the first feature-length computer-animated film—Steve Jobs barnstormed the country with hand-picked investment bankers, trying to sell Wall Street on his $50 million passion project.

Besides a volatile CEO and skeptical investors, what could go wrong?

How about a company with no revenues, no feature film track record, and a blizzard in New York that forced an all-night drive to Boston to save the roadshow? Instead of his first or second choices, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, Jobs had to work with Robertson Stephens, Hambrecht & Quist, and Cowen.

Defying expectations, Toy Story opened to rave reviews and boffo box office. Just days later, Pixar stock exploded from $22 to $39 on its first day of trading, becoming 1995’s largest IPO and vindicating Jobs with a billion-dollar fortune while cementing his visionary reputation.

Pixar’s IPO turned out to be a watershed moment in the history of digital technology and finance, demonstrating that institutional investors had developed an appetite for pre-revenue companies whose technology promised to reshape entire industries. The deal also marked the rise of boutique West Coast investment banks like H&Q and Robertson (two of what became the legendary “Four Horsemen”) who saw emerging growth opportunities that their bulge bracket New York competitors missed.

30 years later, join the Computer History Museum for a special CHM Live program with the dealmakers who defied the odds: Lawrence Levy (Pixar CFO), Mike McCaffery (Robertson Stephens CEO), and Cristina Morgan (Hambrecht & Quist Head of Technology Investment Banking). Hear the untold stories behind one of Silicon Valley’s most improbable successes from the individuals who made history happen.

Coproducers

Paul Noglows
Ex-Hambrecht & Quist; Coauthor, forthcoming book on H&Q and Robertson Stephens

Paul Noglows is coauthoring a book with JP Mark about two legendary SF-based investment banks—Hambrecht & Quist (H&Q) and Robertson Stephens—as seen through the lens of one of their most important deals: the IPO of Pixar in 1995. Paul Noglows, a former journalist, left Variety to help launch Inter@ctive Week in 1994, covering emerging digital technologies, including the commercial Internet. As a digital media and internet analyst at H&Q in the late 1990s, he helped explain, define, and fund the internet. He was recognized as “Best on the Street” in both Entertainment and Internet by First Call/The Wall Street Journal.

JP Mark
Ex-Robertson Stephens; Coauthor, forthcoming book on H&Q and Robertson Stephens

JP Mark is coauthoring a book with Paul Noglows about two legendary SF-based investment banks—Hambrecht & Quist (H&Q) and Robertson Stephens—as seen through the lens of one of their most important deals: the IPO of Pixar in 1995. Mark was a research analyst at Robertson, Stephens & Company, and Montgomery Securities. He is currently a finance professor and writer who teaches at Golden Gate University. His published works as an author, coauthor, and collaborator include The Empire Builders, Brain Power, and other works.

Agenda

5:30 p.m.
Check-in Opens

6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Program

Sponsorship

This program is made possible by the generous support of J.P. Morgan.

The post To Infinity and Beyond appeared first on CHM.

How did Taiwan ascend to such great heights in high-tech manufacturing? Honghong Tinn, author of Island Tinkerers, shares the fascinating history of how hobbyists and enthusiasts in Taiwan helped transform the country through innovative and creative computer use. 

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why the stereotype that “the West innovates, and the East imitates” is false!
• The central role of National Chiao-Tung University in creating Taiwan’s computer industry.
• How Taiwanese engineers tinkering with “black-boxed” computers provided through international aid in the 1960s led to a dream of making computers of their own.
• How these inventive efforts laid the foundation for Taiwanese global tech giants like Acer, Asus, Quanta, and TSMC.

You can catch the full program here and enjoy reading the blog recap here.

The post Taiwan Rising appeared first on CHM.

There’s no denying we’re living through an AI boom. But, despite the hype, AI is far from an overnight success. The story of AI is a rollercoaster of both booms and busts stretching back many decades. 

What You’ll Experience:

• CHM Internet History Program Director and Curator Marc Weber will lead a conversation with three pioneers who have each navigated—and helped shape—distinct eras of AI innovation, exploring the hype and disappointment that has characterized AI’s history and offering lessons for today.

The AI Entrepreneurs:

• Jerry Kaplan, cofounder of Teknowledge, the publicly traded AI company that helped ignite the 1980s expert systems boom. He wrote Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure about his next company, pioneering mobile maker GO Corporation.
• Adam Cheyer, cofounder of Siri, the groundbreaking intelligent assistant later acquired by Apple, and Viv Labs, acquired by Samsung. Cheyer’s work has been instrumental in bringing what is now called agentic AI to mainstream consumers. He most recently served as VP of AI Experience at Airbnb.
• Daniela Rus is a robotics luminary and cofounder of Liquid AI. In 2023 she began building products around a potentially more flexible AI approach called liquid neural networks. She is Director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and has cofounded three other companies.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights from leading figures who have witnessed and influenced AI’s evolution firsthand. Join us for an engaging evening bridging the past, present, and future of AI.

Agenda 

6:30 p.m.
Check-in Opens

7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
Program

Sponsorship

This program is made possible by the generous support of Mark and Mary Stevens.

The post This Time It’s Different appeared first on CHM.

Behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War lies a high-stakes tale of secret espionage networks, utopian visions of a cybernetic future, and remarkable technocratic reform.

Balkan Cyberia, by CHM Book Prize winner Victor Petrov, explores how Soviet-era Bulgaria was a center of innovation in electronics and computing. In an age defined by Silicon Valley and Western narratives of progress, Petrov upends Western assumptions about computing in the Eastern bloc.

What You’ll Experience: 

• A presentation and book talk by historian and professor Victor Petrov, who crafts a narrative of coded ambition, hidden trade tunnels, and a cyber-elite that reshaped Cold War geopolitics.
• Revelations about how Bulgaria became an electronics powerhouse, capturing a staggering 45% market share of electronics exports within the Eastern Bloc.
• Contemporary parallels between socialist-era tech diplomacy and today’s geopolitical and global supply chain tensions.

For curious minds and history enthusiasts alike, this event is not to be missed.

Agenda 

5:30 p.m.
Member Reception Check-in Opens

6 p.m.
Member Reception

7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
Program

The post Cold War Computing appeared first on CHM.

Experience hands-on demos of historical systems from the 1960s through the 1990s, learn preservation tips, and try out brands like Apple, Atari, Commodore, Tandy/Radio Shack, and more. 

Your ticket grants full access to VCF-West as well as CHM exhibits, demos, the Bistro Café, and the Museum Store. Hope to see you there! 

The two-day event will take place on August 1-2. Click here to buy tickets.

On Friday, August 1, don’t miss special evening events:

• Hear from original Home Brew Computer Club members in a panel with Lee Felsenstein at 4:30 p.m.
• Meet up with friends by the tasty food trucks from 6 – 7:30 p.m.
• Join us for an homage to Commodore’s Amiga 1000 release at Lincoln Center in 1985 and the first-ever “Ammi’s” Award presentation (black tie optional!) from 8 – 10 p.m.

Open Hours

Friday, August 1
10 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

Saturday, August 2
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

The post Vintage Computer Festival appeared first on CHM.