HUGE: This is how big the earlier home computers were. 

By Umer Nangiana

In this age, you can wear them on your wrists. There are now watches that can compute data. You can carry them in your pockets in the form of cell phones. Computer indeed has come of age. But this present day compact machine was a big burly article not so long ago.
It is one machine that has witnessed an exceptional growth and expansion in the field of science that controls its operations, opening up a world of possibilities. In just a matter of decades, it has gone compact in size and smarter in operations.
Today, even cell phones can store more than 100gb of data in their memory, whereas, once your home or office computer would have just 20mb of space.
An exhibition detailing the evolution of computers and the idea of computing data in several forms, the Exhibition of Computer History, presented by Abdul Rahman A al-Senaidi, recently opened at Katara Cultural Village.
From the very first laptop computers that would come in a briefcase, to early day video games and play station, the exhibition orients you with the changes in the development of portable computers as it happened.
It displays a collection of devices and photographs dating back to the early days of computers. It also sheds light on the main personalities who helped lay the foundation for the creation of computers.
The collection on display includes keyboards, digital pens, electronic dictionaries, computer magazines along with computer science books and biographies of those who introduced computing technologies in Qatar.
For instance, it features EPSON HX-20 (Also known as HC-20). “It is generally regarded as the first laptop computer announced in November 1981. Hailed by Business Week Magazine as the ‘Fourth Revolution in Personal Computing’, it is generally considered the first notebook and the handheld computer,” says al-Senaidi, the owner of the Al-Senaidi Museum for Computer History and the man behind the exhibition.
Among the other most interesting collections of computers is Sharp PC-7000. It is a portable computer produced by Sharp in Japan in October 1985 with an Intel 8088, 737 MHz CPU, 704K memory and Operating System MS DOS 2.11.
“Produced by Japan’s Sharp Corporation, it was a type of portable computers. It has two 5 ¼” disk-drives on the right side and a 20MB hard disk,” the exhibitioner explains.
There is also TRS 80 Model III, manufactured by Tandy RadioShack in USA in 1981. It was a home computer with ZILOG Z80 and Z80A CPU, 16 KB (up to 48 KB memory) and TRS DOS Operating System. It also supported peripherals such as printer, modem, TV and Cassette.
“This computer is a third generation computer which was preceded by three years of production of the existing model with some works of amendments in terms of speed and an increase in memory,” says the collector of these now antique articles. This machine was also calibrated to match the technical specifications imposed by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) led to the device being a great success for use in home, office and school.
There are machines from the once-popular British company Sinclair. It was a British company established in the city of Cambridge in 1973 by Sir Clive Marles Sinclair, a businessman and inventor. It was the first company to make small calculators (Pocket Calculators) and Sinclair is considered the inventor of small calculators.
In 1973, he moved to London and established a factory for the manufacture of personal computers that carried his family name. Sinclair devices spread widely in Britain and abroad.
“In 1980, in cooperation with an Arab company based in London, it was agreed to Arabize some of the Sinclair devices which were sold in the Middle East and especially the Gulf States. These are some of the devices available with me,” says the exhibitioner.
You would also see Newton Message Pad by Apple Computer Inc. manufactured in 1993. The MessagePad 2000 had an ARM 610 RISC CPU with 8 MB ROM and Newton Operating System and it also used a keyboard.
In 1993, Apple announced the launching of new series of digital products carrying the name MessagePad. It continued production till 1998. It was a series of handheld digital learning with a new operating system carrying Newton’s name. It was programmed in C++. MessagePad devices were the first generation to be displayed later in both the iPhone and iPad.
The exhibition also features a documentary film dating and documenting the story of the first digital computer. It was made by John Vincent Atanasov along with one of his students. “It is in truth justice to the man and puts him in the right place where a lot of people attribute the invention of the first digital computer to other personalities,” says al-Senaidi.
The exhibition also displays machines by Commodore. The company gained wide fame from its diverse portfolio of PCs and products in the 80s in the last century and especially after the release of Commodore 64 computer, which the company sold between 1983 and 1986, moving between 12.5-17 million units at a rate of 2 million units per year and surpassing the sale of devices compatible with IBM Computer, Apple and Atari.
The company was founded in Toronto, Canada in 1954 before moving its offices to West Chester City Pennsylvania state where it began later computers manufactured in 1970.
“I remember that the Commodore computers distributor in Doha was located in Electricity Street, which is now part of Musheireb project,” says the owner of the articles.
The exhibition also features the first Sony PlayStation console with a 32-bit CPU, produced in Japan in 1994. It used a CD to play games and music, with some versions also supporting video CDs.
“It succeeded all over the world and brought high revenues, which improved the financial status of the producing company. Its sales reached 102 million and 49,000 devices. It is of the 5th Generation [consoles],” the exhibitioner tells the visitor.
There are also early versions of consoles made by Atari at the exhibit. Atari Corporation is one of the most famous companies that worked in the computer games industry. Atari is a Japanese word that means ‘hitting the target’. The company has gained worldwide acclaim and accreditation.
A lot of people may think that Atari specialised in games and entertainment software only. However, it also produced a lot of different programmes that cover all user requirements and needs, from word processing, drawing colouring, accounting and educational software.
The exhibition showcases one of the oldest home video game console ODYSSEY2 manufactured by MAGNAVOX-Philips in USA in July 1978. With a central processing unit of INTEL 8048, its production ended on March 20, 1984.
This device is from the second generation of home game consoles released by the company to produce home video games. The console comprises two controls in the form of cartridge tape that cannot be copied. It was produced in different variants in Europe, Japan and Brazil, in addition to the country of origin.