17 Nov
2004
17 Nov
'04
10:53 a.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Doc Shipley" <doc(a)mdrconsult.com>
To: <news(a)computercollector.com>om>; <General(a)mdrconsult.com>om>;
"Discussion(a)mdrconsult.com :On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 12:31 PM
Subject: Re: 10 year rule
Computer Collector E-Mail Newsletter wrote:
I think the problem with this discussion is partly that age does not equal
collectability.
Lets not even discuss the concept of 'value' and really muddy the waters.
But in any
type of 'collectable' items, mass-production, commodity products are not as
desirable
as a rare or hand-made version.
Think of nails here, a hand-wrought vintage nail is a lot more interesting
than one you
might find in a modern hardware store.
Along the same lines, a production PC will probably never be a desirable
'vintage' computer
however old it becomes. But 50 years from now, one of today's 'hot-rod'
case-modder PC
with neon tubing and a solid aluminum chassis might become an important
cultural artifact.
A lot of this has to do with the 'production value' of the collectable in
question.
The 10-year rule, as I understand it, is intended to prevent the list from
degenerating into
a WinTel support group.
The terms are too similar, people will just get
more confused.
All I intended to do when I started this discussion topic was to point
out the
obsurdity of considering things like the Web and Pentiums as "vintage"
(or any
other synonym). But then others observed back that I was being
short-sighted
-- if you ignore that actual age, "vintage" just means "anything
considered
obsolete by the mainstream," and that's a good enough answer for me. But
I do
think that 15 years, not 10, is a better divider between what's just
"old" and
what's truly vintage.
I think you're all looking at this completely backwards.
The rate of electronic evolution (OK, change) has *accelerated* over
time, meaning that computers are obsoleted much more quickly than their
older counterparts. Therefore the age limit for this list should be
*lowered* to about 8 years now.
Sometime in about 12 years a computer that's two weeks old will qualify
as a classic.
I'll be grabbing my hat....
Doc