The cost of collecting debate

Rumor has it that Tony Duell may have mentioned these words: [snip] Sure you can! However, I can pretty much guarantee you'll end up with a "logic 0" every time... ;-) On that we certainly agree. Hear, Hear! I *refuse* to collect IBM PC's of any type (well, *damn near* any type -- I might take in a Tandy 2000, but that would be about it.) Despite Micros~1's protestations, Win9x/ME==DOS==boring. In my town, there's prolly 20 or fewer folks that could even figure out how to boot VMS on my DEC, let alone log in... (installation did require some help from you folks - and I thank you again for that). Most folks that are PeeCee based are like "Howcomewhyfor nuthin' happens when I press F1?" It doesn't occur to most folks nowadays to try something new/different (read: the HELP command). Now to get DECWindows up... so I can see the documentation on how to get DECWindows up... I guess I'm feeling recursive tonite. ;-) Honestly, I have no desire for an altair/imsai/apple 1, so as long as those are "fashionable" and little else, I won't shed a tear over it. If, however, the state of affordable collecting is reduced to '286's, I'll just keep my 30 or so machines to myself and become a "compu-hermit." I'll want no part of it anymore. Re: the "amateur vs. professional" debate: To most folks nowadays, the term "professional" means "you have a degree from a well-heeled university" to prove you actually know what you're doing (which in my eyes isn't proof at all...). No Ph.D. == amateur. There is *no* degree in Classic Computing History, so by this definition we're *all* amateurs... Just my $0.00000002 (and that's what it's worth...) Roger "Merch" Merchberger -- Roger "Merch" Merchberger --- sysadmin, Iceberg Computers Recycling is good, right??? Ok, so I'll recycle an old .sig. If at first you don't succeed, nuclear warhead disarmament should *not* be your first career choice.