Personal Computer Museum
Encyclopedia
The Personal Computer Museum is located in Brantford, Ontario
, Canada
, located in a former city building that is built from reclaimed bricks from the Brantford Opera House.
Over fifty interactive personal computer
s are on display from a wide variety of manufacturers, including Apple Computer
, Atari
, Commodore
, IBM
, Radio Shack
, Timex
, Mattel
and more.
The mandate of the museum is to preserve computer technology and more importantly, offer interactivity with these machines. Parents are welcome to bring children and show them computers that they may have used to understand the evolution of the technology that they use today.
The museum offers a large selection of original software in its library as well as a huge archive of computer related magazines. The museum is open to students to study the origins of computers and the various technologies behind them.
Currently open to the public only one day a month, the museum welcomes private tours from schools or other groups and has free admission.
The museum was first opened to the public in September, 2005 by founder and curator, Syd Bolton
. The museum is run by Bolton and a group of dedicated volunteers.
Computers that are still viable for redistribution are given away to needy families through the computer giveaway program. The museum also has an annual 'Spring Cleanup' event with a special focus on recycling that brought in over 400 pieces of electronics in 2008.
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, located in a former city building that is built from reclaimed bricks from the Brantford Opera House.
Over fifty interactive personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s are on display from a wide variety of manufacturers, including Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
, Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
, Commodore
Commodore International
Commodore is the commonly used name for Commodore Business Machines , the U.S.-based home computer manufacturer and electronics manufacturer headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which also housed Commodore's corporate parent company, Commodore International Limited...
, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Radio Shack
Radio shack
Radio shack is a slang term for a room or structure for housing radio equipment.-History:In the early days of radio, equipment was experimental and home-built. The first radio transmitters used a noisy spark to generate radio waves and were often housed in a garage or shed. When radio was first...
, Timex
SDI Technologies
SDI Technologies is the name of a consumer electronics manufacturer whose products are marketed under several national brands, including Timex, Sylvania, and iHome. They used to market under Soundesign, a now defunct brand. They are affiliated with KIDdesigns, a manufacturer of child-oriented toys...
, Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
and more.
The mandate of the museum is to preserve computer technology and more importantly, offer interactivity with these machines. Parents are welcome to bring children and show them computers that they may have used to understand the evolution of the technology that they use today.
The museum offers a large selection of original software in its library as well as a huge archive of computer related magazines. The museum is open to students to study the origins of computers and the various technologies behind them.
Currently open to the public only one day a month, the museum welcomes private tours from schools or other groups and has free admission.
The museum was first opened to the public in September, 2005 by founder and curator, Syd Bolton
Syd Bolton
Sydney Lorne Bolton is a Canadian software developer, technology broadcaster, video game collector, and author. Bolton continues to live in Brantford.-Background:...
. The museum is run by Bolton and a group of dedicated volunteers.
Displays
- The downstairs showcases over forty-five machines that are interactive. The most popular machines include the Commodore 64Commodore 64The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, IMSAI 8080IMSAI 8080The IMSAI 8080 was an early microcomputer released in late 1975, based on the Intel 8080 and later 8085 and S-100 bus. It was a clone of its main competitor, the earlier MITS Altair 8800. The IMSAI is largely regarded as the first "clone" computer. The IMSAI machine ran a highly modified version of...
and Apple IIeApple IIeThe Apple IIe is the third model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The e in the name stands for enhanced, referring to the fact that several popular features were now built-in that were only available as upgrades and add-ons in earlier models... - There is a 1953 Admiral Black & White television downstairs conntected to a game of PongPongPong is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. While other arcade video games such as Computer Space came before it, Pong was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity...
- The 'Tower of Power' is a 16 feet (4.9 m) high display that includes the original packaging for such machines as the Coleco AdamColeco AdamThe Coleco Adam is a home computer, an attempt in the early 1980s by American toy manufacturer Coleco to follow on the success of its ColecoVision game console...
, Atari 2600Atari 2600The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
, and Mattel AquariusMattel AquariusAquarius is a home computer designed by Radofin and released by Mattel in 1983. It features a Zilog Z80 microprocessor, a rubber chiclet keyboard, 4K of RAM, and a subset of Microsoft BASIC in ROM. It connects to a television set and uses a cassette tape recorder for secondary data storage... - Upstairs contains a magazine library that has classics such as Byte Magazine and Compute!COMPUTE!Compute! was an American computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994, though it can trace its origin to 1978 in Len Lindsay's PET Gazette, one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET computer. In its 1980s heyday Compute! covered all major platforms, and several single-platform...
. The library is home to over 4,000 publications. - Upstairs also has a display known as 'Modem Alley' where the history of the modemModemA modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
is displayed including the major milestones contributed by manufacturers such as Hayes Microcomputer ProductsHayes Microcomputer ProductsHayes Microcomputer Products was a U.S.-based manufacturer of modems. They are particularly well known for their Smartmodem, which is introduced the ability to control the modem through commands sent in the data stream itself. The "smart modem" approach dramatically simplified operation, making...
and Supra, Inc.Supra, Inc.Supra, Inc., previously known as Supra Corporation, were best known as manufacturers of modems for personal computers, but also produced a range of hardware for the Amiga, including SCSI controllers, memory boards, and processor accelerators.... - Both levels include hundreds of books on various topics in computer history
- A special section devoted to Canadian journalist and technology evangelist Jim ButterfieldJim Butterfield-External links:* * featuring Brad Templeton, Jim Butterfield, and Steve Punter** * * , previous unpublished, presented by the Personal Computer Museum, Brantford, Ontario...
is on permanent display
Computer recycling
The Personal Computer Museum engages in computer recycling. Local residents can bring computers to the museum almost every Monday evening for safe, proper recycling.Computers that are still viable for redistribution are given away to needy families through the computer giveaway program. The museum also has an annual 'Spring Cleanup' event with a special focus on recycling that brought in over 400 pieces of electronics in 2008.
Notable events
- Between June 26 and June 29, 2009 MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
hired the museum to fill its 'Evolution: 30 Years of Gaming' display in TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from... - On September 13, 2008 the Personal Computer Museum held and established a new Guinness World RecordsGuinness World RecordsGuinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
attempt for the most players in a TetrisTetrisTetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
Tournament - On March 26, 2009 the museum received a 'Shining Stars Tourism Award' for the best marketing campaign for a facility with under 30,000 visitors annually
- On June 13, 2009 the museum was host to Andy Walker, Sean Carruthers, and Matt Harris who shot an episode of LabRats.TV
- On February 20, 2010 the museum was host to the oldest known computer to send a tweet on Twitter, the VIC-20, using code written by Syd Bolton.
- On October 13, 2011 the museum received a 'Shining Stars Tourism Award' for the event "Guitar Hero Rocks the Square" and museum curator Syd BoltonSyd BoltonSydney Lorne Bolton is a Canadian software developer, technology broadcaster, video game collector, and author. Bolton continues to live in Brantford.-Background:...
received the "Tourism Innovator" award
External links
- Personal Computer Museum website
- Collection of old analog and digital computers at Old Computer Museum