Computer Accessories as Hardware Heritage

Digital heritage mostly brings to mind computer software (software heritage) and hardware (hardware heritage), methods for preserving them for future generations, and the characteristics of the socioeconomic environment in which they were used. The paper presents a snapshot look at the history of selected computer accessories, specifically desks and floppy disks. It attempts to determine whether computer accessories are part of hardware heritage. The furniture and floppy disks were investigated because they are unpopular among computer history researchers. They have rarely analysed how these objects were presented and advertised in computer magazines. The conclusions are drawn based on research on computer literature from the 1980s and 1990s. Archival materials were obtained from the Internet Archive. The analysed material included a collection of ‘The Computer Magazine Archives’. The conclusions point out that components of digital heritage, computer software and (digital) hardware included, should not be analysed in isolation from such details as objects that accompanied them and contributed to the original experience.