Welcome to the Computer Museum

Why should you visit the Computer Museum? Here are \(n\) reasons why!

Originally published in mathNEWS, this humorous article explores why a visit to the Computer Museum is well worth your time. Along the way, it shares a bit of mathNEWS history and highlights what makes the publication such a unique part of the undergraduate community at the University of Waterloo.

Tom Conrad, an employee of IBM for over 30 years had been collecting computers with the intention of creating his own museum.  Now well retired, he decided to look for a new home for his treasured collection and contacted us to see if we were interested.  A friend of the Computer Museum, Steve Garan, offered to drive the collection to Waterloo.  On January 20, 2026 it arrived in Waterloo.  Now begins the process of documenting this incredible collection!

This blog is about King’s Quest IV on an Atari 1040ST and how the game used manual-based quizzes as an early form of anti-piracy. It explores how, in the 1980s, developers relied on player trust, as game copying was very common. The post also discusses how piracy today plays a role in preserving older games, since most classic titles are no longer legally available.