The Computer Museum founded by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has permanently closed and rare exhibits will be auctioned

According to news from this website on June 26, the "Living Computers Museum + Labs" (Living Computers Museum + Labs) founded by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen announced that it will permanently close . The museum is located in Seattle, Washington. Since its opening in October 2012, the museum has been dedicated to collecting and displaying computer equipment from personal computers to large supercomputers.

Although the museum had been closed during the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, the GeekWire website reported that after confirmation with the Allen Estate Management Committee, the museum will not reopen. Although the museum's official website has been closed, some of its information can still be queried through the online archiving tool "WaybackMachine". The content of the website shows Paul Allen's original intention of founding this non-profit organization: to exhibit the largest number of fully operational classic computer equipment in the world to pay tribute to the history of computer development. Covers categories such as supercomputers, mainframe computers, minicomputers, and microcomputers. Provide interactive experiences in the fields of robotics, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, big data, Internet of Things, video game production and digital art. The lab provides hands-on computer science skills training workshops that meet national and local standards. The Archives and Computer Restoration Project is dedicated to preserving important achievements in the history of computing and preserving them for future generations. According to GeekWire, even after the museum closed in 2020, there were still two full-time employees responsible for maintaining the operation of the exhibit computers. This website noticed that in addition to announcing the permanent closure of the museum, the Paul Allen Estate Management Committee also announced plans to auction some of the museum’s rare exhibits, all of which are owned by Allen himself. The auction will be handled by the well-known auction house Christie's. The "First of All: The History of Computer Development" special auction will display many historic computer equipment, including the 1971 DECPDP-10:KI-10 computer. This computer was the first computer used by Allen and Bill Gates, the other founder of Microsoft, before they founded Microsoft. Information on additional lots from Allen’s collection will be announced in the coming months.

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