Vintage tech, PCs on show at Katara

An exhibit showcasing the evolution of computers, video games, and other technological devices in Qatar, organised by Al-Senaidi Museum for Computer History, are on display at Katara – the Cultural Village.
Abdul Rahman al-Senaidi, who owns most of the collections, said the exhibit features early computing devices like the abacus, vintage laptops and computers by Microsoft and Apple, classic films, printers, as well as forerunners of modern video games.
Al-Senaidi owns an extensive library of books on computers and video games, which are also on display. “The book collection, he stressed, “was also part of my hobby and I was able to collect a substantial number of literature on the subject through the years.”
He said the exhibition, which will run until January 25, aims to give people, especially the younger generation, a glimpse of the evolution of the technology in Qatar by showcasing vintage and modern computers.
“I started using computers in 1989 but for my collection, I started collecting computer and video game-related items around 2011,” said al-Senaidi, whose first computer was a Sakhr.
Al-Senaidi said Sakhr Computers was developed in the 1980s by Al Alamiah, a Kuwaiti company that produced an Arabic-language version of MSX computers.
“Their products included the MSX2, MSX2+ and the Yamaha AX100 models, the latter known as Sakhr MSX AX170. The company was also the first to convert the BASIC computer language to Arabic,” according to Wikipedia.
Sakhr’s website said the company was “a pioneer in research and development in Arabic NLP (Natural Language Processing).”
“Ask any Arab who was into computers as early as the 1980s, and he or she will tell you about Sakhr,” al-Senaid explained, adding that his first computer was for personal use only.
Asked if al-Senaidi loves to play with the vintage Atari and Nintendo video games in his collection, he said: “I’ve only used some of the video games with my friends. My kids, however, have not played them but are more interested in the modern video games.”
On the benefit of the exhibition, al-Senaidi stressed: “It is very important for the new generation to understand how technology evolved in Qatar through the years, and what were the types of computing machines used in the country back in the day. Hopefully, it would be very informative for them.
“I also hope to bring back good memories to other collectors like myself and computer pioneers in Qatar. There are other collectors of these items in the country but I can say that I am the first Qatari to showcase vintage computer and video technology in Qatar and perhaps in the entire Gulf,” al-Senaidi said.