Tossing

I beg to respectfully differ. I got my PDP-8E for free (PDP-8E cpu, box of spare cards, TU-56 tape drive, Paper tape reader, and a lowboy rack). Not only that, but the collector de-racked and loaded the system in his truck by himself, and offered to drive half way to meet me. I would suspect that this meets anyone's definition of free (ok, so I spent some gas money for me and him and bought him lunch). This system is one of the most treasured in my collection. I have spent many months painstakingly refurbishing the machine to factory new condition. So, I have to say that people *DO* value the things they get for free. Heck, the fact that I got it free makes me value the thing more than if I'd paid real cash for it, at the very least because if evokes fond memories of that day of pleasant historical computing conversation with the donor. And - that is not the only example. A truely kind soul on this list (to whom I am eternally gratefull) sent me an HP2108A cpu and PDP-8E 8K core board for simply shipping charges. There are many other examples. At the very least, since I have received this treatment from others there are times I have already sent out items for free, and there will likely be others in the future. That doesn't mean at ALL that I don't value them. Jay West