Sophie Wilson
If you're one of a generation whose first computing experience was on a BBC Micro, or even if you own a mobile phone - then you'll be familiar with Sophie's work. As one of the brains behind Acorn Computers as well as the ARM/RISC processor, she is one of the leading innovators of British microchip and computing technology. We are delighted that she will be joining us to talk about her career
Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey
The founder members of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark will talk about their musical influences, style, and early career, which stemmed from the legendary Eric's nightclub in Liverpool. There will be an audience Q&A, and they will play some of their best-known hits, as well as premiering a few tracks from “History of Modern”, the band’s first new album in 14 years. SPECIAL TICKETED EVENT - NOW SOLD OUT.
Christine Finn
A journalist at just 16 and woman's editor at 17, Christine completed her Reuters Journalism Fellowship at Oxford University. She also has a doctorate on archaeology and poetry and wrote “Artifacts: an archaeologist's year in Silicon Valley”. A well respected author, Christine will also talk about the background of the Vintage Computer Festival from when it all started back in 1997.
Tony Sale
A key driving force behind saving Bletchley Park and the birth of TNMOC since the early nineties, Tony also spent fourteen years working on the Colossus rebuild project. This will be a golden opportunity to learn about the man, the machine, and how Colossus played a significant part in cracking German encrypted messages during the war.
Tony Frazer
In September last year, TNMOC became custodians of the Harwell WITCH computer. Dating back to 1949, once restored it will be the oldest original working computer in the world. Tony will tell the story behind the computer's history and talk about the restoration so far.
Peter Onion
Elliott Automation is a name in British computing which is often overlooked, yet in the 1960s they produced some iconic machines that changed the way many businesses worked. An expert and keen enthusiast, Peter will tell us more about an important part of computing history as well as inviting you to learn more about one of their key systems - the 803B.
Delwyn Holroyd
In the 70s and 80s, business computers would fill large air-conditioned rooms. They were the stuff of spy movies, with upright tape decks and rows of disk drives that looked like washing machines! These were mainframes, and Delwyn will tell us more about these huge systems. He will also provide an insight into an original ICL 2966 system that he is restoring at TNMOC.
Adam Bradley
By the late 1980s, supercomputing was the buzzword in technology behind cutting-edge big business. Many people have heard of a Cray, but don't know what it is or what makes one so special. Fifteen year-old Adam will provide an insight into the development, technology and history behind the machines where power was everything.
Chris Smith
A real Sinclair expert, Chris has backward engineered the design and technology in these iconic machines. He also worked in the computer games industry during the home computer boom, and will provide a fascinating insight into the heady days of the 1980s.
Karl Pantling-James
In a village in Leicestershire, a group of enthusiasts have been busy building a collection for a museum focused towards computer gaming. The Retro Computer Museum currently hold bi-annual gaming events and have an impressive collection of over one hundred computer systems, as well as thousands of games and peripherals. Karl will tell us all about the birth of computer gaming, as well as their aims to preserve the fun!
Please note: The above information is still being finalised so both speakers and topics are subject to change. A full itinerary will be available nearer the event date - watch this space.