Failing Dell terminal distracts from Coventry museum’s historic weaving loom
An information terminal at Coventry’s Herbert Art Gallery & Museum was showing a warning about its failing battery instead of demonstrating a Jacquard loom. The malfunction draws attention to the contrast between the loom’s early role in automated weaving and the ageing computer technology used to present it.
The loom used punched cards to produce intricate, repeatable textile patterns, and its history is relevant to Coventry’s ribbon-weaving industry, which flourished from the early 18th century to the 1860s. The terminal runs on a Dell OptiPlex 755, likely dating from around 2007; its CMOS battery may need replacing with a CR2032 cell, followed by restoring the BIOS settings.
- A museum loom display showed a warning about its computer’s failing battery.
- The terminal uses a Dell OptiPlex 755, likely from around 2007.
- Replacing its CMOS battery could restore the demonstration.
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Jacquard looms used punched cards to control the pattern woven into cloth, making it possible to repeat intricate designs. This was an early form of automation: instructions on the cards guided the loom’s movements.
The technology mattered to Coventry, where ribbon weaving was an important industry from the early 18th century until the 1860s. Museums use displays such as computer terminals to help visitors understand this local history, though the computers themselves can age and fail.
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Originally published by The Register as “Museum exhibit reveals the intricate workings of a knackered Dell”.