20 Jan
1999
20 Jan
'99
10:20 a.m.
On Wed, 20 Jan 1999, Tony Duell wrote:
Current machines aren't like that at all. So I am
wondering if there will
be any '10 year old' machines in 2009 or whenever. I bet some of us are
still discussing PDP11s and PDP8s and PERQs and CDCs and.... in that year :-)
If someone has an honest question about a 10-year-old computer, by all
means, let them ask. But, there isn't too much traffic on this list about
PC hardware, and that's not going to grow as the PC market share declines
(it can hardly increase). And the thing is, as you say, little can be done
for PC hardware. If it's dead, it's dead.
Personally, I'd include the IBM PC (5150) and
maybe the XT (5160),
portable (5155) and AT (5170). Like it or not, they had a significant
impact on computing. But I don't think I'll ever think of a generic
PC-clone, no matter how old, as a 'classic'.
'Classic' carries some connotation of class or of being nostalgic, etc.
Hardly any PC clones do that. Also, a generic ISA machine is hardly a
collectible item, so, again, I doubt they will generate much traffic as
time goes on.