Lhe sweet, simplistic 8-bit melodies happily join in with the cries of children. “Hey, but it’s quite easy to play! Well, we still see the pixels a lot more than in Fortnite,” exclaims Abbes, 11, in front of a version of the first Doom game on an IBM PC. Until January 5, the Musée Replay association is organizing, on the first floor of Cap Sciences in Bordeaux, the “Ready” exhibition dedicated to the great history of personal computers (1).
Commodore PET, Apple II, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC-464… The brands, acronyms and other numbers follow one another and remind fifty-year-olds of certain long games on Pac Man and other pixelated joys. “I see myself as a kid playing on the Amstrad and the Tandy TRS-80 that we had at school,” remembers Franck, with stars in his eyes.
“Through this exhibition, we wanted to show more than fifty years of digital evolution, which has completely changed our civilization,” explains Olivier Boisseau, co-founder of the Musée Replay association. We started from computers that made up an entire room, then a piece of furniture up to the smartphone… Research has always focused on miniaturization while increasing their power. »
Rare pieces
One of the central pieces of the exhibition is not these famous computers known to an entire generation, but the Micral N. A sort of imposing box, without screen or keyboard, only comprising “switches”. binaries. Marketed in 1973 and developed by François Gernelle, a French engineer, the Micral N is none other than the first microcomputer manufactured around a processor. A few years ago, a copy belonging to Paul Allen, co-founder of the computer giant Microsoft, was even sold at auction for $126,000.
Olivier Boisseau, from the Musée Replay association, is passionate about computers.
GUILLAUME BONNAUD / SO
“We didn’t buy it for that amount,” laughs Olivier Boisseau. It was during a sale for other pieces that we found this example from a private individual. It’s a treasure, there are only a few copies left in the world. » In their premises, which they will have to leave next July, other rare and even unique pieces are still hidden from everyone’s eyes. “Our goal is to have a real museum and to introduce people to this revolution. »
A large part of the exhibition includes a video game approach that can appeal to both adults and children. “Ultimately, the history of microcomputers goes hand in hand with that of video games. They appeared long before consoles. From the start, they were used to develop the machines, to push them to their limits,” explains the enthusiast.
At the back of the room, joystick in hand, a dad lets out exclamations with his young teenager. “Hey, you just broke the game record! You’re too strong,” the latter cries. “Gamers” may ultimately not be who we think they are.
(1) “Ready” exhibition at Cap Sciences, Bordeaux. From 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. until Sunday January 5. Price 5.50 euros.
