The '90s Live On at the NCC
Dedicated to the preservation of 1990s computing technology, the National Centre of Computing is the foremost micronational treasure trove of hardware and software from years gone by. Since its establishment in August 2011, the museum has gone on to become perhaps one the largest micronational museums in the world by the number of exhibits and items.
Our collection boasts an incredible range of Microsoft Windows® operating systems spanning the golden age of the PC, and an impressive library of software, including productivity software and games, that visitors are free to interact with hands-on. Also on display are PCs from the era that have been meticulously maintained over the years to keep them in full running order. As such, the NCC is perhaps one of the few institutions in the world where one can actually use, and not just look at, early handheld PCs and MS-DOS® commands. But don't think that the collection stops there. The NCC also collects and curates images in its Image Repository, such as banner ads and GIF animations, from the early days of the Web - now for the first time, banners warning of impending Y2K chaos or touting the latest and greatest browser (either Internet Explorer® 5 or 6) can be fully appreciated in all their dithered splendour.
And for those of you that like to read, the NCC Library has a comprehensive selection of computer books, from manuals to advertising - including the thousand-page-plus Resource Kits. Be warned when leafing through them that they're literally hefty reading, particularly the nearly 1800-page Windows® 98 Resource Kit that has bent more than one bookshelf in its time. Or if you're more a visual learner, we have some material on VHS cassette or CD for your enjoyment. How We Do It
The NCC utilises 'virtual machines' or 'fake' computer running on real hardware. The virtual machines trick the software into thinking it runs on its own, real computer, when in reality it's actually just a single file on a main 'host' computer. The 'host' shares its hardware, and in some cases can connect to the 'guest' by mimicking a network connection. Through special software we can even make some of the systems do things they'd never been designed to do - like run at a 1920x1080 resolution (your average 16:9 widescreen) in full 32-bit colour, or more impressively, browse the Internet at VDSL speeds. All our 'hosts' run Windows® 10 and have enough memory and processor speed to run several instances of classic operating systems at the same time.
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What We've Saved
MS-DOS 6.22 (1994)
Windows® 3.1/3.11 (1992-93) Windows® Chicago (1994) Windows® 95 (1995) Windows® NT 4.0 (1996) Windows® Memphis (1997) Windows® 98 (1998) Windows® Neptune (1999) Windows® 2000 (2000) Windows® Me (2000) Windows® Whistler (2000) Windows® XP (2001) Windows® CE 1.0 (1996) Windows® CE 2.0 (1998) Contact the NCC
19 Flat Road, Havilland, WE 400
Tel. 40-980; Telegram 40-NW5 12 Cameron Road, Gate Pk, CA 202 Tel. 23-074; Telegram 23-TC4 |