Exhibit chronicles rise of information technology in Silicon Valley

The rise of IT in the Silicon Valley is being chronicled in a new exhibit at the Cupertino Historical Society and Museum.
“Homage to the Information Technology Revolution,” which opens June 19, was conceived by Marco Boglione, founder and president of BasicNet, an Italian-based network of partners licensed to produce or market sportswear collections worldwide. Boglione wanted to tell the story of the people who shaped the area’s digital breakthroughs for a mass consumer audience.
A series of video interviews focuses on the folks who led the charge, including former Apple CEO John Sculley; Allan Alcorn, who created Pong for Sunnyvale-based Atari in 1972; Apple employee No. 2 Daniel Kottke; Commodore founder Jack Tramiel; Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak; Chuck Peddle, who created the first operating system for personal computers; and Lee Felsenstein, designer of the Osborne 1, the first mass-produced portable computer.
These interviews will talk visitors through the machines in the exhibit, including the Programma 101, the first commercial programmable desktop computer, released in 1965 by Italian manufacturer Olivetti, and a very rare Apple-1, released in 1976, complete with its original kit. For the first time in its history, the toolbox Wozniak used to assemble the Apple-1 will be on display with his creation.
The show was curated by Cecilia Botta for BasicGallery, a Turin-based archive that houses one of the most complete collections of early computer history in the world.
Jennifer Furlong, executive director of the historical museum, and museum board member Fabrizio Vitagliano coordinated the exhibit.
The exhibit will be on view June-19-Sept. 19. Admission is free.
The Cupertino Historical Society and Museum is located at 10185 N. Stelling Road. Museum hours are Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Published at Sun, 09 Jun 2019 14:08:06 +0000