24 Jan
2010
24 Jan
'10
9:20 a.m.
On Jan 24, 2010, at 10:33 AM, js at cimmeri.com wrote:
One problem I see is that the general population views
old
computers as just a bunch of old office equipment. When my friends
come over, they tease me about all the effort I put into this
stuff, saying, "Why bother with all this old crap? You realize
that when you die, it's just all going into a dumpster?"
Don't worry, this is an easy problem to solve. There are two
options:
1) Choose better friends
2) Educate your existing friends
#2 is, of course, the best option, and often the only option with
family members. The analogy I like to use is cars. Everyone
understands the guy with the Model T Ford in the garage. I explain
that this is exactly the same thing...just the cars have only
revolutionized transportation, while computers have revolutionized
EVERYTHING, and preserving them, and their history, is just as
important if not more so.
Every nontechnical person I've explained this to has gotten it,
without exception. You can actually watch their facial expressions
change as the light dawns, then suddenly they start to respect the
equipment and sometimes become curious about it. In fact, two of
those people now own (and love) small PDP-11s.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL