15 Mar
2007
15 Mar
'07
4:43 p.m.
On 3/15/07, Jim Battle <frustum at pacbell.net> wrote:
I've had it with the Computerworks in Austin.
Please let me rant;
nobody else will appreciate it.
http://www.austingoodwill.org/crs/store%20locater%20pages/ComputerWorks.html
When I moved to Austin a couple years ago, I had high hopes. In the San
<snipping the rest of the rant>
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Years ago, Austin's Goodwill
Computerworks had all sorts of 70s and 80s micros, parts and
equipment, and their museum was open and impressive. Three years ago,
I stopped in and noticed everything interesting was behind the
counter.
Me: "What's that stuff back there, is it for sale?"
Clerk: "Ebay."
Me: "Can I see x?"
Clerk: "It's for Ebay."
Me: "So nothing's for sale here anymore?"
Clerk: "Go on Ebay to buy it."
and I haven't been back since. I used to save up every penny to go to
the GWCW once a week to find something special or interesting in their
piles... Well, I haven't been back, and I likely never will
considering your story. (I'm just glad I rescued the parts that I did
from them, including a $10 Apple IIe with SCSI,
RAMWorks, RAMFactor,
and Transwarp IIe!) But sadly, those days are gone. And with
the VCM
and eBay both too expensive for me, I guess I'm stuck out. :(
I also miss the interesting people you'd meet there going on. From
run-of-the-mill crazy people to actual geeks that worked on some of
the vintage stuff and knew more about it than I ever will. It was a
bona fide club...
...Josef
--
"I laugh because I dare not cry. This is a crazy world
and the only way to enjoy it is to treat it as a joke."
-- Hilda "Sharpie" Burroughs,
"The Number of the Beast" by Robert A. Heinlein