15 Oct
2016
15 Oct
'16
1:53 a.m.
On Oct 15, 2016 1:06 AM, "drlegendre ." <drlegendre at gmail.com> wrote:
reality,
There are still plenty of enthusiastic, younger folks who are most
definitely into running the "genuine old
hardware" - it's just that
this list hasn't traditionally offered much of a
draw for these users. As
noted,
the list was formed by and for users of the
classic-era 'big iron'
gear,
many of whom have simply succumbed to attrition
in one form or another.
Actually, it wasn't. I have
been a member almost from day 1, and my first
question to the list founder (I think it was
Selam) was 'Are
minicomputers
welcome on the list, or is it micros only?'
If my previous observations on the genesis of the list don't match I'm perfectly willing to be corrected - in fact, I
like what I've been
hearing about the origins of the list. That said, the vast majority of
list
traffic seems to focus on minicomputers "and
up" (or, and back as it
were),
and I assumed that it's always been this way.
As another member recently noted, much of what tumbles past me on this
list
is totally outside of my 'classic computer'
world. Though, again, I'd have
no trouble whatsoever geeking out - and fully - over some mini hardware,
if
that's the sort of thing I could possibly have
room for in my home or my
life.
This said, it's clear to see that most of the list traffic is well outside
of the 8-bit / 16-bit micro era. And if the list is to survive over the
long-term, then more of the micro kids like myself need to be brought
deeper into the fold. Don't you think?
I am a member of a handful of lists related to vintage computing. This
list has one of the broadest on- topic scopes and yes it is not centered on
8bit home computing. There are not a lot of posts about Apples and
Commodores and such because a lot of the hardware problems that typically
come up about these systems have long ago been beaten to death. I think you
read more about minis and other types a lot on cctech because some of us
are attempting to work on "something else" other than just 8bit machines to
push into new areas and there is a lot of enthusiasm for it. And there are
not as many sources of info, and these projects tend to be never ending :-)
.
FYI minis and workstations overlap a longer tumespan than 8bit home
machines, there are a ton of hobbyists who collect and or support these
machines. I was much more 8 bit focused before but at some point I
shifted to explore more vintage eras. Both forward and backward in time.
I joined in the earlier 200x's .
I think my first post was in reply to someone who wanted to boot a GRID
laptop from an external drive and I happened to know the keystroke combo.
Bill Degnan
twitter: billdeg
vintagecomputer.net