Preserving computing's past: restoration and simulation
Maxwell M. Burnet, Robert M. Supnik · 1996
Restoration and simulation are two techniques for preserving computing systems of historical interest. In computer restoration, historical systems are returned to working condition through repair of broken electrical and mechanical subsystems, if necessary substituting current parts for the original ones. In computer simulation, historical systems are re-created as software programs on current computer systems. In each case, the operating environment of the original system is presented to a modern user for inspection or analysis. This differs with computer conservation, which preserves historical systems in their current state, usually one of disrepair. The authors argue that an understanding of computing’s past is vital to understanding its future, and thus that restoration, rather than just conservation, of historic systems is an important activity for computer technologists.