IT Geek Tourist Locations
Geeky Information Technology Places to Visit – Birthplace of the Internet
2This series of posts reflects my inner geek. It chronicles a number of information technology (IT) related “tourist attractions” that I would love to visit before I die. Some of them are simply far away locations that I dream of making it to and others will be locations that I would need some assistance obtaining access to. Please feel free to add your own via the comments block below.
Menlo Park, California is the birthplace of the Internet. This month also marks the 40th birthday for the Internet. This makes it the perfect place for a geeky tourist excursion!
Wikipedia had a very deep article on this topic. It reports that:
“After much work, the first two nodes of what would become the ARPANET were interconnected between UCLA and SRI International (SRI) in Menlo Park, California, on October 29, 1969. The ARPANET was one of the "eve" networks of today’s Internet. Following on from the demonstration that packet switching worked on the ARPANET, the British Post Office, Telenet, DATAPAC and TRANSPAC collaborated to create the first international packet-switched network service.”
Both of the first two nodes of the Internet can be found here. SRI International, founded as Stanford Research Institute, is one of the world’s largest research institutes. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a research university located in Los Angeles. If you want to see the plaque, that is shown above, you need to go to Stanford University, where the original messaging structure and packet switching architecture for the ARPANET, predecessor of the Internet, were created.
So where do you want to visit that is related to your interest in The Information Age and Information Technology? Do you want to see where people worked, like this article, or where objects are? Together we could make a terrific list. Please add below.
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for September 25, 2009 ©Scott Coughlin
Photo credit: Wikipedia
Geeky Information Technology Places to Visit – Apple Computer Headquarters
1This series of posts reflects my inner geek. It chronicles a number of information technology (IT) related “tourist attractions” that I would love to visit before I die. Some of them are simply far away locations that I dream of making it to and others will be locations that I would need some assistance obtaining access to. Please feel free to add your own via the comments block below.
Today’s destination is the mothership for all Mac-Heads: The Apple Computer Company’s Headquarters! It is apply addressed at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA! It is a modern piece of art, that really portrays the Mac esthetic on a grand scale. There is an entire campus of buildings that house the engineering, research, and design teams of Apple, Inc.
Wikipedia does great justice to this topic. It reports that:
Infinite Loop is a street encircling the six main buildings of Apple‘s headquarters in Cupertino, California. Each building has a number which corresponds to its single-digit address on the Loop, and so Apple’s official mailing address is "1 Infinite Loop". The numbers increment in the clockwise direction. Employees often refer to the buildings as IL1 through IL6. The loop connects to Mariani Avenue, which was the former street address of Apple HQ; early printed material contains the address "20525 Mariani Avenue".
I have been to this location and I can tell you two things:
- If you like, Macs, it is really cool… and,
- If you don’t, it is really boring!
What can you do? Well you can drive around and stare in awe at all of the brainiacs that work there. You can also go to the Apple Corporate Store! It is essentially and Apple Store, like in every mall in America, but also features corporate themed items aplenty! You can buy t-shirts, mugs, pens, key chains, water bottles, etc! Believe it or not, they even sell a shirt that says, “I visited the Mothership". I kid you not about that. You can read a review of the store here and even see photos of the shirt!
I really enjoyed my visit. It felt very “information age-y” if you know what I mean. It is essentially a temple built up to the gods of the computer revolution and stands as a testament to one of the greatest comebacks in corporate history. While, I seriously doubt that you will bump into Steve Jobs during your visit, it is impossible to not feel his influence when you drive “the infinite loop” wearing your “mothership” t-shirt!
So where do you want to visit that is related to your interest in The Information Age and Information Technology? Do you want to see where people worked, like this article, or where objects are? Together we could make a terrific list. Please add below.
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for September 22, 2009 ©Scott Coughlin
Photo credit: Wikipedia
Geeky Information Technology Tourist Location – The National Cryptologic Museum
0This series of posts reflects my inner geek. It chronicles a number of information technology (IT) related “tourist attractions” that I would love to visit before I die. Some of them are simply far away locations that I dream of making it to and others will be locations that I would need some assistance obtaining access to. Please feel free to add your own via the comments block below.
Today’s destination is The National Cryptologic Museum. It is basically the National Security Agency and Intelligence Community museum! It is located on the grounds of Fort Meade, MD and is open to the public! It is about as close as you are ever going to get to NSA as a civilian and you can even bring your camera!
The museum’s site reports that:
The National Cryptologic Museum is the National Security Agency’s principal gateway to the public. It shares the Nation’s, as well as NSA’s, cryptologic legacy and place in world history. Located adjacent to NSA Headquarters, Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland, the Museum houses a collection of thousands of artifacts that collectively serve to sustain the history of the cryptologic profession.
The museum houses a good collection of historical super computer parts, crypto devices, code making and breaking equipment, and beautiful memorials to those who gave their life for their country in the service of the intelligence community. The section dedicated to super computing is worth the trip alone for a true information technology professional.
As if that was not draw enough to get you there, right next to the museum, is the National Vigilance Park. They have two reconnaissance aircraft used for intel missions dating throughout the Cold War! You can walk all around here.
This tourist site will be of interest to computer security, network engineers, super computer scientists, and spook fans of all ages. They even have a ton of kid activities for the IT Pros in training.
So what could be cooler than getting to visit Fort Meade, home of the National Security Agency, and see all kinds of historic cryptographic and reconnaissance artifacts? I have no idea. Enjoy!
So where do you want to visit that is related to your interest in The Information Age and Information Technology? Do you want to see where people worked, like this article, or where objects are? Together we could make a terrific list. Please add below.
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for August 6, 2009 ©Scott Coughlin
Photo credit: NSA.gov