On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 20:58:03 -0400 (EDT), William Donzelli <aw288(a)osfn.org> wrote: It was very common in the 90s and 00s (and later) to chuck the guts of computers, with the thought that the cabinets could be modified into nice pieces of furniture. Well, very few folks actually made the modifications, so the cases just hung around in garages and basements. Seriously, I hear of people chopping up classic computers all of the time. Sometimes they put more modern computers inside. Sometimes they make them into aquariums. Sometimes they just smash them up for pleasure. While it really doesn't matter if people do that stuff most of the time, because these are mass produced items and there are plenty to go around, it is a bit concerning. Are there enough people out there to preserve most of the interesting models? And will the interesting models survive in sufficient numbers that the interested collectors aren't fighting each other for them (or bidding them out of their price range)? And yes, this is a concern. I know that I have switched over to stashing documentation and software because hardware is too bulky (and I have enough trouble preserving software from bit rot, thank-you). I suspect that others have had to specialize too.