Rare IBM Schools Computer 1969
12 days ago
- #Educational Technology
- #Vintage Computing
- #IBM History
- Discovery of the IBM Schools Computer at the IBM Hursley Museum, which was found to be a non-functional prototype.
- Creation of a replica using a Raspberry Pi Pico, buttons, and an OLED display, capable of running original programs but lacking the floating point 'extracodes'.
- The original computer featured a unique architecture focused on mathematics, operating in BCD with 32-bit registers and 200 words of core store.
- Research uncovered documents, patents, and a 'First course on the schools computer' manual, providing enough information to emulate the machine.
- A half-scale replica was made for the Hursley museum, featuring a touch keyboard and housed in a replica TV, similar to the original setup.
- The IBM Schools Computer was among the first to use a domestic TV for output and a tape player for storage, with the replica using an SD card instead.
- Despite never reaching full production, about ten units were sent to schools, with some evidence of their educational impact and use.
- The project highlights the rarity of the IBM Schools Computer, with no complete original units known to exist today.
- Additional educational computers like the RM380Z, Marvin Minsky’s TT2500, and the Poly-1 from New Zealand are mentioned, though none were as successful.
- The replica and research materials are available on GitHub and the Hursley museum website, contributing to the preservation of this piece of computing history.