What if the roots of Silicon Valley’s culture weren’t written in code but taught in a classroom? A new film by This is the World documentary studio, _The Godmother of Silicon Valley,_ reveals the quiet but profound influence of Esther Wojcicki, a trailblazing educator, journalist, and mother of tech leaders (Susan Wojcicki, YouTube / Google; Janet Wojcicki, UCSF; and Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe). Through radical teaching methods that encouraged curiosity, independence, and resilience, Wojcicki helped cultivate a mindset that would ripple far beyond the campus and into the heart of global technology. After the screening, a live Q&A will feature Esther Wojcicki and the film's executive director Maciej Kawecki. [Recorded June 2, 2026] Catalog Number: 300000306 Acquisition Number: 2026.0143

Dr. Peter Goglia has had an illustrious career in the disk drive industry. He was part of the Magnetic Memory Division at Hewlett Packard in the early 1980’s and was involved in some of the industry leading technologies (MR heads, thin film disks) that HP was developing. He then moved to Imprimis/Seagate and led a team that developed some of the first advanced slider air bearing designs in the industry. He joined Western Digital in 2004 as VP of Magnetic Head Operations, and he helped the company turn to profitability and become one of only two HDD giants today. This oral history covers many technological and business aspects of the disk drive industry of the past 40 years or so. Interviewed by Bruno Marchon on 2025-10-15 © Computer History Museum * Note: Transcripts represent what was said in the interview. However, to enhance meaning or add clarification, interviewees have the opportunity to modify this text afterward. This may result in discrepancies between the transcript and the video. Please refer to the transcript for further information - http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/300000184 Catalog number: 300000185 Acquisition number: 2025.0171

Interviewed by Tom Yamashita on 2025-08-21 © Computer History Museum Dr. Mao-Min Chen was a former President of Headway Technologies, Inc, a subsidiary of TDK Corporation based in Japan. Headway Technologies was founded in 1994 and purchased by TDK in 2000. Headway eventually became the sole wafer production and development center for TDK’s recording head operation. The wafers are processed at SAE Magnetics (HK) Ltd., a TDK group company headquartered in Hong Kong, and completed into a recording head assembly. Most of TDK’s recording heads are used in HDDs manufactured by Toshiba. Mao-Min Chen grew up in Taiwan and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He joined IBM San Jose in 1978 after graduation and remained there until 1993, working on various projects in magnetic recording and in the research and manufacturing of recording heads. He then joined Dastek, a head manufacturing operation run by Komag Inc. Dastek was closed down in 1994 and reconstituted as Headway Technologies, a joint venture between Komag, Hewlett-Packard, and Asahi-Komag Company Ltd.  Mao-Min Chen was at Headway from its inception and became Headway's head of wafer process and materials development.  He became its President in 2007 and retired from the company in 2014.  The interview covers his career at IBM, Komag, and Headway. * Note: Transcripts represent what was said in the interview. However, to enhance meaning or add clarification, interviewees have the opportunity to modify this text afterward. This may result in discrepancies between the transcript and the video. Please refer to the transcript for further information - http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/300000135 Catalog number: 300000136 Acquisition number: 2025.0121

Storage technology has come a long way. Former Seagate CTO Mark Re reflects on seeing the IBM RAMAC 350 (the world’s first disk drive) still running.

Introduced in 1956, IBM’s RAMAC (Random Access Method of Accounting and Control) 350 was the world’s first disk drive. CHM volunteer, RAMAC restoration team member, and former IBM hard drive engineer John Best explores the pioneering technology that helped make fast, random access to data possible. Historical images courtesy of the IBM Corporate Archive and the Official Report of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games, digitally published by the LA84 Foundation.

How did the early internet help shape today's transgender identity and activism? Join CHM Book Prize winner and scholar Avery Dame‑Griff as he uncovers the digital origins of a movement that began long before today’s social platforms existed. Drawing from his award-winning book, The Two Revolutions: A History of the Transgender Internet, Dame‑Griff reveals how early online spaces like bulletin boards and chat rooms became lifelines for people exploring gender beyond the limits of their offline worlds..

If you thought mechanical keyboards were ear candy, wait until you hear a mechanical calculator.

Will Apple unveil anything this week as impressive as resizing a fish in your word processor? At the 1984 Macintosh introduction to the Boston Computer Society, Apple’s team demos MacWrite: point, click, paste, and see an image appear inside a document. Then, resize it instantly on-screen. It may look simple now, but this was a major shift in how people interacted with computers, a visual, direct, “what you see is what you get” experience at a time when many workflows still relied on typed commands.

Watch a Q&A with author and scholar Avery-Dame Griff and San Francisco State University’s Joshua K. Reason, highlighting topics they will discuss at the upcoming CHM Live event, Out Online: Trans and Queer Community on the Early Net, on June 23. Register for the event here: https://computerhistory.org/events/out-online/ About the Event: How did the early internet help shape today's transgender identity and activism? Join CHM Book Prize winner and scholar Avery Dame‑Griff as he uncovers the digital origins of a movement that began long before today’s social platforms existed. Drawing from his award-winning book, The Two Revolutions: A History of the Transgender Internet, Dame‑Griff reveals how early online spaces like bulletin boards and chat rooms became lifelines for people exploring gender beyond the limits of their offline worlds. Here’s what you’ll experience: - Gain insights into how queer and trans people used and repurposed available technologies to build networks of support and visibility. - Explore how message boards, listservs, and online forums created spaces for identity formation, resource‑sharing, and activism. - Learn why understanding this digital past offers urgent context for today’s debates around trans rights, representation, and online culture.

Interviewed by Bruno Marchon on 2026-04-14 © Computer History Museum One of the key enablers to the bit areal density in a disk drive is a low physical separation between the Read/Write head and the disk. The first disk drive (IBM Ramac) used a small magnetic transducer embedded in a small, curved piece of ceramic that was floating over the disk surface by means of externally compressed air. Shortly thereafter, IBM successfully used hydrodynamically flying sliders that naturally flew over the spinning disks without the need for a compressor. Over the years, the disk drive industry has lowered the slider fly height from about twenty micrometers to below one nanometer today. Sandy Bolasna’s career at IBM spans 37 years, and he dedicated his activities to the understanding of the physics of the slider air-bearing, numerical modeling, and the design, micro-fabrication, and testing thereof. He was instrumental in inventing and implementing key innovations that sustained the continued scaling of the head-disk physical spacing. * Note: Transcripts represent what was said in the interview. However, to enhance meaning or add clarification, interviewees have the opportunity to modify this text afterward. This may result in discrepancies between the transcript and the video. Please refer to the transcript for further information - http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/300000285 Catalog number: 300000286 Acquisition number: 2026.0098

Meet the Comptometer: a keyboard adding machine patented in 1887 that helped transform accounting. CHM exhibit developer Kiera pulls out this artifact from the museum’s Education Collection for a special appearance. By allowing multiple keys to be pressed at once, skilled operators could calculate at remarkable speeds.

[Recorded May 26, 2026] In 1985, Steve Jobs left Apple—the company he had cofounded—after a dramatic power struggle. Soon after, he launched a new venture called NeXT. Though often described as his “wilderness years," the NeXT era proved transformative, reshaping Jobs as a leader and creating technologies that would later form the foundation of modern Apple platforms. Join the Computer History Museum for a special CHM Live book talk with Geoffrey Cain, author of _Steve Jobs in Exile: The Untold Story of NeXT and the Remaking of an American Visionary,_ and key figures from NeXT’s history, including Dan’l Lewin, Rich Page (by video), Avie Tevanian, and Bud Tribble. The event will explore how Jobs built NeXT, was transformed by its near failure and rethought his approach to leadership, product design, and innovation, setting the stage for one of the most remarkable comebacks in business history and even playing a role in the early development of the World Wide Web. Join us for an inside look at the NeXT era's bold ideas, technical breakthroughs, and intense culture that transformed Steve Jobs and the future of computing. What You’ll Experience -The untold story of Steve Jobs’s “lost decade” and the founding of NeXT—and its vital impact on Apple's success today. -Firsthand reflections from key players at NeXT, including Dan'l Lewin, Rich Page (by video), Avie Tevanian, Bud Tribble, and others. -New insights into how failure, reinvention, and technology shaped one of Silicon Valley’s greatest comebacks. FEATURED PARTICIPANTS Moderator Geoffrey Cain Author, _Steve Jobs in Exile: The Untold Story of NeXT and the Remaking of an American Visionary_ An award-winning author and correspondent, Geoffrey Cain's latest book is _Steve Jobs in Exile: The Untold Story of NeXT and the Remaking of an American Visionary._ His book _Samsung Rising_ was longlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year, and _The Perfect Police State_ was named NPR’s “Book of the Day.” Cain appears in The Wall Street Journal, Time, The Economist, and Wired and has been featured on CNN and Bloomberg TV. He also advises executives and government officials on innovation. Speaker Dan'l Lewin Cofounder and VP of Sales and Marketing, NeXT Dan’l Lewin is a technology executive with more than 30 years of experience across Silicon Valley companies and civic institutions. He most recently served as president and CEO of the Computer History Museum, following a 17-year career at Microsoft, where he was corporate vice president leading global work in civic engagement, environmental sustainability, and startup partnerships. Earlier roles include leadership at Apple, cofounder of NeXT, and leadership roles at Go Corporation, and SONY. He currently serves on startup boards and the Norman Rockwell Museum and previously chaired the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Speaker Rich Page Cofounder and VP of Hardware Engineering / Manufacturing, NeXT Rich Page cofounded NeXT, where he served as vice president of hardware engineering, leading development of the NeXT cube hardware, and as vice president of manufacturing. Before NeXT, he worked at Apple on the Lisa project alongside Steve Jobs and became one of the first four Apple Fellows. After NeXT, he founded several startups and served as executive chairman of Chowbiotics (acquired by DoorDash) and chairman of Secure Thingz (acquired by IAR Systems). Speaker Avadis "Avie" Tevanian, Jr. VP of Engineering, NeXT Avie Tevanian started at NeXT as chief operating system officer working on the NeXTSTEP operating system for the NeXT cube. He later managed the core operating system group and then all engineering after NeXT left the hardware business and was responsible for NeXTSTEP, OpenStep and WebObjects. He later became senior vice president of software engineering at Apple, helping lead the transition to Mac OS X after Apple acquired NeXT. Currently, he is cofounder and managing director of NextEquity Partners. At Carnegie Mellon before joining NeXT, he was a principal designer and engineer of the Mach operating system upon which NeXTSTEP, and now macOS and iOS, are based. Speaker Bud Tribble Cofounder and VP of Software Engineering, NeXT Bud Tribble was a cofounder of NeXT and served as vice president of software engineering, helping guide software architecture and product strategy in the company’s early years. Before NeXT, he was a software lead of the original Macintosh team at Apple and coined the term “reality distortion field” about Steve Jobs. After NeXT, he returned to Apple in senior engineering and product roles and retired as vice president of software technology. He also worked at Eazel Inc. as vice president of engineering and at Sun Microsystems as chief technology officer for the Sun-Netscape Alliance. Catalog Number: 300000305 Acquisition Number: 2026.0128

For one year, Joanna Stern invited AI into nearly every part of her life. Along the way, she found herself asking a bigger question: what kind of future are we building for our kids? Watch the full conversation on our channel.

In 1986, computer scientist Alan Kay, whose ideas shaped everything from GUIs to modern programming, made an observation at the ACM Conference on the History of Personal Workstations: Effort is not always the issue. Sometimes the real problem is context. Nearly 40 years later, does this sound like Silicon Valley has changed, or are we still digging in the wrong place?

Alan Kay, one of the earliest pioneers of object-oriented programming, personal computing, and graphical user interfaces, also envisioned the Dynabook, a laptop personal computer for children of all ages. Watch the full event recording from 1986 on our channel.

As part of a year-long experiment living with AI, Joanna Stern tried letting AI respond to all her messages. One AI-generated reply to her wife quickly proved that “real communication” still can’t be outsourced. During a recent CHM Live event, Stern reflected on the strange, funny, and deeply human moments that came from handing parts of her life over to AI.

What happens when you let artificial intelligence run your life? As AI tools move from novelty to necessity—writing emails, making decisions, translating languages, and organizing our daily routines—the line between human judgment and machine assistance is getting blurrier by the day. But how close are we, really, to _The Jetsons’_ Rosie the Robot? To find out, Emmy Award–winning technology journalist Joanna Stern decided to hand over the keys. For a full year, she let AI systems take the lead—tasking Claude to run a vending machine for her _Wall Street Journal_ colleagues (with humorous and chaotic results), testing out a 1x Neo humanoid robot for household chores, and inserting AI into her work, decisions, and even family life. The outcome? Equal parts impressive, absurd, and occasionally alarming. These experiments were the basis for Stern’s new book, _I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything._ At CHM, Stern will converse with moderator Nilay Patel, cofounder and editor-in-chief of _The Verge,_ sharing what actually worked, what (hilariously) didn’t, and what her year as an AI-assisted human reveals about where this technology is headed. Join us for a lively, candid conversation about life with AI—and what it means to stay human when your to-do list has a mind of its own. [Recorded May 19, 2026] What You’ll Experience: -Insights from Joanna Stern, NBC News chief tech analyst, founder of _The New Things,_ and former _Wall Street Journal_ tech columnist, in conversation with moderator Nilay Patel, cofounder and editor-in-chief of _The Verge._ -Real stories of AI wins, fails, and “what just happened?” moments. -A clear, entertaining look at incredible AI breakthroughs — and where AI quite literally still falls flat. FEATURED PARTICIPANTS Speaker Joanna Stern Author, _I Am Not a Robot;_ Founder, _The New Things;_ Chief Technology Analyst, NBC News Joanna Stern is an Emmy-winning tech journalist and author of _I AM NOT A ROBOT: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything._ She is the founder of New Things Media, where she publishes newsletters, videos and more, and serves as NBC News’ chief tech analyst, regularly appearing on TODAY, NBC Nightly News and beyond. Stern spent 12 years at _The Wall Street Journal,_ where her personal tech columns and videos made her one of the most-watched voices in consumer technology. Moderator Nilay Patel Cofounder and Editor-in-Chief, _The Verge_ Nilay Patel is cofounder and editor in chief of _The Verge,_ the technology and culture brand from Vox Media. In his decade at Vox, he has grown _The Verge_ into one of the largest and most influential tech sites, with a global audience of millions of monthly readers, and award-winning journalism with real-world impact. Honored in Adweek’s “Creative 100” in 2021, under Patel’s leadership, _The Verge_ received its first Pulitzer and National Magazine Award nominations. Patel is an expert voice in the tech space and host of _The Verge’s_ Webby award-winning podcasts, Decoder with Nilay Patel and The Vergecast. SPONSORSHIP This program is made possible by the generous support of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Catalog Number: 300000304 Acquisition Number: 2026.0127

You know @JoannaStern from the Wall Street Journal, her new YouTube channel and more than a decade of insightful tech coverage. Her new book chronicles a year-long experiment handing over her life to AI. On May 19, 2026 at 7:00pm PT, Joanna joins CHM Live on YouTube for a candid conversation with Nilay Patel about what actually worked and what hilariously didn’t. This program is made possible by the generous support of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Watch the livestream on our channel. Ending clip sourced from NBC’s TODAY coverage featuring Joanna Stern, aired May 12.

In this interview, Jeanie Treichel discusses her life and career, particularly her work as a key administrator at Xerox PARC, Sutherland Sproul and Associates, and Sun Labs, all working closely with Bert Sutherland. She discusses her life and education in California, a major trip to Africa in the 1950s, and the life and work experiences that led her to join Xerox PARC in the early 1970s. She recounts her contributions and experiences there into the early 1980s when she took early retirement and then joined Sutherland, Sproul, and Associates. She then recounts her contributions to the creation of Sun Labs in the 1990s and 2000s after Sun Microsystems acquired Sutherland, Sproul and Associates. Interviewed by David C. Brock on 2026-02-11 © Computer History Museum * Note: Transcripts represent what was said in the interview. However, to enhance meaning or add clarification, interviewees have the opportunity to modify this text afterward. This may result in discrepancies between the transcript and the video. Please refer to the transcript for further information - http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/3300000263 Catalog number: 300000264 Acquisition number: 2026.0034