From steam-age to semiconductors:
hosting 6th dragon meetup
Cambridge Museum of Technology enables visitors to explore the city’s industrial heritage from the steam age to semiconductors. The Museum also works closely with other independent Museums in the city, including the Cambridge Centre for Computing History.
So it was fitting that the Museum of Technology was able to host the Dragon Computer user group on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 October 2023 while the event’s traditional venue (the Centre for Computing History) was being refurbished.
Watch highlights from the Dragon event, held in the Museum’s Top Bay.
Tony Jewell of the Dragon Meetup team provides a summary:
The Dragon 32 - designed in Cambridge, built in Wales - is one of the less well-known machines of the early 80s home computer boom. It might have been eclipsed by the ZX Spectrum, the BBC Micro and the Commodore 64 - but it's not entirely forgotten. The machine still has a small but dedicated following.
The simple architecture, solid construction and real keyboard - but relatively primitive graphics and sound - meant it appealed to programmers and tinkerers rather than game players. And every year around 20 of these programmers and tinkers - almost all of whom have gone on to have careers in IT - meet up and show off what they've done to their Dragons since they last met.
Highlights this year were numerous - there were Dragons running Unix, Dragons with WiFi and Dragons with VGA. There were rare original prototypes and new modern clones (yes, Dragons are still being made!).
There were machines from all over the world based on the same architecture - from Japan, the US, France and Brazil. Dragons were repaired, upgraded - and a few got broken, but no one minded.
Each year this event gets a little larger, as more people discover the Dragon, and the Dragon community's enthusiasm for their machine is contagious. Come along next year - you might leave with a Dragon of your own!