Comments on: Do Museums Need Software? The Case of the Perkin Elmer HTS 7000 Bio Assay Plate Reader

By: Murali

Murali — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 17:09:38 +0000

Hi,
Can any one provide me with a software copy?
Thanks,
Murali.

By: Lars

Lars — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:27:41 +0000

Does actually anybody have a software copy available? I’d be very interested. Please contact me at
lars.u’at’sonnenkinder.org
Kind regards,
Lars

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:20:30 +0000

Funny of you to look a gift horse in the mouth. This is one of the best, most robust pieces of equipment that was ever made. (I keep two in my lab, and the brand new versions of this model have changed very little — except for the software!) What amazes me is that you are surprised that the manufacturer does not offer support for aging instrumentation. They are in the business of sellling new machines! It is your responsibility to make sure that you are protected in these cases. (Like backing up the software!)

Rather than complaining about it, try making new friends on the internet. If the company cannot provide you with software, then it is highly unlikely that anyone will object to your procuring it from another source. (It fits on a floppy disc, so is not difficult to share.) That is what the internet is all about!

If you don’t want it, I’ll be happy to take this fine machine off of your hands for a minimal fee.

By: Adam Bencard

Adam Bencard — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:19:46 +0000

This particular item seems worth keeping if only for the interesting story surrounding its use and eventual breakdown. The object seems perfect to illustrate aspects of laboratory life and the biomedical technological development.

It illustrates a problem that almost all computer users can relate to – that of software being discontinued, the impossibility of finding software updates for outdated programs, the lack of support for programs across platforms (just think about the problems Microsoft has had with updating Vista), having well-functioning hardware that you basically have to discard as junk, and so on. These things say as much about laboratory life and the development of biomedicine in general as more ‘succesful’ objects – it illustrates a whole set of issues about obsoleteness, which would make for an interesting topic for an exhibition.

Pushing the image a little further, the transient nature of software seems to illustrate something about the transient nature of knowledge and of scientific knowledge building. Researchers ‘run’ different programs (from post-structuralist to post-genomic) which at their installation seems futuristic and virtually open-ended in scope and usability. Over time people do impressive things with it, tinker at the user interface, but slowly the limitations of the software become apparent as new questions arise that require new answers. And a new generation of software becomes installed in the wetware.

Where that leaves us regarding the collection of software, however, I really don’t know. Yet another item on the laundry list of things to figure out.

By: Mike Rhode

Mike Rhode — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:23:01 +0000

This is the type of thing that we’re always debating in the Nat’l Museum of Health & Medicine. Personally, I’m usually in favor of taking them – as Soren said, you’re not planning on running the thing in the future anyway, even if you were capable of doing so. Black (or white in this case) boxes are boring, but without artifacts to hang a story on, what’s the point of having a display?

speaking for myself of course.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 16:27:34 +0000

In the Computer History Museum's (in Mountain View, Ca.) searchable collection catalogue I found items like: Record 14 of 148 Title: Excel for Windows Format: Software Version: 2.1 Publisher / Manufacturer: Microsoft Corporation Category: application:data-manager:spreadsheet 102642851 Gift of Ben N. Wilson I cannot imagine they are not keeping machines that can run it. But would they be interested in collecting a Perkin Elmer HTS 7000 Bio Assay Plate Reader and the associated software? Even if this PE plate reader together with the software could in fact be classified as a computer, I guess the Computer History Museum would rather see it as a biotech analytical apparatus outside their collection focus. (And furthermore Perkin Elmer is not a Silicon Valley company :-)