New National Museum of Computing gallery opens

The key personal computers that have led the digital revolution in Britain are on display in a new interactive gallery at The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) at Bletchley Park.

Officially opened today, the new PC gallery has 50 personal computers, many of which are on interactive display. They date from the 1960s to the present day and tell the stories of the development of hardware and software, and the ongoing miniaturisation of computing devices.

The National Museum of Computing is an independent charity that houses the largest collection of functional historic computers in Europe, including a rebuilt Colossus, the world’s first electronic programmable computer.

The development of the PC Gallery has been made possible by support in recent months from PGP Corporation, IBM and Hewlett Packard.

Kevin Murrell, a director and trustee of TNMOC, said: "The PC Gallery is an excellent demonstration of how The National Museum of Computing can develop given sufficient funds.

"We used to display some of this equipment in a classroom-type environment and it was one of the most popular elements of the museum. Now these machines are displayed in an interactive gallery surrounded by reminders of the world events and social context of their time."

The museum complements the Bletchley Park Trust’s story of codebreaking and visitors can view a rebuilt and fully operational Colossus, the computer used to crack Axis codes during the Second World War.

The earliest model in the new gallery is a PDP8 from the USA dating from 1965, which was the first mass-produced computer. The exhibition then focuses on the heyday of British computing and includes working models of the BBC B micro, the Dragon 32, the Sinclair ZX80 and the Amstrad PC1512.

With the rise and rivalry of the IBM PC and the Apple Macs throughout the 1980s, the story then moves on to operating systems and software. The 1990s see the rise of truly portable PCs, including handheld devices.

"It really brings home how far and how quickly computing has moved on and that we still are in the midst of an astonishing revolution, the pace of which is almost beyond comprehension," said Mr Murrell.

Getting the PCs for the gallery has taken several years and painstaking research. One of the most difficult devices to find was a working Sinclair ZX80 in good condition. A device that the museum is still searching for is a Sinclair MK14, the first home computing kit that went on sale in 1977 for £40. The museum would like to hear from anyone who can help.

Mr Murrell added: "We have been keen to celebrate the British contribution to computing. In America, the development of personal computing is often seen as a battle between IBM and Apple.

"But in Britain the story was quite different, with many small entrepreneurial companies breaking new ground in the late 1970s and early 1980s. "

Two other major galleries are being planned for later this year and ideas about a gallery on supercomputing are being formulated. The museum is currently open on Thursdays and Saturdays from 1pm, and on bank holidays in spring and summer. Groups may visit at other times by arrangement.