15 Mar
2007
15 Mar
'07
2:57 p.m.
I've had it with the Computerworks in Austin. Please let me rant;
nobody else will appreciate it.
http://www.austingoodwill.org/crs/store%20locater%20pages/ComputerWorks.html
When I moved to Austin a couple years ago, I had high hopes. In the San
Francisco Bay area, you could spend a saturday hitting half a dozen
Goodwill's, looking for gems. Sometimes they appeared, often not. In
Austin (and San Antonio, and probably some other cities) Goodwill sends
all of their computer donations to a specialized goodwill, marketed as
"ComputerWorks"; the theory is that most goodwill's don't have skilled
employees to know what is interesting or not and how to price it; I
agree that is the case.
The Austin Computerworks even has a vintage computer museum, so that led
me to believe the appreciated vintage computers.
https://www.austincomputerworks.org/museum/index.html
Bzzt. Not so.
Clue #1: the "museum" hasn't been open in the eight or so times I've
stopped by. Their hours are sunday 1-5, monday 9-11, wed 1-3. 8 hours
a week. One time I snuck in when the door was open and had a look -- it
is a hands-off museum. Each of the 20 or so machines has a 5x7 card
fully explaining what is interesting about the machine and how it fits
in to the tapestry of computing ... not. Name, date, and manufacturer
is about all.
Clue #2: they got rid of 80% of their books, leaving only "popular" titles.
Clue #3: they never have any vintage computers for sale when I'm there.
A year ago I had dropped off an HP 85, an HP86, and 30 lbs of software
and manuals, even replacement paper for the 85's printer. I was nervous
when they told me to go around to the side to drop it off at the general
donation dock, but I did it.
Today before donating, I asked a few questions.
Me: I have an apple II+, and apple IIe, and a kaypro 10 to donate. Are
you interested in them?
Clerk: Yes, sir, we are! Drive around the side to the loading dock and
drop them off there.
Me: I've been here a dozen times (I'm stretching the truth with him to
make a point) and I've never seen any old computers for sale -- I mean,
70's micros.
Him: Oh, we get them, but most people aren't interested.
Me: So what do you do when you get them?
Him: We send them to a room where were separate out the metal from the
plastic and ...
Me: (interrupting) Wait a second... you mean you don't even try to sell
them to that segment of the market that is interested in them, for
nostalgia's sake or whatever? You just trash them?
Him: No sir, as I just explained, we don't throw them away. We separate
out the metal from the plastic ... (I didn't hear the rest as I walked away)
So the nice hp 85 and 86 that I donated last year with docs and apps,
memory expansion carts, serial interface carts, and which was in much
better condition than the one in their museum, never saw the light of
day. Bastards.
What makes this even more insidious is that when I go to the local run
of the mill goodwills and inquire about what they do with old computer
donations, they say they ship them to computer works to deal with them.
So essentially it is a vintage computer magnet attached to a wood chipper.
I understand that goodwill gets far more stuff than can ever sell, but
to not even try is sickening. There was no hint of regret about it from
the clerk -- in fact, he was rather proud that they were recycling bits
of them vs tossing them whole.
After leaving the computerworks, I drove a mile or two up the road the
to recently mentioned MC Howard electronics. They have room for lots of
funky stuff, and they were happy to accept them.
Phew, I feel better. Now I need to write a rant to the goodwill
organization to enlighten them on the subject.
PS: Doc Shipley, don't bother driving to MC Howard to get the kaypro 10,
if you were. I have a nicer one that I'm still sitting on for you to
collect some day.
15 Mar
15 Mar
3:18 p.m.
you're in Texas, perhaps you should have looked up
Ross Perot. And an old computer to most people is just
that - old and functionally useless. They'll chop up
what you sent them the same as if it were a pentium I
system. My advice is to make known to the folk in your
area (the area being as big as you're willing to
travel) that you salvage these items for donations and whatnot.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Bored stiff? Loosen up...
Download and play hundreds of games for free on Yahoo! Games.
http://games.yahoo.com/games/front
3:35 p.m.
When I moved to Austin a couple years ago, I had high
hopes. In the San
Francisco Bay area, you could spend a saturday hitting half a dozen
Goodwill's, looking for gems. Sometimes they appeared, often not. In
It has been years since I've seen anything at any of the local Goodwills
that resembles a "Classic Computer" here in Oregon. The best chance would
likely be the "Stab and Grab" store, which is a big warehouse where they
bring out massive bins, and people fight over the contents. I'm not kidding
about the fighting either, when they bring out a new cart it's vicious.
Within five minutes or less, anything that wasn't trash, typically is. I
hate the place, but occasionally my wife drags me in there, though even
she's basically had it with it, in part because the feeding frenzy really
isn't safe to be around.
The interesting thing about this "Stab and Grab" store is that it is where a
majority of the book donations in the Portland area (if not Oregon) end up.
They go into some secret (hidden) room, which isn't open to the public, and
they sell them online.
Don't even get me started on how they treat records, or the fact that you
can often buy new stuff cheaper than the stuff Goodwill is selling! Yes, I
have come to hate the stores.
Zane
3:42 p.m.
On Mar 15, 2007, at 3:35 PM, Zane H. Healy wrote:
It has been years since I've seen anything at any
of the local
Goodwills
that resembles a "Classic Computer" here in Oregon. The best
chance would
likely be the "Stab and Grab" store, which is a big warehouse where
they
bring out massive bins, and people fight over the contents. I'm
not kidding
about the fighting either, when they bring out a new cart it's
vicious.
Within five minutes or less, anything that wasn't trash, typically
is. I
hate the place, but occasionally my wife drags me in there, though
even
she's basically had it with it, in part because the feeding frenzy
really
isn't safe to be around.
Good heavens. So civilized behavior simply "goes out the window"
at this place??
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
4:10 p.m.
Dave McGuire wrote:
On Mar 15, 2007, at 3:35 PM, Zane H. Healy wrote:
Civilized behavior doesn't even come close. The best way to describe the
"patrons" would be animals. If all that happens is you get pushed out of
the way you're lucky. One might describe their behavior to be like starving
refugees trying to get at an Aid Truck with food, but that would be an
insult to most refugees!
They charge by the pound. After peoples behavior, the chief complaint of my
wifes about the place is that she'll find a box from something she's
interested in, but it is empty as someone has taken the contents and left
the box so as to save a couple cents.
Zane
It has been years since I've seen anything at
any of the local Goodwills
that resembles a "Classic Computer" here in Oregon. The best chance
would likely be the "Stab and Grab" store, which is a big warehouse
where they bring out massive bins, and people fight over the contents.
I'm not kidding about the fighting either, when they bring out a new
cart it's vicious. Within five minutes or less, anything that wasn't
trash, typically is. I hate the place, but occasionally my wife drags
me in there, though even she's basically had it with it, in part because
the feeding frenzy really isn't safe to be around.
Good heavens. So civilized behavior simply "goes out the window"
at this place?? 
16 Mar
16 Mar
2:37 p.m.
On Thu, 2007-03-15 at 13:10 -0700, Zane H. Healy wrote:
Civilized behavior doesn't even come close. The
best way to describe the
"patrons" would be animals. If all that happens is you get pushed out of
I have never, in 30-odd years of living on a farm, seen animals behave
like that, and it pisses me off immensely when people describe people
behaving in the way that only humans do as "like animals".
Gordon
17 Mar
17 Mar
7:20 p.m.
New subject: Waaay OT: animal behaviour / Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
Gordon JC Pearce wrote:
On Thu, 2007-03-15 at 13:10 -0700, Zane H. Healy wrote:
Every year I have several encounters with bears. By and large we both give
each other a wide berth and go our opposite ways. But I do have to exercise
some caution lest I end up as shredded meat because Mr. Bear has a sense of
propriety to the berry patch.
You may be somewhat justified in not liking having your docile domesticated
farm animals included in a general "behave like animals" phrase, but your farm
(and the UK) isn't exactly representative of the 'natural' animal
environment.
Out here in the big wide world there are lots of animals that do indeed
"behave like animals". (Some of whom also fall into the class 'human'.)
(Even in the UK) you might try putting together a bunch of dogs, leaving them
to fend for themselves for a period and then adding a sheep into the mix.
- - -
As for the "Stab and Grab", they might have an opportunity for another revenue
stream by charging admission just to watch.
Now that would be strictly human behaviour.
Civilized behavior doesn't even come close.
The best way to describe the
"patrons" would be animals. If all that happens is you get pushed out of
I have never, in 30-odd years of living on a farm, seen animals behave
like that, and it pisses me off immensely when people describe people
behaving in the way that only humans do as "like animals". 
15 Mar
15 Mar
5:33 p.m.
Good heavens. So civilized behavior simply
"goes out the window"
at this place??
The Goodwill asis store. There is one in Portland and one in Salem
Oregon. It is worse than that. They fill bins of stuff, 3 foot by 8
foot on wheels. Everyone who can get close (20 or so people) lines up
on both sides and at the given signal everything gets gone through,
shredded almost immediatly.
The stuff sits out about four hours and then they shovel the remainder
into dumpsters, fill the bins and start over again. I think they
rotate almost every bin twice a day, and this is in a huge warehouse
at least 100 by 200. Most of it is clothing but they have four or five
rows of misc and electronics.
In the old store I once got a Tek 4112 Terminal and a Tek 4054
computer. They were ion the floor as they were too big to lift into
the bin.
I do check the new stores and do find items occasionally.
A normal Computer bin may be full of monitors or Printers. If so the
printers will be stripped of ink & toner carts almost immediatly,
dismantling printers if need be, memory also.
The few CPUs that make the bins are pulled apart for the cards and
ram. It is very rare to find a whole computer within 20 minutes of
being rolled out in the bin.
Whole CPUs out of the bin are usually $5 because of the weight. So
good ones dissappear in the first two minutes.
I keep an eye out for commodore and apple stuff. It goes straight to the bins.
However I don't make the asis stores as often as the regular ones.
And then in Portland there is Free Geeks. I am a volunteer to get the
50 % discount in their thrift store, and to get my computer warehouse
fix.
However it is similar to any other recycling center. My 4 hours of
volunteer work sometimes involve scrapping PC computers. I once pulled
a Franklin Ace with drives out of the take apart pile and told them to
put it in their collection. I have little confidence it survived
though. Most of the people who work there are young and don't
recognize old equipment.
They do have a collection but not a museum.
I bought an Intel IPDs from the thrift store there. It sat for months
with me showing the only interest. I bought an Ultra one once but they
wouldn't sell me the drives, pulled them right in front of me. At
least I got the mounting screws and carriers. Mostly they build and
sell linux boxes.
Currently my favorite thrift store is NextStep in Eugene. They sell
old software at reasonable prices. And have some older apple stuff.
Paxton Hoag
Astoria, OR
USA
6:42 p.m.
The Goodwill asis store. There is one in Portland and
one in Salem
Oregon. It is worse than that. They fill bins of stuff, 3 foot by 8
foot on wheels. Everyone who can get close (20 or so people) lines up
on both sides and at the given signal everything gets gone through,
shredded almost immediatly.
Paxton,
The one I'm talking about is in Hillsboro, it's on TV highway across from
Fred Meyers, next to "Movies on TV". Is the one in Portland still in the
old Textile factory? I managed years ago to get a nice Apple IIe enhanced
and a box of Victrola records there.
I bought an Intel IPDs from the thrift store there. It
sat for months
with me showing the only interest. I bought an Ultra one once but they
wouldn't sell me the drives, pulled them right in front of me. At
least I got the mounting screws and carriers. Mostly they build and
sell linux boxes.
Why on earth did they pull the drives? They wouldn't be able to use SCA
drives.
Currently my favorite thrift store is NextStep in
Eugene. They sell
old software at reasonable prices. And have some older apple stuff.
Have you found any good sources for DEC HW in Salem? I notice quite a bit
shows up on eBay that is located there. I really don't make it out of my
area, so haven't gone scouting around down there. For that matter there is
a store near me that is supposed to be good, but I've not checked out their
new location.
Zane
16 Mar
16 Mar
2:23 p.m.
On 3/15/07, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote:
Have you found any good sources for DEC HW in Salem? I notice quite a bit
shows up on eBay that is located there. I really don't make it out of my
area, so haven't gone scouting around down there. For that matter there is
a store near me that is supposed to be good, but I've not checked out their
new location.
There used to be a place full of interesting HP and DEC stuff on
Milwaukie Ave in the Portland area, some listed on eBay by
"gold-snipper". I got an FPP box for an HP 1000F from him. I would
have liked to look around more at all the stuff he had. He hasn't
listed on eBay in a while. Maybe everything he had finally got
scrapped.
-Glen
5:48 p.m.
From: "Glen Slick" <glen.slick at gmail.com>
There used to be a place full of interesting HP and
DEC stuff on
Milwaukie Ave in the Portland area, some listed on eBay by
"gold-snipper". I got an FPP box for an HP 1000F from him. I would
have liked to look around more at all the stuff he had. He hasn't
listed on eBay in a while. Maybe everything he had finally got
scrapped.
I got an 8/E with lots of cool peripherals from him a while back.
And some nice RK05 drives last year.
He said he was moving his warehouse, and I haven't seen the new
place yet.
I don't see any eBay activity since September, though.
Vince
6:30 p.m.
New subject: Oregon sources (was: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill)
I got an 8/E with lots of cool peripherals from him a
while back.
And some nice RK05 drives last year.
He said he was moving his warehouse, and I haven't seen the new
place yet.
I don't see any eBay activity since September, though.
Vince
Vince or Paxton,
Have either of you by any chance checked out Computer Drive Connection in
Cornelius? I learned of it recently, but have no idea what they're like.
The website makes them sound at least slightly interesting, and they've
apparently been around since '94.
http://www.computerdriveconnection.com/
I actually have to be right near there tomorrow, but doubt I'll have the
opportunity to check them out, and I definitely won't be dressed for
junking.
On the other side of 26, on Cornelius Pass Road, is "Surplus Gizmos" (they
had been near Enu). http://surplusgizmos.com/ Seems like a replacement for
Wacky Willy's (which is now totally gone). I've only been in the old Gizmos
store once, but based on that, and the fact the new store is larger, I
suspect this would be well worth checking out.
Zane
7:30 p.m.
New subject: Oregon sources (was: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill)
From: "Zane H. Healy" <healyzh at aracnet.com>
Vince or Paxton,
Have either of you by any chance checked out Computer Drive Connection in
Cornelius? I learned of it recently, but have no idea what they're like.
The website makes them sound at least slightly interesting, and they've
apparently been around since '94.
http://www.computerdriveconnection.com/
I actually have to be right near there tomorrow, but doubt I'll have the
opportunity to check them out, and I definitely won't be dressed for
junking.
Nope, but it is probably worth a shot.
On the other side of 26, on Cornelius Pass Road, is
"Surplus Gizmos" (they
had been near Enu). http://surplusgizmos.com/ Seems like a replacement
for
Wacky Willy's (which is now totally gone). I've only been in the old
Gizmos
store once, but based on that, and the fact the new store is larger, I
suspect this would be well worth checking out.
I have been there many times, and it is worth a look. They've added a
section with loose parts (switches, connectors, ICs, etc.), and the
$0.50 junk bins are a wonder if you don't mind a little desoldering.
Of course, they still have the assortment of larger objects arrayed
around the perimeter, and a wonderful selection of old test equipment.
Some of the stuff looks to be from server farms that got taken apart,
and not a little of it looks to be from manufacturing outfits. (There's
an old wafer sorter there, for instance.)
(About halfway back, watch for the signs that say "employees only".
They keep moving them around, and more than once I've found myself
on the wrong side of them.)
Vince
17 Mar
17 Mar
11:03 a.m.
New subject: Oregon sources (was: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill)
> Vince or Paxton,
> Have either of you by any chance checked out Computer Drive Connection in
> Cornelius? I learned of it recently, but have no idea what they're like.
> The website makes them sound at least slightly interesting, and they've
> apparently been around since '94.
> http://www.computerdriveconnection.com/
I am not familiar with either, Nor did I know there was a Goodwill
asis in Hillsboro. Will check them out. I am sorry Wacky Willy is no
more.
--
Paxton Hoag
Astoria, OR
USA
11:09 a.m.
Actually I think he closed his warehouse, move out of the building and
put his collection in a couple of containers. He spends winters in
Thailand. He had a complete operational IBM 4081 in there. I wonder
what happened to it.
Paxton
11:12 a.m.
On 3/17/07, Paxton Hoag <innfoclassics at gmail.com> wrote:
Actually I think he closed his warehouse, move out of
the building and
put his collection in a couple of containers. He spends winters in
Thailand. He had a complete operational IBM 4081 in there. I wonder
what happened to it.
Not sure what happened to the quoted text This is about Gold-Snippper
on Milwaukie avenue in Portland Oregon.
Paxton
--
Paxton Hoag
Astoria, OR
USA
15 Mar
15 Mar
6:56 p.m.
The Goodwill's by me (Milwaukee) stopped taking computers as donations all
together and don't put any out, claiming recyclying issues. Started about
a year and a half to two years ago.
I found it ironic, considering they still take and put out video game
consoles and every other form of similar electronics, as well as computer
peripherals.
Marty
3:52 p.m.
On 15 Mar 2007 at 12:35, Zane H. Healy wrote:
It has been years since I've seen anything at any
of the local Goodwills
that resembles a "Classic Computer" here in Oregon.
Zane, I believe that there's a very active recycling group there in
Portland. If you periodically let them know what you're looking for,
my experience is that something will turn up. They'd much rather
find a good home for this stuff than have to tear it to pieces with
volunteer effort.
At least that's the case down here in Lane County.
Cheers,
Chuck
4:37 p.m.
Zane, I believe that there's a very active
recycling group there in
Portland. If you periodically let them know what you're looking for,
my experience is that something will turn up. They'd much rather
find a good home for this stuff than have to tear it to pieces with
volunteer effort.
At least that's the case down here in Lane County.
Cheers,
Chuck
I know there is "Freegeek" in Portland, I've not had any dealings with hem,
and I've never bothered to look into "Freecycle" (I think that's the
right
name). I'm no longer actively looking for anything other than DEC software,
or donations of documentation to the Conner-Bishop Historical Resource
Center.
While there are some things I wouldn't mind finding, such as more DEC HW, or
an AS/400, I simply do not have the room for more. Sadly I know the answer
to the question "can you ever have to much DEC stuff". The odds are, once
we have a building, if not before, most of the hardware will follow much of
my documentation collection and be donated to the Center.
Zane
3:57 p.m.
Jim Battle wrote:
I've had it with the Computerworks in Austin.
Please let me rant;
nobody else will appreciate it.
http://www.austingoodwill.org/crs/store%20locater%20pages/ComputerWorks.html
When I moved to Austin a couple years ago, I had high hopes. In the
San Francisco Bay area, you could spend a saturday hitting half a
dozen Goodwill's, looking for gems. Sometimes they appeared, often
not. In Austin (and San Antonio, and probably some other cities)
Goodwill sends all of their computer donations to a specialized
goodwill, marketed as "ComputerWorks"; the theory is that most
goodwill's don't have skilled employees to know what is interesting or
not and how to price it; I agree that is the case.
The Austin Computerworks even has a vintage computer museum, so that
led me to believe the appreciated vintage computers.
https://www.austincomputerworks.org/museum/index.html
Bzzt. Not so.
Clue #1: the "museum" hasn't been open in the eight or so times I've
stopped by. Their hours are sunday 1-5, monday 9-11, wed 1-3. 8
hours a week. One time I snuck in when the door was open and had a
look -- it is a hands-off museum. Each of the 20 or so machines has a
5x7 card fully explaining what is interesting about the machine and
how it fits in to the tapestry of computing ... not. Name, date, and
manufacturer is about all.
Clue #2: they got rid of 80% of their books, leaving only "popular"
titles.
Clue #3: they never have any vintage computers for sale when I'm there.
Two
events have led to what we have now. First was that the computer
museum and their initial acknowledgment of classic computers was
primarily driven by a single person who has not been affiliated with
them for probably a couple of years now. This person started the museum
back at their old location off of 183 and also helped to make sure that
anything "interesting" didn't get "chippered". Second, the
manager at
the time, also gained a bit of an appreciation for the older computers
by osmosis. At least enough to understand that there was indeed a
market for the equipment and to ok and tolerate the museum (as well as
helping to actually get an official museum when they moved to their new
location). Alas, that manager is no longer there and "corporate" (who
never really "got" the museum) has a much stronger hand in how that
store is run, and frankly, I'm amazed the museum space hasn't been
converted to retail yet.
The computer works has been on a long slow steady decline, and while it
hasn't reached rock bottom yet (they've rebounded some, when they first
moved into their new location they tried to turn themselves into a
computer retailer wannabe and there was much gnashing of teeth by the
"regulars" and they've got a lot of the, um, "junk" back onto the
shelves), I'm afraid things aren't looking up. How I long for the old
days when they were over near Lamar and the train tracks and you could
find all manner of interesting classics for dirt cheap.
One FYI, often times when they say that they are "sorting it", they mean
they are sorting it onto pallets and the stuff gets sent to their
warehouse in East Austin to be auctioned. So they aren't necessarily
consigned to the chipper, unless no one buys the pallet or the pallet is
purchased by someone who doesn't want the "other" stuff that's on it.
So if you have time (and unfortunately I don't), you can check out their
weekly auctions (used to be Sat mornings) for stuff.
WRT MC Howard, they will often times get interesting things in as well
(they attend most of the local electronics auctions). You have to watch
them a bit though, as a couple of times I've gotten the "I can get more
for the thing as scrap" response to an offer to purchase some old box.
Not the most pleasant bunch of fellows at first meeting, but _usually_
reasonable once you get to know them.
George
4:12 p.m.
Jim Battle wrote:
So essentially it is a vintage computer magnet
attached to a wood chipper.
I expect that's sadly a common thing. I've certainly complained on here about
my local (UK) computer recycler doing the same thing - and it's sad to to all
the vintage stuff there awaiting tearing apart whenever I visit.
Realistically though to these people it's just a money-making business moving
resources around; faced with the immediate price they can get for scrap versus
the longer-term price from vintage collectors, it's a no-brainer to them.
I understand that goodwill gets far more stuff than
can ever sell, but
to not even try is sickening. There was no hint of regret about it from
the clerk -- in fact, he was rather proud that they were recycling bits
of them vs tossing them whole.
Nothing we can do about it either, except make the effort to seek out some of
the sources of the vintage stuff and divert it before it hits the
"specialists". That's obviously easier said than done...
cheers
Jules
3:33 p.m.
I don't understand why people donate complete and working vintage machines
to places that just recycle them, why not offer them in the forums of
websites where people collect them or on freecycle or ebay? It reminds me of
the local Angels for Animals here that advertises they find homes for
unwanted pets (and have many people donating large sums of money for the
cause) only to kill 99% of the aminals they get the day they show up.
4:33 p.m.
Teo Zenios wrote:
I don't understand why people donate complete and
working vintage machines
to places that just recycle them, why not offer them in the forums of
websites where people collect them or on freecycle or ebay? It reminds me of
the local Angels for Animals here that advertises they find homes for
unwanted pets (and have many people donating large sums of money for the
cause) only to kill 99% of the aminals they get the day they show up.
In my case, I didn't know that *this* goodwill just recycled things.
Why did I stop by there instead of using ebay or craigslist? Lack of
time. I knew I was going to be driving past, so I put a few machines in
the trunk of my car that I knew I'd never have time for, or were
duplicates. If it hadn't been for the unpleasant experience and detour,
my incremental time cost would have been ten minutes, total, for the
three machines.
Ebay: Putting up a listing for ebay, along with appropriate sized decent
photos, finding boxes, and packing appropriately (which takes a lot of
time for heavy items), the email exchanges, answering questions, running
to the post office -- 1-2 hours per item, I'd say. I will ebay things
that are easily packed, or for which I expect a multi-hundred dollar
sale price.
Craigslist: I scan it pretty often, but I rarely see anything remotely
interesting (from a vintage computer standpoint). The few times I've
tried inquiring on items (not vintage), I don't get a reply, and the
couple times I helped my wife sell something, it hasn't been worth the
hassle of coordinating with unreliable people.
5:01 p.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Battle" <frustum at pacbell.net>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2007 4:33 PM
Subject: Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
Why did I stop by there instead of using ebay or craigslist? Lack of
time. I knew I was going to be driving past, so I put a few machines in
the trunk of my car that I knew I'd never have time for, or were
duplicates. If it hadn't been for the unpleasant experience and detour,
my incremental time cost would have been ten minutes, total, for the
three machines.
Ebay: Putting up a listing for ebay, along with appropriate sized decent
photos, finding boxes, and packing appropriately (which takes a lot of
time for heavy items), the email exchanges, answering questions, running
to the post office -- 1-2 hours per item, I'd say. I will ebay things
that are easily packed, or for which I expect a multi-hundred dollar
sale price.
Craigslist: I scan it pretty often, but I rarely see anything remotely
interesting (from a vintage computer standpoint). The few times I've
tried inquiring on items (not vintage), I don't get a reply, and the
couple times I helped my wife sell something, it hasn't been worth the
hassle of coordinating with unreliable people.
The funny thing is that the people with the items you like to collect have
the same attitude, so anything not easily shippable gets recycled. I don't
like shipping items either, but I keep a few boxes around from things I get
so that if I do want to help somebody out with an item I don't have to run
around to find boxed and packing material.
The only thing I seen on craigslists that I wanted was a Supermac
DigitalFilm card with cable, breakoutbox, and SCSI card for 68K Macs for
free, but somebody had snagged it by the time I seem it.
4:42 p.m.
I don't understand why people donate complete and
working vintage machines
to places that just recycle them, why not offer them in the forums of
websites where people collect them or on freecycle or ebay?
Load the car, unload the car. Ten minutes of overhead time.
eBay/CraigsList/FreeCycle/Cristina Way:
Gather and type information. Answer requests, wait one or two weeks.
Ship if required. Take digital photos. Coordinate pick up times. Answer
visitor calls. 30 ~ 90 minutes of overhead.
This to help people understand outsiders way of thinking.
John A.
3:56 p.m.
New subject: Craigslist was Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
my guess is there is usually always someone within a
30-60 mile radius of where you live that is willing to
pick up something oldt.
Out of curiosity, who has p/u'd or bought something
vintage on Craigslist. I don't make a point of looking there.
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4:28 p.m.
New subject: Craigslist was Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
Chris M wrote:
my guess is there is usually always someone within a
30-60 mile radius of where you live that is willing to
pick up something oldt.
Out of curiosity, who has p/u'd or bought something
vintage on Craigslist. I don't make a point of looking there.
You do find the occasional item on CL. I think a lot of the people who
were frequenting the *.forsale newsgroups that are now pretty much dead
are turning to CL to avoid ebay. Probably the most exotic thing I've
seen so far is a Canon Cat. Ads for things like old Atari's,
Commodores, i.e. your more common classic items are not that uncommon.
There was a person trying to sell their 5150 IBM PC, but it was the
newer MB and had a 10GB hd installed, but they were still asking several
hundred dollars (IIRC ~$400-$500). Even after I emailed them they still
continued to post it at that price. So generally I'd say that it's
worth keeping an eye out, esp since the prices _generally_ are better
than ebay.
George
4:37 p.m.
New subject: Craigslist was Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
--- George Currie <g at kurico.com> wrote:
Chris M wrote:
You do find the occasional item on CL. I think a
lot of the people who
were frequenting the *.forsale newsgroups that are
now pretty much dead
are turning to CL to avoid ebay. Probably the most
exotic thing I've
seen so far is a Canon Cat. Ads for things like old
Atari's,
Commodores, i.e. your more common classic items are
not that uncommon.
There was a person trying to sell their 5150 IBM PC,
but it was the
newer MB and had a 10GB hd installed, but they were
still asking several
hundred dollars (IIRC ~$400-$500). Even after I
emailed them they still
continued to post it at that price. So generally
I'd say that it's
worth keeping an eye out, esp since the prices
_generally_ are better
than ebay.
LOL. Just before I left Long Island in the mid 90s
some catalog came to the door (it could have been
Damark, but I won't swear it) in which they were
trying to peddle 5150s as "state of the art" machines
for some terribly unreasonable sum, not at all unlike
the ad you mentioned above.
Now, this isn't to say that a 5150 was rendered
totally useless by that time (albeit nearly so :( ),
just that paying for it...anything, was out of the question.
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my guess is there is usually always someone
within
a
30-60 mile radius of where you live that is
willing to
pick up something oldt.
Out of curiosity, who has p/u'd or bought
something
vintage on Craigslist. I don't make a point
of
looking there.
16 Mar
16 Mar
12:12 a.m.
New subject: Craigslist was Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
From: George Currie <g at kurico.com>
---snip---
Probably the most exotic
thing I've seen so far is a Canon Cat.
---snip---
Hi George
Did you get the Cat? I'm always looking for more Canon Cat
owners.
Dwight
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12:24 a.m.
New subject: Craigslist was Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
On 3/15/07, dwight elvey <dkelvey at hotmail.com> wrote:
roar! http://schnarff.com/bad-magic-black-cat.jpe
From: George Currie <g at kurico.com>
---snip---
Probably the most exotic
thing I've seen so far is a Canon Cat.
---snip---
Hi George
Did you get the Cat? I'm always looking for more Canon Cat
owners.
Dwight
_________________________________________________________________
Mortgage refinance is hot 1) Rates near 30-yr lows 2) Good credit get
intro-rate 4.625%*
https://www2.nextag.com/goto.jsp?product=100000035&url=%2fst.jsp&tm…
17 Mar
17 Mar
12:44 a.m.
New subject: ModComp
Hi
What kind of stories go with ModComp machines?
Dwight
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15 Mar
15 Mar
8:22 p.m.
New subject: Craigslist was Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
Chris M wrote:
my guess is there is usually always someone within a
30-60 mile radius of where you live that is willing to
pick up something oldt.
Out of curiosity, who has p/u'd or bought something
vintage on Craigslist. I don't make a point of looking there.
I bought a complete Apple IIc with monitor, manuals, some software,
mouse, carryall, and 2nd drive off Craigslist not too long ago for $25.
A couple of years ago, I picked up a souped-up CompuAdd 286 for $15
off CL.
Really good finds are rare, and neither of those was OMFG nabs, but
it's worth looking now and then. Besides, the "Best of Craigslist"
pages are guaranteed to steal several hours from you. :)
Doc
19 Mar
19 Mar
10:31 p.m.
New subject: Craigslist was Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
--- Chris M <chrism3667 at yahoo.com> wrote:
my guess is there is usually always someone within a
30-60 mile radius of where you live that is willing to
pick up something oldt.
Out of curiosity, who has p/u'd or bought something
vintage on Craigslist. I don't make a point of looking there.
Anything "free" on CL, computer-wise, is claimed within minutes,
regardless of whether either party knows what it really is. For-sale
stuff will languish forever, as it is inevitably overpriced. But
finding vintage stuff this way, well, CL goes to great lengths to
prohibit any global search - so unless you have loads of time to
waste...
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15 Mar
15 Mar
10:38 p.m.
John's right. We can't have it both ways. Either we put the effort into
ensuring our computers go to SAFE organizations, or we ... stop complaining
about the lousy organizations. I vote for the former -- don't just vent to
fellow collectors; DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
-----Original Message-----
From: John Allain [mailto:allain at panix.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2007 3:43 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
I don't understand why people donate complete and
working vintage
machines to places that just recycle them, why not offer them in the
forums of websites where people collect them or on freecycle or ebay?
Load the car, unload the car. Ten minutes of overhead time.
eBay/CraigsList/FreeCycle/Cristina Way:
Gather and type information. Answer requests, wait one or two weeks.
Ship if required. Take digital photos. Coordinate pick up times. Answer
visitor calls. 30 ~ 90 minutes of overhead.
This to help people understand outsiders way of thinking.
John A.
4:29 p.m.
New subject: UK charity shops..Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
On 15 Mar 2007, at 20:12, Jules Richardson wrote:
Jim Battle wrote:
British charity shops wont take any donation of mains powered
appliances. This is due to the cost of safety testing needed before
resale. The only places ive found to be any good is the local council
recycling yard where you can "sneak" out a few items. Usually plenty
of amstrads cpc and wpc's there, but i found some Sun stuff last
week!!
So essentially it is a vintage computer magnet
attached to a wood
chipper.
I expect that's sadly a common thing. I've certainly complained on
here about my local (UK) computer recycler doing the same thing - and
it's sad to to all the vintage stuff there awaiting tearing apart
whenever I visit.
Realistically though to these people it's just a money-making business
moving resources around; faced with the immediate price they can get
for scrap versus the longer-term price from vintage collectors, it's a
no-brainer to them.
I understand that goodwill gets far more stuff
than can ever sell,
but to not even try is sickening. There was no hint of regret about
it from the clerk -- in fact, he was rather proud that they were
recycling bits of them vs tossing them whole.
Nothing we can do about it either, except make the effort to seek out
some of the sources of the vintage stuff and divert it before it hits
the "specialists". That's obviously easier said than done...
cheers
Jules
4:41 p.m.
New subject: UK charity shops..Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
--- roger pugh <rogpugh at mac.com> wrote:
British charity shops wont take any donation of
mains powered
appliances. This is due to the cost of safety
testing needed before
resale. The only places ive found to be any good is
the local council
recycling yard where you can "sneak" out a few
items. Usually plenty
of amstrads cpc and wpc's there, but i found some
Sun stuff last
week!!
And GB isn't nearly as litigious as the US, and yet
the concern. I don't want to appear ignorant, but I
don't think house fires and such are caused by toaster
and puters in anywhere near the numbers that
cigarettes and bad wiring are.
God save the Amstrad! And the Nimbus!!! Woohoo
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6:48 p.m.
New subject: UK charity shops..Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
On Mar 15, 2007, at 4:41 PM, Chris M wrote:
Well keep in mind...those chaps across the pond use much higher
line voltage than we do. I'm not all that afraid of 110V...but 220V
*SCARES* me.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
British
charity shops wont take any donation of
mains powered
appliances. This is due to the cost of safety
testing needed before
resale. The only places ive found to be any good is
the local council
recycling yard where you can "sneak" out a few
items. Usually plenty
of amstrads cpc and wpc's there, but i found some
Sun stuff last
week!!
And GB isn't nearly as litigious as the US, and yet
the concern. I don't want to appear ignorant, but I
don't think house fires and such are caused by toaster
and puters in anywhere near the numbers that
cigarettes and bad wiring are.
7:28 p.m.
New subject: UK charity shops..Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
On 15 Mar 2007, at 22:48, Dave McGuire wrote:
On Mar 15, 2007, at 4:41 PM, Chris M wrote:
Well keep in mind...those chaps across the pond use much higher line
voltage than we do. I'm not all that afraid of 110V...but 220V
*SCARES* me.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
VOLTS BOLT, AMPS KILL as i was taught.. just blame the nanny state
here!!!!!!
British
charity shops wont take any donation of
mains powered
appliances. This is due to the cost of safety
testing needed before
resale. The only places ive found to be any good is
the local council
recycling yard where you can "sneak" out a few
items. Usually plenty
of amstrads cpc and wpc's there, but i found some
Sun stuff last
week!!
And GB isn't nearly as litigious as the US, and yet
the concern. I don't want to appear ignorant, but I
don't think house fires and such are caused by toaster
and puters in anywhere near the numbers that
cigarettes and bad wiring are.
16 Mar
16 Mar
4:05 a.m.
New subject: UK charity shops..Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
On Mar 15, 2007, at 7:28 PM, roger pugh wrote:
Yes, but UK power outlets have a whole lot of both. US power
outlets carry more than enough to send you to Buddha, but it's a lot
easier to survive a bite.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Well keep in
mind...those chaps across the pond use much higher
line voltage than we do. I'm not all that afraid of 110V...but
220V *SCARES* me.
VOLTS BOLT, AMPS KILL as i was taught.. just blame the nanny
state here!!!!!!
15 Mar
15 Mar
9:46 p.m.
New subject: UK charity shops..Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
roger pugh wrote:
British charity shops wont take any donation of mains
powered
appliances. This is due to the cost of safety testing needed before
resale.
Has that changed in the last six months? Six months ago it depended entirely
on the place - the Sally Army shop in central Cambridge would PAT-test items
for instance, but my nearer one in one of the outlying villages wouldn't.
These days of course our wonderful government have probably passed some
nanny-state law forbidding any charity store to take stuff :(
The only places ive found to be any good is the local
council
recycling yard where you can "sneak" out a few items. Usually plenty
of amstrads cpc and wpc's there, but i found some Sun stuff last week!!
My UK-local one's hopeless - everything seems to go to the local computer
recycler, which is the same outfit that tear vintage stuff apart for gold scrap.
cheers
Jules
16 Mar
16 Mar
7:10 p.m.
New subject: UK charity shops..Re: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
roger pugh wrote:
I don't think the rules have changed (certainly I've bought mains powered
stuff in charity shops in the last couple of months). It's just that most
such shops don't have anyone who can do the PAT testing.
Mind you, I question the value of such texting. I've seen things that
have pased a PAT test that _no way_ would I connect to the mains unless
I'd done some work on them first.
-tony
British charity shops wont take any donation of
mains powered
appliances. This is due to the cost of safety testing needed before
resale.
Has that changed in the last six months? Six months ago it depended entirely
on the place - the Sally Army shop in central Cambridge would PAT-test items
for instance, but my nearer one in one of the outlying villages wouldn't. 
15 Mar
15 Mar
5:57 p.m.
At 12:57 PM 3/15/2007, Jim Battle wrote:
What makes this even more insidious is that when I go
to the local run of the mill goodwills and inquire about what they do with old computer
donations, they say they ship them to computer works to deal with them.
So essentially it is a vintage computer magnet attached to a wood chipper.
I understand that goodwill gets far more stuff than can ever sell, but to not even try is
sickening. There was no hint of regret about it from the clerk -- in fact, he was rather
proud that they were recycling bits of them vs tossing them whole.
I don't quite see the business model for this "Pre-1990 Computers"
store. Somehow, magically, all the old computers arrive here because
somehow, magically, the triage experts at the other Goodwill stores
are able to differentiate between an eMachine and a Lisa.
Somehow, magically, the manuals aren't tossed in the recycle bin
and the disks get packed along. Somehow, magically, a store keeps
it all together and finds shelf space and an accurate label for
the bundle. Somehow, magically, enough nerds find their way to the
store, and are grateful for it, but still expect to haggle on the prices.
And this pays the overhead, salaries and rent?
As opposed to the virtual certainty that if you train the minimum-wage
helper, they will be able to hit the bin when they toss the old computer,
where it will be shredded and net, oh, ten cents a pound.
At 01:33 PM 3/15/2007, Teo Zenios wrote:
I don't understand why people donate complete and
working vintage machines
to places that just recycle them, why not offer them in the forums of
websites where people collect them or on freecycle or ebay?
At 02:42 PM 3/15/2007,
John Allain wrote:
Load the car, unload the car. Ten minutes of overhead
time.
eBay/CraigsList/FreeCycle/Cristina Way:
Gather and type information. Answer requests, wait one or two weeks.
Ship if required. Take digital photos. Coordinate pick up times. Answer
visitor calls. 30 ~ 90 minutes of overhead.
Absolutely right. Far more than 30 minutes of overhead and hassle
if you want to ship it. And if you're concerned about where these
things are going, Freecycle and Craigslist won't warm your heart.
You'll encounter people who think that any free computer is
worth picking up, even if they are so clueless as to be disappointed
later when they find it can't run Windows XP and then they throw it
in the trash. And then there's the people who don't show up
or the ones who will complain about what they've got if they do.
- John
5:23 p.m.
On 15 Mar 2007 at 15:57, John Foust wrote:
Myopia is hard to overcome. Very few of the population at large
are interested in collecting old computers, or vacuum cleaners or
syrup bottles.
This reminds me of some of my fellow tuba players who are shocked
that not only do few people appreciate the beauty of Ralph Vaughan
Williams' Concerto for Bass Tuba, but many music professionals don't
even know of its existence.
To many people, an old computer has all of the romance of an old lawn
mower.
Cheers,
Chuck
I don't
quite see the business model for this "Pre-1990 Computers"
store.
Somehow, magically, all the old computers arrive here because
somehow, magically, the triage experts at the other Goodwill stores
are able to differentiate between an eMachine and a Lisa. 
7:39 p.m.
woodelf wrote:
Zane H. Healy wrote:
Probably not.
Mine is a very small collection. Just 1 of each of the 4 "Log Cabin" Syrup
bottles done to celebrate the Bicentenial in brown glass, and a duplicate of
one in clear glass. Oh, and the syrup has been gone from them for 30 years
or more. :^)
Zane
>are interested in collecting old computers, or
vacuum cleaners or
>syrup bottles.
You mean there are other Syrup Bottle collectors
out there?
Does having two or three in the back of the fridge count for the last few ...
um years?
8:07 p.m.
On 15 Mar 2007 at 16:39, Zane H. Healy wrote:
Mine is a very small collection. Just 1 of each of
the 4 "Log Cabin" Syrup
bottles done to celebrate the Bicentenial in brown glass, and a duplicate of
one in clear glass. Oh, and the syrup has been gone from them for 30 years
or more. :^)
The fellow I'm thinking of had a garage stacked full of Mrs.
Butterworth's bottles. I suspect that there's some deep
psychological aberration involved with that...
Psychiatrist: Well then, Mr. Jones, what seems to be the problem.
Patient: My wife says I'm crazy.
Psychiatrist: Why is that?
Patient: She says I'm crazy because I like pancakes.
Psychiatrist: Well, that's not usual. I like pancakes myself.
Patient: You do? Would you like to come over and see mine?
I have an attic full of them...
Cheers,
Chuck
6:56 p.m.
Jim Battle wrote:
I've had it with the Computerworks in Austin.
Please let me rant;
nobody else will appreciate it.
http://www.austingoodwill.org/crs/store%20locater%20pages/ComputerWorks.html
Phew, I feel better. Now I need to write a rant to the goodwill
organization to enlighten them on the subject.
Don't bother. Right before they moved from the old location somebody
donated a complete MV-II. I offered to list the config and get it
running for them, and after talking to the general manager, the bottom
line was "Don't bother. It'll never get powered up again."
What goes into that so-called Museum seems dictated solely by the
value determined by Completed Listings on Ebay. If there aren't any, it
obviously has no value.
If I need a SCSI cable or a cheap CDROM drive or low-end AGP video
card, I go up there. That's about all they're worth anymore.
It wasn't always like this. I walked in one day and walked out with
a VS4000/VLC and its VT320 for $5. My IBM tabletop 9-track cost $10
(and a near-hernia!)
PS: Doc Shipley, don't bother driving to MC Howard
to get the kaypro 10,
if you were. I have a nicer one that I'm still sitting on for you to
collect some day.
Heh. I was there when you were. I saw the Apples on the way out and
wondered how I missed them when I went in.
I can't say enough good things about those guys. Mel spent about 20
minutes in the storeroom today, finding me a $3 part.
I'll get with you offlist about the Kaypro.
Doc
7:43 p.m.
On 3/15/07, Jim Battle <frustum at pacbell.net> wrote:
I've had it with the Computerworks in Austin.
Please let me rant;
nobody else will appreciate it.
http://www.austingoodwill.org/crs/store%20locater%20pages/ComputerWorks.html
When I moved to Austin a couple years ago, I had high hopes. In the San
<snipping the rest of the rant>
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Years ago, Austin's Goodwill
Computerworks had all sorts of 70s and 80s micros, parts and
equipment, and their museum was open and impressive. Three years ago,
I stopped in and noticed everything interesting was behind the
counter.
Me: "What's that stuff back there, is it for sale?"
Clerk: "Ebay."
Me: "Can I see x?"
Clerk: "It's for Ebay."
Me: "So nothing's for sale here anymore?"
Clerk: "Go on Ebay to buy it."
and I haven't been back since. I used to save up every penny to go to
the GWCW once a week to find something special or interesting in their
piles... Well, I haven't been back, and I likely never will
considering your story. (I'm just glad I rescued the parts that I did
from them, including a $10 Apple IIe with SCSI,
RAMWorks, RAMFactor,
and Transwarp IIe!) But sadly, those days are gone. And with
the VCM
and eBay both too expensive for me, I guess I'm stuck out. :(
I also miss the interesting people you'd meet there going on. From
run-of-the-mill crazy people to actual geeks that worked on some of
the vintage stuff and knew more about it than I ever will. It was a
bona fide club...
...Josef
--
"I laugh because I dare not cry. This is a crazy world
and the only way to enjoy it is to treat it as a joke."
-- Hilda "Sharpie" Burroughs,
"The Number of the Beast" by Robert A. Heinlein
8:26 p.m.
Josef Chessor wrote:
from them, including a $10 Apple IIe with SCSI,
RAMWorks, RAMFactor,
and Transwarp IIe!) But sadly, those days are gone.
Nice!
And with the VCM
and eBay both too expensive for me, I guess I'm stuck out. :(
You can occasionally find a good deal as long as what you're looking for
isn't to rare, or you get lucky. I got an SGI o2 with a 270Mhz R12k CPU for
$250 on eBay when they were selling there for $1000. I timed watched for a
couple months, and grabbed a "Buy It Now" when it came up. Last year I was
able to set aside a little money for a *long* overdue upgrade to my main VMS
system, it took 6 months of waiting, but I was able to finally get one at
what I was willing to pay, in fact I timed it just right and got 2 for what
I'd expected to pay for 1.
Another example would be books, I wanted a pair of books, and it took me 2+
years of waiting to get a pair that I could afford. Of course then they
stank of Cigarette smoke so bad that I couldn't stand to be around them. :^(
Other books that I've waited months or years, for an affordable copy to show
up on eBay have turned out a lot better.
I also miss the interesting people you'd meet
there going on. From
run-of-the-mill crazy people to actual geeks that worked on some of
the vintage stuff and knew more about it than I ever will. It was a
bona fide club...
We had the CP/M User Group swap meet a couple times a year here. Then from
what I understand at the last one someone caused some problems (sold a
sabotagued power brick), and they stopped doing them. This was probably 2-3
years ago. Now there is nothing really like it left around here.
One thing I don't like about this area is a decided lack of swap meets
or even flea markets.
Now days everyone seems to simply dump stuff at Goodwill.
On an interesting note, Goodwill now has a "Upscale Boutique" in Downtown
Portland. We've not checked it out yet, as we rarely get into Portland, but
I'm told it's very high end.
Zane
8:11 p.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Battle" <frustum at pacbell.net>
To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2007 1:57 PM
Subject: Austin, Texas Computerworks Goodwill
I've had it with the Computerworks in Austin.
Please let me rant; nobody
else will appreciate it.
http://www.austingoodwill.org/crs/store%20locater%20pages/ComputerWorks.html
When I moved to Austin a couple years ago, I had high hopes. In the San
Francisco Bay area, you could spend a saturday hitting half a dozen
Goodwill's, looking for gems. Sometimes they appeared, often not. In
Austin (and San Antonio, and probably some other cities) Goodwill sends
all of their computer donations to a specialized goodwill, marketed as
"ComputerWorks"; the theory is that most goodwill's don't have skilled
employees to know what is interesting or not and how to price it; I agree
that is the case.
The Austin Computerworks even has a vintage computer museum, so that led
me to believe the appreciated vintage computers.
https://www.austincomputerworks.org/museum/index.html
Bzzt. Not so.
Clue #1: the "museum" hasn't been open in the eight or so times I've
stopped by. Their hours are sunday 1-5, monday 9-11, wed 1-3. 8 hours a
week. One time I snuck in when the door was open and had a look -- it is
a hands-off museum. Each of the 20 or so machines has a 5x7 card fully
explaining what is interesting about the machine and how it fits in to the
tapestry of computing ... not. Name, date, and manufacturer is about all.
Clue #2: they got rid of 80% of their books, leaving only "popular"
titles.
Clue #3: they never have any vintage computers for sale when I'm there.
A year ago I had dropped off an HP 85, an HP86, and 30 lbs of software and
manuals, even replacement paper for the 85's printer. I was nervous when
they told me to go around to the side to drop it off at the general
donation dock, but I did it.
Today before donating, I asked a few questions.
Me: I have an apple II+, and apple IIe, and a kaypro 10 to donate. Are
you interested in them?
Clerk: Yes, sir, we are! Drive around the side to the loading dock and
drop them off there.
Me: I've been here a dozen times (I'm stretching the truth with him to
make a point) and I've never seen any old computers for sale -- I mean,
70's micros.
Him: Oh, we get them, but most people aren't interested.
Me: So what do you do when you get them?
Him: We send them to a room where were separate out the metal from the
plastic and ...
Me: (interrupting) Wait a second... you mean you don't even try to sell
them to that segment of the market that is interested in them, for
nostalgia's sake or whatever? You just trash them?
Him: No sir, as I just explained, we don't throw them away. We separate
out the metal from the plastic ... (I didn't hear the rest as I walked
away)
So the nice hp 85 and 86 that I donated last year with docs and apps,
memory expansion carts, serial interface carts, and which was in much
better condition than the one in their museum, never saw the light of day.
Bastards.
What makes this even more insidious is that when I go to the local run of
the mill goodwills and inquire about what they do with old computer
donations, they say they ship them to computer works to deal with them.
So essentially it is a vintage computer magnet attached to a wood chipper.
I understand that goodwill gets far more stuff than can ever sell, but to
not even try is sickening. There was no hint of regret about it from the
clerk -- in fact, he was rather proud that they were recycling bits of
them vs tossing them whole.
After leaving the computerworks, I drove a mile or two up the road the to
recently mentioned MC Howard electronics. They have room for lots of
funky stuff, and they were happy to accept them.
Phew, I feel better. Now I need to write a rant to the goodwill
organization to enlighten them on the subject.
It's almost the same here in Houston now, they stopped selling computers in
the store because of a law suite. Someone won a case in court because the
goodwill sold their computer with their personal data on it. You can find
monitors, keyboards, some other junk for sale but that's it. They have a
"guy" that parks a empty trailer out back of the main door and ALL computers
and electronic stuff are tossed into it for him to haul off. Really sucks as
they get a large amount of goodies here. They no longer keep the good
manuals or books either.
John
8:44 p.m.
they get a large amount of goodies here. They no
longer keep the good
manuals or books either.
John
I was dragged into a Goodwill last weekend, and while waiting for my wife to
finish looking I glanced through the selection of books. I was quite amused
to see that the *only* computer books they seemed to have was an entire
shelf of "Dummies" books! :^)
I actually use one book at work that came from Goodwill *years* ago.
Zane
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