Borovsk Computer Museum
Vladimir Arkhipov opened the Computer Museum in Borovsk on January 22, 2019. The collection comprises approximately 3,000 exhibits related to computers and computing technology from the early to late 20th century.
The collection comprises over 24,000 items. Among the museum's exhibits are a Burrouhts comptometer from 1912, a Mercedes arithmometer from 1930, an MN-7 analog computer from 1955, a Memorex terminal from 1967, and an Epson Geneva laptop from 1984. The technical literature includes items dating back to the early 1950s.
Vladimir Arkhipov, founder of the Computer Museum in Borovsk, talks about his collection, which comprises approximately 40,000 items. He began collecting the exhibits after being given an old Geneva laptop and realizing that the history of computing was rapidly disappearing. The museum sells not just old devices, but the legends associated with them, striving to create a positive impression on visitors.
Arkhipov collected exhibits for about a quarter of a century, using various sources: trash heaps, gifts, and purchases. He recounts the history of computing technology, from abacuses to electromechanical devices, some dating back to 1912. Soviet "Odra" adding machines, slide rules, and vacuum-tube computers occupy a special place in the collection.
He shares stories associated with the exhibits, such as how an "Odra" adding machine was used to count points during a game of goat. He also talks about a Soviet "bitcoin" found during a barn demolition. He humorously discusses attempts to pass off a microprocessor lab as a nuclear briefcase and the humorous theory of Steve Jobs's cloning in the USSR.
Arkhipov recounts the history of laptops, from Osborne's first production model in 1981 to the compact Epson Geneva devices for which Bill Gates wrote the code. He also displays unusual examples of mice and touchpads, highlighting how input technologies have evolved. Finally, he shows off a rugged Canadian-made laptop, distinguished by its durability and reliability.