Hardware » Mainframes

Slideshow -- Tech of Yesteryear: Where Old Computers Find Their Final Resting Place

Max Burnet has turned his home in the leafy suburbs of Sydney into arguably Australia’s largest private computer museum. Since retiring as director of Digital Equipment Corporation a decade ago, Burnet has converted his interest in the computing industry into an invaluable snapshot of computer history. Every available space from his basement to the top floor of his two-storey home is covered with relics from the past. His collection is vast, from a 1920s Julius Totalisator, the first UNIX PDP-7, a classic DEC PDP-8, the original IBM PC, Apple’s Lisa, MITS Altair 8800, numerous punch cards and over 6000 computer reference books. And more. He happily opened his doors for CIO to take a look.

By Howard Dahdah | 24 November, 2008 12:44

Tags: history

Extreme IT: Hurricanes, high winds and heavy seas

When Lance Gibson talks about a storm knocking out his systems, he doesn't mean the infamous worm. He might be referring to the latest hurricane to sweep through the Gulf of Mexico or to the lightning accompanying a vicious thunderstorm.

By Jake Widman | 14 October, 2008 08:18

Tags: extreme IT

Building a free computer from spare parts

Ah, the joy of summer storms. A recent one involving a flooded basement (a torrential downpour traveled down a chipmunk burrow that led to an otherwise enclosed basement window with a broken windowpane) and several staccato blackouts sent one of my neighbor's computers, as well as one of my own, to their eternal rest.

Confessions of a Cobol programmer

Last year, Michael Vu, a 40-year-old independent IT consultant, found himself in a wholly unexpected place midway through his career.