Marcin Wichary

When researching for my Fn/Globe essay, I found that Centre Pompidou’s site has a bunch of cool photos of Richard Sapper’s IBM PC Convertible models and prototypes. Really fun to see a computer evolve this way.

https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/recherche/oeuvres?terms=convertible

Mar 15 at 6:51pmWeb
Show threadshorkMar 15
@mwichary omg, wooden prototypes
Show threadbuheratorMar 15
@mwichary Is that darker gray frames (on the plastic models) for the wrists??
Show threadMarcin WicharyMar 15
@buherator I think it’s a carrying handle.
Show threadLuis VillaMar 15
@mwichary so interesting that wood was the tool of choice for fast prototyping at that point.
Show threadacbMar 15
@mwichary I’m going to tell my grandkids the first one was carved by a South Pacific cargo-cult after they saw a traveller using a laptop on a boat
Show threadJohn KellerMar 21

@mwichary Oh, so cool! My dad had one, and I remember thinking that manipulating it felt like working with a heavy version of origami.

I’ve always gone to Pompidou just for special exhibits, and never took much time to see the permanent collections. I'll have to make a better effort to see if anything like this is on display, once the center reopens… in 2030.