Hardware Hobbyists vs. Emulator Enthusiasts vs Replica Recreators

Point take. But there's a third type of experience that doesn't involve using the car in it's intended role. If I have the car in my collection, even if I never drive it, I can still study it, taking it apart, testing different pieces, learning from the design. A building is another good example. If you're one who appreciates Frank Lloyd Wright's designs, you don't have to live in one to experience the mind of the house's creator. A virtual walk-through is better than nothing, but it doesn't recreate the experience of physically walking through with a set of the blue prints studying how the design was created in the environment and how the design was realized in stone and wood. For me, both the car and the house have intrinsic intellectual value that exists independent of experiencing the utility. Of course, I'd like to experience both, but taking away the utility doesn't make it less interesting for me. On the other hand, take away the sense of connection to the mind of the designer, and it becomes very much less interesting to me, no matter how useful it is. That's why there are relatively few pieces of software (written by other people that is) that interest me. As software becomes more popular and more useful (for a suitable definition of useful), even if initially I can see through to the mind of one or two very intelligent people, that soon gets lost and I see through to a collective of mediocrity. BLS