24 Jun
1997
24 Jun
'97
2:25 a.m.
Dear Friends,
There is no desire from my part to start another flame war (but a
discussion, yes) but in answer to the many that have expressed (here or
privately) their total disinterest for the *meaning* the *history* and
the *culture* behind our collections may I ask them to consider what
their machines would mean without somebody behind (or rather in front)
of them. Machines are just pieces of metal and plastic. They mean
something because they are related to the minds, fingers, emotions,
life, behaviours and destinies of the people behind them. YOU love so
much that piece of hadware for what it meant to you (or to somebody else
you are related with), to your life, to your history of for it meant to
the history of mankind.
I think you've found the root of the Apple ][ debate here...
To me, some classic computers have a personality. The experience of
booting a PERQ 1 - particularly a PERQ 1 I'd just restored - is something
I'll never forget. The click as the power relay pulled in. The noise of
the fans. The squeal from the hard disk belt as the platters got up to
speed. The counting up of the DDS. And then the screen clearing, and a
logon prompt appearing. You don't get that with modern computers.
I've never really thought about the people behind it, except in a very
general way. If the machine had 'come from another planet' I'd still like
it. I'd still be interested in it for what it can do - it's a fine piece
of machinery that can do some things that you can't do on any PC.
People who are interested in the Apple ][ are interested (I suspect)
because of its place in history. It was one of the first true personal
computers. It got the micro revolution going. But that's not why _I_
collect computers.
It would be interesting to see what enthusiasts of other machinery think.
I am thinking of motor car enthusiasts in particular. Let's compare a
Model T ford with a pre-war Rolls-Royce. The former is a very important
car historically. It's the vehicle that (I believe) brought motoring to
the average person in the States. But the latter contains much finer
engineering. Which would most car collectors consider more valuable? Which
would they prefer to run?
Enrico Tedeschi, 54, Easthill Drive, BRIGHTON BN41
2FD, U.K.
--
-tony
ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk
The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill