Episode Details

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Professor Bernard T.G. Tan recounts how the National Computer Board, est. in 1981, encouraged computerisation in the civil service and local businesses. Being able to build the computer yourself, he says, is important because it fosters creativity and entrepreneurship.

Bernard also talks about his research into the history of Rollei. He believes that Rollei failed because they lagged behind Japanese camera manufacturers technologically, not because the Singaporean engineers were not good enough.

00:00 The Early Computer Geeks in Singapore

03:18 Government Interest & the National Computer Board

10:38 Computerisation & the Workforce

12:14 Texas Instruments & the Semiconductor Companies

17:23 Why Rollei Failed

22:34 Sim Lim Square & Funan Centre: Computer Marts

25:26 Building Your Own Computer

27:54 Sim Wong Hoo & Entrepreneurship

30:02 AI & Smartphones

Bibliography

Bernard Tan on the history of microcomputing in Singapore, 2018:

http://sms.org.sg/download/Microcomputing_in_Singapore.pdf

I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

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