COVER FEATURE THE CENTRE FOR
COMPUTING HISTORY
computer games for the first time,
or when they first got to use a
personal computer or used it to write
a university thesis. This collection
comes from a time when the stories
about computing were more about
the people who used them, and less
about the machines themselves.
“The 1980s saw a generation of
tech savvy users emerge who went on
to create a fantastic industry here in
the UK- it was essentially an industry
built in people’s bedrooms and we’ll
never see the likes of that again.”
The original collection was housed
at Fitzpatrick’s place of work – he
was a web developer - and it was only
in 2013 that he decided, with the
help of colleagues and friends he’d
met and worked with over the years
– including Mike Muller – to set the
museum up in its current location.
“People said they’d be interested
in a museum that looked to preserve
technology and ensure that it was
valued, celebrated and secured for
posterity,” he explained.
A significant collection
The Centre for Computing History has
an internationally significant collection
of vintage computers, memorabilia,
artefacts, documents and hands-on
displays.
“It includes 1119 historic
computers as well as 247 games
consoles along with peripherals,
video games, software packages,
books, manuals and magazines and
we are continually adding to the
collection,” said Fitzpatrick.
The video game designer David
Jones, for example, donated his
Tandy TRS-80 Model III computer to
the museum.
“It was the machine that he used
to create his classic games featuring
‘Magic Knight’, Finders Keepers and
its sequels, which were released
on cassette for home computers
including the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad,
and Commodore 64.
“David also donated a host of
floppy disks and a 15 megabyte
hard disk that contained the original
source code and assets for many of
his games,” Fitzpatrick explained.
The collection is certainly vast but
when pushed Fitzpatrick points out
three particularly important exhibits.
“The first is the Altair 8800,
which is commonly referred to as
the world’s first personal computer.
While that can be debated, its claim
to fame is primarily the impact it
had on two strands of computing.
Firstly, on seeing it Bill Gates thought
he would be able to write software
for it and Microsoft was born; while
when Steve Jobs used it he was
encouraged to develop the first Apple
computer. I’d argue that it was pivotal
in the development of the computing
industry that we have today.”
The Altair 8800 sold in huge
numbers. It had no screen or
keyboard, data had to be toggled in,
and it was programmed and answers
were received in binary. But despite
all that it inspired a generation.
Another key object in the collection
is the LEO, which is described as the
world’s first business computer.
“The museum and the LEO
Computers Society have been
awarded a £100,000 development
grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
(HLF) to bring together, preserve,
archive and digitise a range of LEO
Computers artefacts, documents and
personal memories.”
LEO appeared in the 1940s and
was the result of a decision by J.
Lyons & Co.’s, the country’s largest
caterer at the time, to invest in the
computer developments being made
at the University of Cambridge.
“From this collaboration LEO
(Lyons Electronic Office) appeared
and went on to revolutionise how
businesses were run. It is now
acknowledged as the world’s first
business computer,” said Fitzpatrick.
The preservation of LEO is
important and reflects the museum’s
ambition to preserve the rich history
of computing for future generations.
According to Fitzpatrick, “We
recognised the importance of the
giant ‘electronic brains’ of the early
days of computing as a result of a
successful LEO Computers exhibition
held in 2017.
“Following that exhibition we
realised how much important
documentation the LEO Computers
Society had and we resolved to make
sure the archive was protected for the
long term.
“The funding will help to raise
public awareness and pride in this
important and uniquely British
heritage.”
The funding will be used to train
staff who will learn practical heritage
skills to preserve and digitise LEO
material which will then be made
freely available via digital archives,
wide-ranging learning resources,
events and a film, while also exploring
the recreation of the first LEO
machine using cutting-edge virtual
reality technology.
The final key exhibit identified by
Fitzpatrick is the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
prototype, the “absolute original build
of the Sinclair Spectrum that dates
back to 1981/2 and which became
the first games console.”
The prototype machine has a full
travel keyboard with the commands
hand written on the top and all the
chips are labelled – the underside of
the board is all hand wrap wiring.
Accrediation
A significant development for the
“I’m constantly
impressed at how
imaginative and
ambitious the
team is in their
mission to tell
the story of the
computer.”
Mike Muller
Below: Jason
Fitzpatrick, CEO and
curator of the Centre
for Computing
History
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