1972 Magnavox Odyssey and 1975 ATARI PONG

This week, I had the amazing opportunity to visit Cambridge and the Centre for Computing History.  I was frankly amazed and astounded at the huge array of computers and retro hardware available.  I was like a geek in a retro toyshop!  I was excited to see they had a Big Trak section (programmable vehicle from the 70s) for people to use and learn from.  The facilities available are excellent with a coffee bar/snack shop, clean washroom facility, education room and a wealth of computing memorabilia.

You can even find an array of gaming classics, many of which are as old as The Labour Parties policies 🙂

The staff are friendly, willing to help and are as enthused about technology new and old, if you are in the area and have an interest in the history of computers or want to teach the younger generation that not everything is touch screen and voice activated, and have fun, then you should add this to your places to go.  You’re even a short (3 min) walk away from the big retail park in Cambridge.  Here’s a few photo’s to whet your appetite…

Aquarius and Acorn Electron

Commodore Plus/4

One of my favourite games on the Commodore 16 was Tutti Frutti by Mastertronic written by Shaun Southern, this was a cross between Mr Do! and Pengo and still as playable today!

Jupiter ACE, ZX Spectrum 128K Toastrack, Sinclair ZX80, Oric-1, Oric Atmos, Acorn Electron, Linx

Sinclair C5

Electric cars of course are all the rage today, however how many remember the Sinclair C5 electric vehicle with a maximum speed of 15mph and wasn’t accepted as a credible vehicle in the 80’s?

Tandy/Radio Shack – TRS-80

I never owned one of these, but they were considered pretty advanced for a home computer back in the late 70’s.

Amstrad PCW8256

After the success of the Amstrad CPC range, Lord Sugar creates a word-processing and spreadsheet equivalent computer for business that was capable of running games in monochrome.

IBM System 370

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