Today's IT junk may be tomorrow's classic kit

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We should think twice before throwing out old items of computing kit, as it might be something future generations will see as having cultural significance.

That's the message from archaeologist Christine Finn, author of Artifacts: An Archaeologist's Year in Silicon Valley and a speaker at the UK's first Vintage Computing Festival.

The event, hosted by the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park, saw more than 2,000 retro computing fans gather for a closer look at some of the machines that have played a key role in Britain's IT history.

Eighties machines such as the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum are now considered classics worth holding on to. But Finn warned that the focus on relentless development from today's generation of computer users risks seeing today’s iconic devices being lost forever.

“A lot of people don't get it. They don't understand why we have to hang on to the old,” Finn told The Inquirer. “It's about progress. To see where we are going we have to understand where we came from.

“I like to think of the objects that we use as tools as being pieces of autobiography,” she added.

Among the more popular exhibits at the two-day show were the code-breaking machines used at Bletchley Park during World War II, and a vintage ZX Spectrum hacked to run Twitter.

Other stands had the likes of old BBC Micros and Sinclairs on display with their covers off to show the electronics inside.

Retro computing festivals are popular in the US and Germany, and National Museum of Computing director and trustee Andy Clark recognises the need for such events to generate interest in technology among today's younger generations.

“People come along, look at them, get engaged and interested, and that's our next generation of computer scientists,” Clark said.

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