Rare Canadian computer found in barn after nearly 45 years unopened

Image Credit: Carleton University A rare Canadian-built computer that spent decades forgotten in a rural barn near Edmonton is preparing for a unique second chapter. The AES Alphaplus 12, believed to have been built around 1981, had resurfaced in its original shipping box and was taken to Carleton University in Ottawa for a scheduled public unboxing. The machine has attracted attention because so little documentation exists about this particular model, leaving its internal components and configuration uncertain. Its discovery offered a rare opportunity to examine a little-known part of Canada's early computing history.Importance of the rare Canadian computer discovery in an Edmonton barnThe rediscovery of the AES Alphaplus 12 is significant not simply because an old machine survived for decades, but because so little is known about the exact model. According to Carleton University's School of Computer Science, the computer remained untouched after its time at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) before being forgotten in a rural Edmonton barn.The university's announcement, published on 2 September 2026, described the machine as a rare example of Canadian computing he...