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Colombo University Computer Museum unveiled on the 21st January 2021 in commemoration of 100 years of the establishment of the faculties of science and arts of the UoC. The Computing History Museum at UCSC showcases many facets including the proud history of over 50 years of computing at the University of Colombo, decades of technology evolution and the computing machinery initially used for higher education in the country. The collection will continue in the years to come for future generations to inspire, educate, and as a showcase of its legacy.<\/p>\n
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Here\u2019s how the history was made. In the virtual museum, you can see the IBM 29 card punching machine and the IBM 59 card verifier which was announced in 1964 to coincide with the introduction of the IBM 360. The Acorn Electron was a budget version of the BBC Microcomputer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. \u2018The Electron\u2019 was able to save and load programs onto an audio cassette. The Friden EC132 was the successor to the Friden EC130. It is historically considered as the first commercially-available solid-state desktop electronic calculator. Under the Colombo \u2013 Reading link, the University was gifted with its very first computer, a Hewlett-Packard 9825 Mini computer. This enabled in-house computing at the University of Colombo, following which a small scale Computer Centre was established at the Department of Mathematics in 1977. The equipment at the centre included the Data General NOVA\/4 minicomputer (1981), Data General Eclipse multi-user S\/140 Mini computer, an IBM-PC, a WANG-PC, a Kaypro 2 and two RadioShack TRS80-16 computers. The centre served science undergraduates, researchers and provided consultancy work. Subsequently the island\u2019s first ever locally networked BBC computer labs were set up to serve students. BBC microcomputers was used for many purposes including processing and releasing the results of the 1982 Presidential Election.<\/p>\n
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