Our story
ATX Computer Museum preserves computers, software, and records of their use. It is based in Florence, Texas, north of Austin.
What we collect
The collection focuses on technical computing: workstations, graphics systems, servers, and the software written for them. Home computers and earlier machines provide context for how people learned to program and how these systems developed.
Hardware records are presented alongside software demonstrations, photographs, and recollections. The catalog distinguishes general model history from information about a particular object.
How the collection began
Amir Husain · founder
The first computer I used was a Commodore 64 connected to a television. I remember seeing Jumpman on it. My parents later bought me an 8088-compatible PC, which I upgraded to an 80386. At UT Austin in 1998, I worked on SGI O2s in the computer science labs.
I began collecting machines I wanted to examine and use. Over time that became a collection of workstations and the systems around them. I wrote Serious Machines to explore their history and the engineering work they supported.
Software as part of the collection
Husain’s programs from the 1990s are preserved here. They include networking tools, DOS interfaces, games, control experiments, and an educational authoring system. Individual pages describe their operation and historical context.
Visiting and research
The museum’s public opening is planned for February 2027. Visiting arrangements will be published before opening. Researchers and former users of the systems can contribute identifications, documentation, and recollections now.
The people behind the machines
A signed National Instruments advertisement opens a gallery of Austin builders: James Truchard, Michael Dell, Richard Garriott, and Bob Metcalfe. Explore the ideas that connect laboratory instruments, personal computers, imagined worlds, and networks.