26 May
2000
26 May
'00
5:15 a.m.
I try and keep all parts together as I got them and I document each
piece with serial numbers, part numbers, dates printed on the labels,
and any other information that I can get off the units themselves. I
also write any important information given to me by the person I get
the item from. Sometime I learn important historical information from
the person if they are the original owner. When I get the museum going
I would like everything to be in factory shipped order. and working if
possible. I use a zip drive to store all this information on so that I
do fill up my main system's hard drive.
John Keys
----- Original Message -----
From: Mark Gregory <mgregory(a)vantageresearch.com>
To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2000 11:49 AM
Subject: Documenting how old computers were used
When people receive complete systems (with software,
manuals, etc.) do
you
make any attempt to document the state of the system
when you received
it?
For example, do you record what programs were on the
hard drive, what
peripherals were included, what the system was used for (either what
you
were told, or could infer), etc?
It seems to me that increasingly, social historians and museums are
more
interested in _how_ an artifact was used than in the
thing itself. But
often , especially when I receive multiple examples of the same
system, I
mix and match parts and programs to suit myself, and
lose track of
which
disk drive came with which CPU, which software was
originally
installed on
each, etc. Information is obviously being lost here.
I'd be interested to know what other list members are doing, and how
important you think the information being lost is.
Regards,
Mark Gregory