25 Oct
2005
25 Oct
'05
9:21 a.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Allison" <ajp166 at bellatlantic.net>
To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 10:10 AM
Subject: Re: help requested in Arkansas rescue
One good reason is that someday resources will appear
to fully utilize it.
That can also be read as keeping it from the scrap heap until such time.
The other which is ugly is people storing and loosing to financial
disaster or other physical disaster(weather, flood or fire) large amounts
of hardware that end up as scrap.
I've had to pass on gathering some hardware for lack of long term
supportable
space and in other cases where I've collected more
than I could sold off
excess
so it would not be lost to the trash. I've also
had hardware that I did
trash
as likley of little to no value historically or as $$$
(mostly PCs of the
late
XT clone and AT clones and the 386s). To me long term
supportable space
for
systems and board is stuff that can be accessed fairly
easily and allows
actual
test, repair and use.
Allison
Do you mean you save items at your own expense because someday some museum
might want it, or you intend to hit the lottery and move the machine to a
facility setup for it and other gems?
Personally anything with real historical value should be in a museum where
others can see it and learn about it. Most items that end up in a personal
collection that are not mainstream collectable just end up getting trashed
when that person dies or if lucky some other collector gets to hide it in
their warehouse away from view until they too die (or lose funding for the
storage).
I have about all the machines I can setup and run without tripping over them
or using living space for their storage, although I need to rethink my
magazine and software storage methods.
I don't see a problem trashing machines made in the millions as long as you
offer them to others who might want want them for whatever reason. Having
some space to actually work on the collection is very important too.
I guess the reason I replied to begin with is that while a Cray system does
sound cool in the geek sense (I picture circuit boards immersed in
fleuro-inert when I hear the name) I just don't see the average collector
having the time and resources to get it running and actually do something
with it. Once the cool factor wears out what are you getting out of having
the thing in storage?