The Personal Computer Museum was located in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, in a building formerly owned by the municipal government. The building was built with bricks reclaimed from the Brantford Opera House.
Over fifty interactive personal computers were on display, from a wide variety of manufacturers, including Apple, Atari, Commodore, IBM, Radio Shack, Timex, Mattel, and others. The museum also had a large library of original software and a huge archive of computer-related magazines.
The museum's mandate was to preserve computer technology and, more importantly, to offer interactivity with older machines. It welcomed private tours from schools and other groups. It was open to students, to study the origins of computers and the various technologies involved. Parents were welcome to bring children, to see computers which the parents may have once used, to get a sense of the ancestry of today's technology. Admission was free.
The museum first opened to the public in September, 2005.[1] It was run by Syd Bolton, its founder and curator, and by a group of dedicated volunteers.
In 2018, the museum closed permanently following Bolton's death. At that time, it had been open to the public only one day a month. Its contents were transferred to University of Toronto Mississauga library in October 2020.[2]
A rare example of Electrohome's Telidon terminal on display. Telidon was an early alphageometric videotex system promoted by the Canadian government but never widely deployed.
The downstairs showcased over forty-five machines that were interactive. The most popular machines included the Commodore 64, IMSAI 8080 and Apple IIe
There was a 1953 Admiral Black & White television downstairs connected to a game of Pong
The 'Tower of Power' was a 16-foot (4.9 m) high display that includes the original packaging for such machines as the Coleco Adam, Atari 2600, and Mattel Aquarius
Upstairs contained a magazine library that had classics such as Byte Magazine and Compute!. The library was home to over 4,000 publications.
Upstairs also had a display known as 'Modem Alley' where the history of the modem was displayed including the major milestones contributed by manufacturers such as Hayes Microcomputer Products and Supra, Inc.
Both levels included hundreds of books on various topics in computer history
A special section devoted to Canadian journalist and technology evangelist Jim Butterfield was on permanent display
Computer recyclingedit
The Personal Computer Museum engaged in computer recycling. Local residents would bring computers to the museum almost every Monday evening for safe, proper recycling. Computers that were still viable for redistribution were given away to needy families through the computer giveaway program.[4] 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.[5]
Notable eventsedit
Between June 26 and June 29, 2009 Microsoft hired the museum to fill its 'Evolution: 30 Years of Gaming' display in Toronto[6]
On September 13, 2008 the Personal Computer Museum held and established a new Guinness World Records attempt for the most players in a Tetris Tournament[7]
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[8]
On June 13, 2009 the museum was host to Andy Walker, Sean Carruthers, and Matt Harris who shot an episode of LabRats.TV[9]
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.[10]
On October 13, 2011 the museum received a 'Shining Stars Tourism Award' for the event "Guitar Hero Rocks the Square" and museum curator Syd Bolton received the "Tourism Innovator" award[11]
On November 15, 2014 Jack Livesley and former TVOntario staff, as well as the former editor of The Transactor, held a talk and Q&A session, reminiscing about the early days of Bits and Bytes and personal computers.[12]
On June 11, 2018 the founder and curator Syd Bolton died peacefully in a Toronto hospital after a brief illness. He was 46.[13]
^Reisinger, Don (2010-02-16). "Commodore VIC-20 prepares for first-ever tweet". CNet. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
^(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-11-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"An Afternoon with Jack Livesley". Personal Computer Museum. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
^"Syd Bolton, computer and video game collector, dies at age 46". CTV Kitchener. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
External linksedit
Personal Computer Museum website
Collection of old analog and digital computers at Old Computer Museum
April 30, 2024
personal, computer, museum, located, brantford, ontario, canada, building, formerly, owned, municipal, government, building, built, with, bricks, reclaimed, from, brantford, opera, house, some, personal, computers, interactive, displayestablished2005dissolved2. The Personal Computer Museum was located in Brantford Ontario Canada in a building formerly owned by the municipal government The building was built with bricks reclaimed from the Brantford Opera House Personal Computer MuseumSome personal computers on an interactive displayEstablished2005Dissolved2018LocationBrantford Ontario CanadaCoordinates43 09 26 N 80 15 54 W 43 15720 N 80 26501 W 43 15720 80 26501TypePersonal Computer museumCuratorSyd BoltonWebsitehttp www pcmuseum ca Over fifty interactive personal computers were on display from a wide variety of manufacturers including Apple Atari Commodore IBM Radio Shack Timex Mattel and others The museum also had a large library of original software and a huge archive of computer related magazines The museum s mandate was to preserve computer technology and more importantly to offer interactivity with older machines It welcomed private tours from schools and other groups It was open to students to study the origins of computers and the various technologies involved Parents were welcome to bring children to see computers which the parents may have once used to get a sense of the ancestry of today s technology Admission was free The museum first opened to the public in September 2005 1 It was run by Syd Bolton its founder and curator and by a group of dedicated volunteers In 2018 the museum closed permanently following Bolton s death At that time it had been open to the public only one day a month Its contents were transferred to University of Toronto Mississauga library in October 2020 2 Contents 1 Displays 2 Computer recycling 3 Notable events 4 See also 5 Notes 6 External linksDisplays edit nbsp A rare example of Electrohome s Telidon terminal on display Telidon was an early alphageometric videotex system promoted by the Canadian government but never widely deployed The downstairs showcased over forty five machines that were interactive The most popular machines included the Commodore 64 IMSAI 8080 and Apple IIe Video games and consoles were also represented One rare Atari 2600 title was an Extra Terrestrials cartridge published in 1983 by a small Burlington Ontario firm unaware of Atari s similarly themed 1982 ET game a massive commercial failure which was a factor in the video game crash of 1983 3 There was a 1953 Admiral Black amp White television downstairs connected to a game of Pong The Tower of Power was a 16 foot 4 9 m high display that includes the original packaging for such machines as the Coleco Adam Atari 2600 and Mattel Aquarius Upstairs contained a magazine library that had classics such as Byte Magazine and Compute The library was home to over 4 000 publications Upstairs also had a display known as Modem Alley where the history of the modem was displayed including the major milestones contributed by manufacturers such as Hayes Microcomputer Products and Supra Inc Both levels included hundreds of books on various topics in computer history A special section devoted to Canadian journalist and technology evangelist Jim Butterfield was on permanent displayComputer recycling editThe Personal Computer Museum engaged in computer recycling Local residents would bring computers to the museum almost every Monday evening for safe proper recycling Computers that were still viable for redistribution were given away to needy families through the computer giveaway program 4 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 5 Notable events editBetween June 26 and June 29 2009 Microsoft hired the museum to fill its Evolution 30 Years of Gaming display in Toronto 6 On September 13 2008 the Personal Computer Museum held and established a new Guinness World Records attempt for the most players in a Tetris Tournament 7 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 8 On June 13 2009 the museum was host to Andy Walker Sean Carruthers and Matt Harris who shot an episode of LabRats TV 9 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 10 On October 13 2011 the museum received a Shining Stars Tourism Award for the event Guitar Hero Rocks the Square and museum curator Syd Bolton received the Tourism Innovator award 11 On November 15 2014 Jack Livesley and former TVOntario staff as well as the former editor of The Transactor held a talk and Q amp A session reminiscing about the early days of Bits and Bytes and personal computers 12 On June 11 2018 the founder and curator Syd Bolton died peacefully in a Toronto hospital after a brief illness He was 46 13 See also editComputer museum History of personal computers List of museums in Ontario and list of science museumsNotes edit Brantford Expositor Newspaper Article September 20 2005 Gerstle David 2021 10 07 The discourse of the game An interview with Chris Young on UTML s Syd Bolton collection The Atari E T video game you didn t know existed CBC Hamilton 2014 04 29 Retrieved 2014 04 30 PCM giving away computers to the Needy Brantford Expositor Newspaper January 31 2009 E Waste The Buck Stops Here Globe amp Mail Newspaper October 20 2008 Ars Technica Microsoft Touts PC Gaming With Retro Computer Showcase Tetris Tourney a Big Draw in the Brantford Expositor Newspaper September 15 2008 Tourism s Shining Stars honoured in the Brantford Expositor retrieved March 27 2009 LabRats TV Episode 176 Reisinger Don 2010 02 16 Commodore VIC 20 prepares for first ever tweet CNet Retrieved 2014 04 30 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2012 04 25 Retrieved 2011 11 15 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link An Afternoon with Jack Livesley Personal Computer Museum Retrieved 16 February 2017 Syd Bolton computer and video game collector dies at age 46 CTV Kitchener 12 June 2018 Retrieved 12 June 2018 External links editPersonal Computer Museum website Collection of old analog and digital computers at Old Computer Museum Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Personal Computer Museum amp oldid 1199648902, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
