Blog

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.

The reasoning, thought process and design concepts behind our new branding

My experience as a Computer Museum Assistant learning to catalogue with a recent donation of APL material.

A short explanation of how we added modern electronics to an old phone to play MP3s.

This blog explores the evolution of computing before screens were common, highlighting the adaptability of early users, including an interview with Trevor Grove!

This virtual exhibition explores everything about social simulation games, which is a genre where emotions, relationships, and choices affect your story's pathway. Video games can reflect a lot about a person's behaviour, beliefs, and social interactions.

What games in the 70s to the late 90s had predicted about Robots in the Future.

Blog post about the beginning and the end of physical Macworld magazines.