Personal Computer Museum in Brantford Ontario

While watching a YouTube video of an Apple 1 replica running some games I discovered the Personal Computer Museum in Brantford Ontario, just an hour South West of Toronto. It was started by Syd Bolton, a Brantford local who has been collecting vintage computers for over 20 years.

I recently started collecting vintage computers too. I don't remember exactly how it started, but I saw the original 1984 Macintosh computer on TV or the web and was floored about how usable it was compared to anything that came before it (except Lisa 1 which was developed by Apple at the same time and released in 1983). I bought a collector quality, unmodified 1984 Macintosh with the original boxes, packaging, manuals, disks, accessories, a bunch of 1.0 boxed software, etc. The spending didn't stop there. I decided that I want to buy collector quality working first edition computers that are considered to be milestones in computing history. Here is what I plan to have in my personal museum:

• 1971 Intel 4004 - the world's first microprocessor. Check. Mine is framed in a museum display case with some historical information and a printout of the chip design.
• 1975 MITS Altair 8800 - this computer coined the term "personal computer" and inspired Bill Gates & Paul Allen to found Microsoft so they could create and sell their first product: a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800. I'm currently in discussions with three sellers.
• January & February 1975 editions of Popular Electronics - this is the magazine issue that showed the world the new Altair 8800, and gave Paul Allen (Microsoft co-founder) the idea to create and sell a BASIC interpreter for it. Check.
• 1976 Apple 1 replica - A real Apple 1 costs $20,000 - $50,000 since there are only 30 - 50 of them left. In 1976, computers were made up of many boards and required a separate teletype or video terminal to access them. Steve Wozniak thought a computer should be a single board and have support for a video terminal built in (you attach a TV and keyboard to it). He sold a couple hundred kits and using that money they created an improved model called the Apple II. I am on a waiting list for a replica Apple 1 kit.
• 1977 Apple II rev0 - Almost exactly one year after launching the Apple 1, an improved Apple II model was released - this time pre-assembled, and including a case and keyboard. This is the computer that introduced most people to personal computing. It wasn't until the 1978 release of VisiCalc, the first computerized spreadsheet, that people realized the value of a personal computer and sales exploded. Not long after, IBM got into the business with the first IBM PC. The rev0 Apple II's are the very first ones manufactured in 1977 before further improvements were made. I have one lined up for purchased but the seller shorted something while trying to remember how to make it work so he could take pictures. He sent it away to an old Apple II technician, and I'm waiting for him to get back to me.
• 1981 IBM PC - The first IBM PC, the first MS DOS 1.0, etc. No explanation required here. These are much more affordable than the other computers in my collection, but it is lower priority so I have not purchased one yet.
• 1983 Apple Lisa 1 - This is the first commercially available computer with a graphical user interface and a mouse. It was prohibitively expensive ($10,000 or, in today's dollars $22,000) so not many people ever saw or used one. There were problems with the two "twiggy" floppy drives so Apple recalled them and upgraded the hardware to a "Lisa 2". There are so few Lisa 1's around that they sell for $10,000 today. I found one, but obviously don't have that kind of cash. Maybe when I'm rich I will buy one. I don't really want a Lisa 2 because it's not "the first" like the rest of my collection.
• 1984 Macintosh - no introduction needed here. This is the very first Macintosh computer. Check.
• 1988 NeXT Computer - After leaving Apple in 1985, Steve Jobs started a new company to create his vision of the future. He built a black cube computer that was so fast and powerful they were later called "personal mainframes". They were at least 5 years ahead of anything you could buy. For this computer he built the NeXTSTEP operating system based on BSD/UNIX, and built a graphical user interface similar to what is in the Macintosh. In 1997 Apple bought the company and the NeXTSTEP operating system was re-worked to become the core of Mac OSX (and later iPhone OS.) At CERN, the first web browser and web server was created on a NeXT Computer. Check. Mine is like new and includes manuals.
• 1993 Apple Newton - This product coined the term PDA. It was years ahead of its time and was a failure. Check.
• 2001 Apple iPod - This wasn't the first MP3 player, and isn't really a computer, but it ties into the next item so I had to get it. Check. Mine comes in the original box with manuals, disk, cables, etc.
• 2007 Apple iPhone - This phone changed the way people think about phones and smartphones. Sure there was the Palm Treo and Windows phones before it, but somehow Apple's new touch interface changed everything. Now everyone is trying to replicate it. I haven't bought one of these yet because I've been spending too much money lately.
• 2010 Apple iPad - These aren't out yet but as soon as they are available for pre-order in Canada I will buy one. Not everyone sees it yet, but I think Steve is right about this computer. It is going to change the way people think about computers. You don't need a laptop or desktop computer for many things you do such as web browsing, email, reading books, etc. In the future I think computers will kind of disappear into devices and appliances like the iPhone and iPad. You will only use a desktop or laptop computer for thins that really need it.

You might think this is an Apple collection, but it is not. It is a collection of computers that are considered milestones in the history books. It just happens that Apple is responsible for most of the innovation! This really opened my eyes about Apple. Believe it or not I don't own or know how to use a modern Apple computer. Hopefully I'll get one this year for work because I'll be doing some iPhone work which can only be done on a Mac.

My favorite computers are from the golden age of computing back in the mid 1970's. I'm looking forward to getting out the soldering iron and assembling the Apple 1 replica, then programming it using raw machine code. I'm sure I'll be able to program it because back in school I had the highest (or second highest?) grade in the x86 assembler class, and I really understood what I was doing. The Apple 1 uses a different processor, but the point is I should be able to learn it. After this experience, I might decide to study a bit of electrical engineering in the future as a hobby.

Now back to the original topic.. the Personal Computer Museum is only open on select dates. Today is one of those dates so it's time for a shower, then I'm going to head over.