30 Jan
1998
30 Jan
'98
12:41 p.m.
Hmmm.... I am not convinced. For one thing, what
defines a particular
'no-name' PC? The motherboard isn't even standard in some of the ones
that I've seen...
Yes, but so were many of the parts to the old radios. Many are complete
nonames - many are even homebrews.
Well, some people collect radios for their appearance
- look at the
high-priced Catalin sets. Personally, I collect the radios with
interesting circuitry or unusual electronic features.
Who knows, maybe the trend towards curvy cases (one look I really hate,
and have to thank Sun repeated for resisting) and pastels will be hot
stuff in the future.
Yes, I think the technically interesting computers (and radios) will
always be at least somewhat popular to those that appreciate the innards.
That is why I tend to like IBM mainframes - the look like _nothing_ from
the outside, but inside they are pure magic.
I like all my computers to be working, and PC's,
especially laptops are
next-to-impossible to repair. It's much easier to repair an old radio -
just about the only custom parts will be coils and transformers, and those
can be rewound quite easily. There's no way you can replace an ASIC in a
laptop, even if you can figure out what the specifications should be.
It may prove to be an interesting problem. Perhaps old chips will have
definite market values just like tubes and valves. Vintage CRTs fall into
the same boat - once dead, you either rebuild them (only a few people can
do this, and it will cost you dearly), or you find a replacement thru the
collectors network.
Argh!!!. I wish I'd been offered a thing like
that.... Somehow I'd have
afforded it. As it is, I have to make do with a not-quite-classic AMT DAP
500 with a faulty PSU...
I probably would have coughed up that $800 really fast. There are probably
more Apple 1s left than CM-1s, 2s, etc. (all but the CM-5s, but how many
people can store a 20 ft. long computer anyway?).
William Donzelli
william(a)ans.net