Take a walk down 16kb memory lane
Published on 14 October, 2010
Computers used to boast memory capacities of 16kb and used floppy discs, which weren't really floppy. They certainly couldn't handle multi-player gaming with high-speed graphics 30 years ago.
"Young people have no idea how things used to be," say IT lecturers Daniel Pun and Michael O'Malley, who are custodians of the IT Mini Museum in the foyer of Building 19 on Rockhampton Campus.
IT lecturer Daniel Pun with 'memories' of the past 
IT Mini Museum custodian Michael O'Malley
The pair have promised to rotate their displays with a different theme every few months and are keen for loans or donations of old computer gear. Offers of donations can be made via d.pun@cqu.edu.au or 4923 2377 or m.omalley@cqu.edu.au or 4930 9329.
The IT Mini Museum project is supported and supplied by the Faculty of Arts, Business, Informatics and Education and the University Library.
"The main idea of the project is hopefully to boost and promote all our Information Technology and Information Systems programs offered by our Faculty," Daniel says.
Display items currently are:
- Apple ][c 8-bits manufactured in 1984
- TRS-80 with Zilog Z80 processor at 1.77 MHz by Tandy in early 1980s
- Intel 80386SL microprocessor in 1990
- Intel Pentium II microprocessor in 1997
- 5 1/4 inch Floppy Disk Drive
- memory chips: 68MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB
- Seagate 8.4 GBytes hard disk drive
