On Mon, 8 Jul 2019 at 17:02, Chuck Guzis via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
Practically speaking, what's the difference between a close working
replica and the original? Are the bits somehow imbued with some
additional spiritual property?
The replica may actually be more reliable.
Spoken like a non-collector. :-)
It's OK, it's not condemnatory, I've just noticed some people are like that.
I have seen a handful of original Leonardo da Vinci works. "Girl with
ermine" was the best, for me, in Krakow.
But I had the chance to see the Mona Lisa in the Louvre and the Last
Supper in Milan. Both would have meant paying and queuing for hours. I
said no.
I'm not that into them. But of course millions do every year.
I got a thrill hearing a player piano play a roll cut by Gershwin
himself playing Rhapsody in Blue, though.
Partly it depends what you're into, partly convenience, partly preference.
I never wear designer clothes and think the whole idea is silly. (I
was much impressed by Naomi Klein's /No Logo/ but I was like this
before it. Recommended read anyway. It's a Liff in the Douglas Adams
sense.) But designer jeans, say, I'd expect to be comfier and fit
better. Designer *T-shirts* strike me as just ridiculous. It's an
ordinary tee with a name printed on it. The book taught me how
ludicrous that was.
Would you consider working with an emulator of a vintage machine just
as good as the real thing? If a Raspberry Pi, costing $35 and running
on milli-Amps, could save you the hassle of running a full-size
minicomputer on expensive 3-phase power and cooling -- would that be
enough?
If yes, then fine. Perhaps you like the PiDP-11.
If no, then I get you. Part of the fun for me is that it's the real
thing. I don't just want to play games on emulators. I want to
experience the speed, the noise, the smells, the whole experience of
using a vintage computer.
But other people just want to _own_ one and would be happy with the
experience of the emulator. They'd prefer their rare machine, in
proper original packaging, safe in a clean dry place, and using the
emulator for the fun of old games.
Both are legitimate to me.
My vintage machines are often a bit grubby. I don't care if they
_look_ new but I want them to _work_ and work well. I max out the RAM,
fit bigger disks, etc. I am not much bothered if it is stock or mint
condition but working is important.
For others, original packaging and it looking nice is.
Thus, Retrobr1te and all that. I'd never bother.
It just takes all sorts.
--
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