A collector of computers and computer hardware from all continents, some of which are rare, Florin Marcus, an economist who arranged his own museum downtown Arad and hopes to enter Guinness World Records with his 2,500 processors that he collected in the latest years, owns 5,000 such pieces.
Florin Marcus discovered computers in the latest 80s, when he enrolled in a thematic club with the Pioneer Organization, and since that moment his passion for technology has continued to grow.
"I really want to have such a computer at home too, but I was only able to afford one in the early 2000s," he told AGERPRES.
Marcus started to collect such relics of technology after he got a job at a computer repair shop. He brought so many pieces back home that at some point he really didn't have any room left for them to store. Then he realized, in 2009, that he is a true collector and started to behave like one, getting involved in hardware exchanges, the same as other people do with stamps or old coins.
Given that some of the computers he owns are old and rare, he thought that a museum would give other enthusiasts the opportunity to admire them. Initially, he set up an exhibition in a space of about 70 square metres, and the surprise was to find that curious people from all over the world were crossing his threshold, people who had learned about him on the Internet. Since not only was the interest great, but the collection had also grown considerably, last year he moved the museum to a 300 square metre space.
Among the relics that can be discovered are a mechanical bank interest calculator from 1870, the world's first portable computer (1981), the world's first laptop (1982), the first processor launched on the market (1971) and numerous computers from the 1970s. He also has components from NASA computers, from satellites or space probes and even from F-16 aircraft in his collection.
The Computer History Museum has a section dedicated to Romanian computers. "In recent years, my focus has been on Romanian computers, because few people know that in our country they were produced in a few factories until the mid-1990s, such as in Bucharest, Cluj or Timisoara," said the collector.
He also works on a catalogue of Romanian computers, which will be launched later this year. He believes that it will be very useful not only for computer lovers, but also for high school and university students.
The best part of his collection, however, is represented by the 2,500 computer processors he owns, which he believes could be largest in the world. He already made steps to gain a recognition with the Guinness World Records, in that sense.
Most of the "relics" in Florin Marcus's collection are functional.
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