17 Oct
2002
17 Oct
'02
6:46 a.m.
At 05:08 PM 17/10/2002 +0200, you wrote:
All,
Today I got a call from one of Holland's major daily newspapers (for
those
of you who are curious: its the NRC Handelsblad). They asked me if I
were
willing to write them a feature article on "Retro computing: strange
people,
or a necessity for the future?". This (working) title is mine; what
they
mean is: are we just being weird geeks, or is preserving the computing
past
something required for future generations to understand the world in
which
they live, and how things got to be that way?
I have done books and various articles in papers before, but I do feel a
little uncomfortable writing about things I have been involved in for
only
about 5 years or so.
Any suggestions here?
[the answer, by the way, is: "yes, we're weird. so deal with it."]
Cheers,
Fred
Hi, Fred:
The particular reason that I think old computers (hardware,
software, and documentation,)should be preserved is that the field is
changing so fast when compared with any other technology that one can think
of. Railroading? Fifty year old locomotives are still in use. Automobiles?
About the only recent changes are emission standards. Even electronics is
not changing that fast, but if your computer is more than a year old, you
are no longer"state of the art".
On this basis, preserving a ten year old computer is about
equivalent to restoring a 100 year old locomotive or a 75 year old car.
(And cheaper too.)
Cheers
Charlie Fox
Charles E. Fox Video Production
793 Argyle Rd.
Windsor Ontario Canada N8Y 3J8
519-254-4991 foxvideo(a)wincom.net
Check out the "Camcorder Kindergarten"
at http://chasfoxvideo.com