6 Apr
1998
6 Apr
'98
6:57 p.m.
At 11:47 PM 4/3/98 -0600, you wrote:
More like...if the person(s) that ditched the computer in whatever form didn't
* I'll return or destroy any personal data I find
on a machine I acquire.
...acquire, keeping it in the strictest confidence should I find it
necessary to view it. feel the need to safeguard the information prior to
release of their
personal/corporate property, then it's of no reason to follow through with
any
protection of data/software contained on the machine or
disks. If you buy a
Except, that people may feel it's easier (and/or safer) to just destroy the
machine than it is to try and make sure no one can read their data. What
if some one told you, "yeah, I had one of those imsai computers, but I had
it smashed up to make sure no one could get at my old tax returns." Not a
pleasant thought.
I agree that people should be responsible for their own data, but I also
feel that we, as collectors, need to hold ourselves to a higher standard,
so that people will feel comfortable giving us their old machines.
Similarly, would you tell your analyst/doctor/lawyer as much as you do, if
you thought they might be telling everyone in the pub what you told them?
camcorder at a consignment or pawn shop and the last
owners left a tape of
their after-hours playtime in the camcorder, is it my responsibility to
erase,
safeguard or return it? I think not. I feel the same
should apply to personal
It's your responsibility to post it on the internet! 8^)
Camcorders are reasonably well understood items; what if it were a digital
camera? Someone might decide not to pass it on if they thought they might
not have erased everything...
Most of the people here probably know how to wipe a hard drive so it can't
be read. (My best guess is a low-level format, then fill it with worthless
data? Good thing I have nothing to hide!) But the average AOL user
doesn't. When Grandpa passes on, you don't want the grandkids trashing all
his old computers because they don't know how to make sure that no one will
know about all the porno sites he visited on the web.
Roger: Very nice page of your collection. A few more
pics of each item and it
should become a very informative source for those interested in the world of
the obsolete (the computers, not you).
I tried to get pics of each side and any important features... You think
even more pics would be appropriate? Or do you mean pics of more computers?
P.S., for them what was interested, I'm still working (in my Copious Spare
Time) on documenting the programs I use to generate the pages. I'll post
when I get them finished and uploaded.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/
6 Apr
6 Apr
9:04 p.m.
On Mon, 6 Apr 1998, Uncle Roger wrote:
Except, that people may feel it's easier (and/or
safer) to just destroy the
machine than it is to try and make sure no one can read their data. What
if some one told you, "yeah, I had one of those imsai computers, but I had
it smashed up to make sure no one could get at my old tax returns." Not a
pleasant thought.
I've held onto machines that I would've happily given away except for the
time involved to go through the stuff on the hard disk and clean it up.
This is a real problem. Somebody recently asked me for a solution to this
problem that could be easily communicated to the masses, and I couldn't
come up with one.
Reformatting the disk and installing a fresh O/S is probably the closest
approximation for a lot of people, but it has a few problems:
1) High-level formatting may leave data intact.
2) Installing the O/S doesn't install the drivers for any odd-ball
peripherals the machine happens to have in it.
3) 90% of users probably don't know how to do it.
What the world needs is a painless one button backup-and-clean program.
-- Doug
9:25 p.m.
Uncle Roger wrote:
Now we agree.
Not more of the one, but a picture or two of each machine. I realize you're just
working on the site but a picture really makes the site interesting to those not
familiar with the machines. A prefect example is the dual drive on a Rainbow. How
many people can even grasp the thought of putting a floppy in right way in one
slot, upside down in the other?
Except, that people may feel it's easier (and/or
safer) to just destroy the
machine than it is to try and make sure no one can read their data. What
if some one told you, "yeah, I had one of those imsai computers, but I had
it smashed up to make sure no one could get at my old tax returns." Not a
pleasant thought.
It's rarely done, most people aren't that superstitious of electronic machines.
I agree that people should be responsible for their
own data, but I also
feel that we, as collectors, need to hold ourselves to a higher standard,
so that people will feel comfortable giving us their old machines.
If they actually gave us the machines. Most times they're swapped or sold cheaply.
Similarly, would you tell your analyst/doctor/lawyer
as much as you do, if
you thought they might be telling everyone in the pub what you told them?
Bad similarity...no one is paying you for confidentiality.
camcorder at a
consignment or pawn shop and the last owners left a tape of
their after-hours playtime in the camcorder, is it my responsibility to
erase,
safeguard or return it? I think not. I feel the
same should apply to personal
It's your responsibility to post it on the internet! 8^) Camcorders are reasonably well understood items; what
if it were a digital
camera? Someone might decide not to pass it on if they thought they might
not have erased everything...
Most of the people here probably know how to wipe a hard drive so it can't
be read. (My best guess is a low-level format, then fill it with worthless
data? Good thing I have nothing to hide!) But the average AOL user
doesn't. When Grandpa passes on, you don't want the grandkids trashing all
his old computers because they don't know how to make sure that no one will
know about all the porno sites he visited on the web.
And many have had to use level 3 read/write data destruction if they've worked for
the government. If the goverment is required to insure a clean machine to the
point of even installing a new hard disk prior to public sale, why should the
average Joe be protected in his or her sloppy handling of their private matters.
If you get right down to it they risk public viewing just by installing anything
on the hard disk and connecting to the net.
Roger: Very
nice page of your collection. A few more pics of each item and it
should become a very informative source for those interested in the world of
the obsolete (the computers, not you).
I tried to get pics of each side and any important features... You think
even more pics would be appropriate? Or do you mean pics of more computers? P.S., for them what was interested, I'm still
working (in my Copious Spare
Time) on documenting the programs I use to generate the pages. I'll post
when I get them finished and uploaded.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Russ Blakeman
RB Custom Services / Rt. 1 Box 62E / Harned, KY USA 40144
Phone: (502) 756-1749 Data/Fax:(502) 756-6991
Email: rhblake(a)bbtel.com or rhblake(a)bigfoot.com
Website: http://members.tripod.com/~RHBLAKE/
ICQ # 1714857
* Parts/Service/Upgrades and more for MOST Computers*
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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