Sprache wechselnDeutsch

Exhibitions

The subject of this year's special exhibition is "Computers and Learning".

The Early Days of Pocketable Computing: Mobile Phones and PDAs

When mentioning vintage computing we often picture big bulky boxes with CRT displays and clicky keyboards, however it is also impossible to imagine the world today without smartphones and tablets. This exhibition celebrates the early days of pocketable computers, a multitude of diverse tiny devices that paved the road to true portability. This year the mobile phones and PDAs booth will be divided in three parts: entertainment, business, and lifestyle. Mobile phones and PDAs served not only utility purposes, but also provided means of self-expression. While not every unit is fully functional in this exhibition, each one can be tried: grab, fold, unfold, take pictures, draw doodles, play games, edit texts, listen to music! Everything we used to do with our little assistants can be experienced here. Azer Abdullaev


When the Balls Learned to Move

Wolfgang Nake


ALTAIR, IMSAI, Dazzler and CP/M – The Beginnings of Individual Computer Graphics

Ansgar Kückes


British 8-Bit Micros and Disk Archival

The BBC microcomputers are a series of 8-bit computers from the early 1980s designed by Acorn Computers, built to meet the specifications of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. The BBC Model B has a 6502 CPU and 32KB of RAM whilst the BBC Master has a 65C12 variant of the 6502 and 128KB of RAM. Both systems are cable of displaying Teletext using the Mullard SAA5050 Teletext character generator. Additional processing power and memory could be added via a coprocessor unit, options included a 65C02 CPU, Z80, Intel 80186, and ARM Evaluation System. The Acorn Electron is a cost-reduced micro compatible with most BBC Micro software. Furthermore, the exhibition shows an automated 3,5" floppy disk archiver; a DIY floppy disk archival machine built from an old floppy duplicator. A Raspberry Pi 3 is used to control the duplicator mechanism to load and eject the disks. A Greaseweasel is used to capture a disk image, and the Pi takes a photo of the ejected disk and saves a JPG with the same file name as the disk image for later identification. Graham Hooley


Tandy – Those Other Computers from the USA

Tandy Corporation is an often overlooked brand of computers from the early 1980s. The Tandy TRS-80 and its successor represent a more business-oriented application area of microcomputing, from before personal computers by IBM entered the scene. From small simple machines to full desktop systems they helped define the early age of computing in America. This exhibition presents a few examples of these computers to show how deserving Tandy computers really were. Richard Eseke


Floppy Disk Magazines: The Catalog

Torsten Roeder


DEC Minicomputers – Recreating and Reviving Computer History

Oscar Vermeulen and Angelo Papenhoff


BASIC Philology: Break-Out on Home Computers

Dr. Dr. Stefan Höltgen


Home Computers by the British Company Sinclair

Norbert Opitz


How Configurable Is the Robotron K8915 Configurable Data Station?

Dirk Kahnert


Sun-3 Workstations

Klaus Kämpf


Retro Laptops

Michael Zeller


Special Exhibition "Computers and Learning"

Learning from computers, learning with computers, learning about computers – that's what the exhibits at this year's VCFB special exhibition are all about. From the very beginning, the computer industry had an interest in universities, and later schools, developing didactic programmes that explain how hardware and software work – in order to familiarise future engineers and users with their products. For this purpose, training courses and special educational computers were developed, which contributed to a rich object history of computer science didactics. These were complemented by specific systems designed for children and young people from the 1970s onwards. Moreover, guided tours through the HTW's computer collection demonstrate how historical systems can be used for today's academic teaching – and not just when it comes to computer history.

Fun and Learning with DEC PDP-8 Minicomputers and the DEC Computer Lab

Volker Herrmann


BK-0010-01: A 16-Bit Home and School Computer from the USSR

Computers in the Soviet Union were used not only in nuclear plants, military bases and big government companies. In the 1980s, many computers were created for home and educational use. They weren't compatible with each other, there was almost no "official" software, but computers became quite popular in the late 1980s. One of the most popular computers was the BK-0010-01, a 16-bit computer compatible with the PDP-11. Classes were organised in schools and colleges, and students learned programming languages and how to use computers in general. The Soviet people widely used the BK-0010 and its successor BK-0011M for many purposes until the 2000s. Thousands of homemade games and other software were created for them. But even now there is still a big BK community in Russian-speaking countries. People still create new software and devices! Eugene Bolshakoff


Inside CPUs

Jörg Hoppe (Computer Cabinett Göttingen)


Makerspace berlinCreators e.V. – Retro Group

berlinCreators e.V.


More information about the exhibitions is available in German.

Page last modified on 2024-10-15