Bernard Tan – Computer Geek & Historian Part 2 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

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. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/4YySl1YHTtk Part 2 | https://youtu.be/LjoSS6AOn1Q 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’m Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian. I’m interested in the history of Singapore and the lives of its people. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city today. We discuss three topics: 1. People and places. 2. Change and continuity. 3. The importance of heritage. As a historian, I try to stay true to the oral history method on a video format and social media platform. I let the interviewee speak, as the ‘voice of the past’ as Paul Thompson put it. No clickbait, no BS, no posturing. The aim is to canvas a wide range of voices on various aspects of Singapore history and heritage – physical, social, cultural, economic. Do like the video, share your memories below and subscribe to the channel for future episodes. Write to me if you have questions or thoughts on Old Singapore or want to come onto the podcast: lohkahseng@chroniclesresearch.com Support Chronicles of Old Singapore on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore Follow the channel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551786759344 Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lks992002 Chronicles Research & Education is my research consultancy on the history of Singapore: https://www.chroniclesresearch.com/ Caveat: this is above all a podcast based on personal memory. As has been well-documented in oral history, memory is not always reliable and what is recalled here should not be taken as fact. However, as Alessandro Portelli noted, the subjectivity of oral history is also its great strength, and what is inaccurately remembered may point to how deeply meaningful the past is to people. #singaporehistory #memory #heritage #nostalgia #oralhistory #socialhistory #history #singapore