Technology enthusiasts show off history of computing in Katowice museum
Polish computer engineer Romuald Jakobiec's life is tightly linked with the history of computers.
He was involved in building the first Polish transistor computer 'Odra', which began production in Wroclaw in 1972, and one of the last examples of which is housed in a room in Katowice's Museum of Computer History.
'Odra' weighs several hundred kilogrammes and is formed of several bulky parts which process data recorded on punched paper or magnetic tape and its memory is made of kilometres of cables organised by hand.
Jakobiec, who now volunteers at the museum, says with the rapid evolution of technology individual components on modern devices now have the same processing power of 'Odra'.
Poland's Communist-era computer engineers were under a great amount of pressure to develop computers out of scarce materials, says museum director Krzysztof Chwalowski.
Prototype Polish computers often featured components smuggled across borders. There are anecdotes of engineers hiding processors in sandwiches to escape detection and arrest, according to Chwalowski.
The appeal of the museum goes further than those who built or grew up with computers now perceived as antiques.
Fellow volunteer Mateusz Wlodarczyk has just finished a course in information technology, but says he is fascinated by the construction of old computers and software.
COMPUTER ENGINEER AND MUSEUM VOLUNTEER, ROMUALD JAKOBIEC, SAYING:
The computing power of the processors has increased, because at the moment that 'Odra', which you can see over there, which is (the size of) one of these cabinets, it (the processing power of Odra) now fits into one circuit system on a small board with many times greater computing power. And then you put software and high-level programming languages on it, which at the moment allows (usage of) very efficient software and allows building and thinking about artificial intelligence which we could not have dreamed of then (in the 1970s when Odra was built).
What we have today is the result of such evolutionary development. I think that the younger generation that will work with completely different possibilities will go a step further or two steps or three steps. Anyway, it is visible at the moment, because the accessibility to the world is so fantastic both in the physical sense where we can move thanks to fantastic air travel, and in the intellectual sense where we can draw on the resources of knowledge scattered around the world.
DIRECTOR OF KATOWICE MUSEUM OF COMPUTER HISTORY, KRZYSZTOF CHWALOWSKI, SAYING:
Polish engineers continued to be not only under a lot of social pressure, but under the influence of their supervisors and employers they had to create something out of nothing and here come unusual anecdotes, (they) even smuggled processors in sandwiches across the western border for the prototypes of Polish computers. There are anecdotes about detentions on the border not only of the equipment, but also of people who were arrested.
MUSEUM VOLUNTEER, MATEUSZ WLODARCZYK, SAYING:
I am trying to find out how they worked, it is fascinating that our phone is three times better than a computer that flew into space. You can now hold (the equivalent of) big computers the size of a whole house in your hand, these old computers are simply fascinating.
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Gartner IT Leadership Trends 2014 in Poland - Conference Video
On May 15, 2014 representatives of over 70 companies, public sector entities and media gathered in the Conference Center Legia Warszawa, Pepsi Arena in Warsaw for the 2nd edition of the Gartner IT Leadership Trends in Poland. Among them there were CEOs, VPs, Management Board Members, C-Level, Directors and IT Leaders.
Now, as edition 2014 is behind us, thank you for your participation, all the compliments that we hear, your engagement, wise and kind discussions in an atmosphere of Gartner knowledge. Our main subject - Building Your Digital Enterprise has provoked other discussions, which included - a strategy in the age of digital economy, infrastructure management, security, rational approach to big data, information and architecture management, as well as other topics, crucial in planning the success of modern organizations. 8 lectures of Gartner analysts, 2 workshops, 2 interview-sessions, several individual meetings with the analysts, more than 20 statements of the participants in front of the camera, countless business contacts and all these closed with a stunning historical lecture by Prof. Maciej Syslo in the surrounding of the exhibits of the Museum of Computer and Computer Science History in Katowice. It is hard to believe that it was only one day, but as we hear from you - it was spent in a really useful way.
We would particularly like to thank our special guests - President of T-Mobile Poland - Mr. Miroslav Rakowski, who shared his charisma, passion and wide managerial experience during Mastermind Interview, Ms. Katarzyna Rybicka - Head of Strategy of Alior Bank, Mr. Janusz Janowski - e-Tax program coordinator, and Mr. Krzysztof Rychlik - Director of Development of Energa Obrót, for extraordinary, full of good energy Best Practice Sharing session, during which they shared not only their experience, but also a remarkable managerial attitude and mission.
We will soon meet the majority of you, advising you in your everyday managerial work, often by e-mail, telephone, virtual interactions through gartner.com portal. As perhaps the popular Minister would say - That's the climate - more and more virtual and electronic. Conference events are not just another source of knowledge, but also a type of celebration when the community of managers, Gartner analysts and team can meet in one place and feel the unique atmosphere, in which best management practices are developed. We are honored that we can promote your success and organizational goals with our work and knowledge.
We remain at your disposal along with the entire Gartner team in Poland and worldwide,
John Mahoney, Debra Logan, Ansgar Schulte, Ant Allan, Martin Plessow, Leszek Maśniak
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Berlin Tempelhof Airport
Berlin Tempelhof Airport (German: Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof) (IATA: THF, ICAO: EDDI) was one of the airports in Berlin, Germany. Situated in the south-central Berlin borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, the airport ceased operating in 2008 while establishing Berlin Brandenburg Airport as the sole commercial airport for Berlin.
Tempelhof was designated as an airport by the Ministry of Transport on 8 October 1923. The old terminal was originally constructed in 1927. In anticipation of increasing air traffic, the Nazi government began a massive reconstruction in the mid-1930s. While it was occasionally cited as the world's oldest operating commercial airport, the title was disputed by several other airports, and is no longer an issue since its closure.
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