Warum und wozu braucht man 50 Jahre alte Computer?: Retro Computing Lab an der Uni Würzburg

The Retro Computing Lab at the University of Würzburg serves as a research and educational facility dedicated to the study of historical digital culture. Its primary thesis is that contemporary digital life cannot be fully understood without examining the historical hardware, software, and social practices that established the foundations of modern computing. By prioritizing the use of original vintage equipment over emulators, the lab provides a tactile, authentic environment for students and researchers to engage with the evolution of digital interfaces, programming languages, and media.

The lab, situated within the Center for Philology and Digitality, maintains an operational collection of approximately twenty vintage systems, including home computers and game consoles from the 1970s and 1980s. The facility functions as a living archive where hardware is not merely displayed but actively maintained, repaired, and "hacked" to ensure continued functionality. Key technical activities include the restoration of cathode-ray tube monitors, the recovery of data from legacy storage media like floppy disks and cassettes, and the development of modern adapters to bridge the gap between historical hardware and contemporary digital infrastructure.

Beyond technical preservation, the lab serves as a hub for interdisciplinary academic inquiry, supporting fields such as computer science, German studies, and museology. It facilitates research into digital heritage, including the documentation of unpublished software and the analysis of subcultural practices like software piracy. By hosting workshops, hackathons, and public lectures, the lab bridges the gap between academic research and public science communication. Ultimately, the initiative challenges the current paradigm of ephemeral digital consumption by advocating for the long-term preservation and hands-on study of physical computing history as a vital component of cultural literacy.