12 Aug
1997
12 Aug
'97
2:40 a.m.
On Tue, 12 Aug 1997, William Donzelli wrote:
I also talked to a guy that deals with old computers.
Two weeks ago, he
_finally_ scrapped out a bunch of old machines - really old. Amongst the
deaths were various PDP-8s, two PDP-9s, a Burroughs mainframe, and an IBM
7090 of some sort.
Of course I wretched. The loss of the PDP-8s is bad (I do not know
specific model numbers), but the others are a real shame. Known PDP-9s
number in the _low_ single digits, the 7090 perhaps less, but old
Burroughs equipment is probably extinct.
In any case, this shows that the stuff was not _all_ scrapped years ago.
This shows the need to get the word out to people that you collect old
computers. You never know who's going to say "Oh really? My dad has
this old mainframe in his garage that he's throwing out next week." Once
word gets out that you collect old computers, people will be coming to
you. It gets in their head and they start to find the opportunities for
you through casual contacts with friends and relatives. This has
happened to me on a few occassions; people I have explained my hobby to
have come back to me saying they saw System X or heard of someone wanting
to get rid of System Y.
Sam
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Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass