Institute of Physics owns oldest functioning computer

photo: www.scienceworld.cz

The Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences can boast a questionable record. It has the oldest computer still in operation in a Czech company.

The 15-year old veteran was discovered in a search for old computers announced by the computer manufacturer Intel and the Business World magazine. The Institute of Physics was awarded a brand new computer for winning the contest but it certainly isn't going to put the old one on the scrap heap, because the computer "granddad" can still manage its job well. Besides, they say, the institute is not so rich as to be able to discard machines that are still working. The vintage computer was made in 1989 and operates at a frequency of 6 MHz. Contemporary computers are more than 500 times faster.