28 Jun
2000
28 Jun
'00
7:07 a.m.
Howdy all,
Another free for all question:
How much time do you devote searching for old machines?
How much time "Playing" (fixing, using etc...) these machines?
I've found lately that when I'm done with the rounds (that is when I can do
the rounds) I usually don't have time to do the play and the machine often
end up on a shelf (or floor or table or....) until I finaly free myself up.
Also as the collection grows I have less time to spend with each machine and
some don't get out anymore (C64, C128, ADAM etc...). It seems that the
longer the setup time the less likely the machine is going to be used.
I used to try to get one representative of each group easilly accessible but
it is now impossible.
What do you do? How do you manage your "quality" time with your machines?
Do you feel guilty for neglecting that old (insert machine name here)?
Francois
28 Jun
28 Jun
7:31 a.m.
Francois said:
Another free for all question:
How much time do you devote searching for old machines?
How much time "Playing" (fixing, using etc...) these machines?
Insight! Sucat, His eyes Opened!!!
This seems like a pretty insightful question.
You make me feel like a guy with thirty kids
who spends all his time looking for loose women.
The drift is that it's way too much time of the
former and not enough of the latter.
Thanks for pointing this out.
John A.
3:31 p.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: "FBA" <fauradon(a)mn.mediaone.net>
To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2000 9:07 AM
Subject: Time spent Looking VS time spent "Playing"
How much time do you devote searching for old
machines?
Well, I've taken to spending a few hours every other weekend or so hitting
the local thrift stores. Sometimes it is slim pickings, while at other
times it really pays off, like the TRS-80 Model I L2 I picked up at Goodwill
for $4, then fixed with a $3 fuse (thanks to folks on this list).
How much time "Playing" (fixing, using
etc...) these machines?
I've been trying to fit in more time playing with the C128. How many hours
a week, I can't precisely say. But I probably spend as much time playing
per week as I do looking, if not more.
I have a "vintage" desk in my house devoted mostly to the C128. However,
since my collection is primarily Commodore, I can use the monitor (1080) and
disk drive (1571) with most any of my machines, including VIC-20, C64, C16,
+4 (just purchased, currently en-route to my house) and C128.
I hooked up a 1541 (using a variant of the XE1541 cable) to my Linux box and
use software that lets me copy files from the Internet to Commodore-format
disks. I can even get CP/M software over to the C128 using a two-step
procedure. It's a blast playing with 15+ year-old software again!
What do you do? How do you manage your
"quality" time with your machines?
See above.
Do you feel guilty for neglecting that old (insert
machine name here)?
Well, I feel a little bad about the VIC-20, and I'm going to spend some more
time with it. Why, you might ask? Well, it's such an incredibly simple
contraption, you can know almost everything there is to know about it.
That's appealing to me. I'd like to really put it through it's paces.
I'm
looking for a 8K or 16K RAM upgrade though...3.5K is a little slim, even for
a determined hobbyist!
- Earl
Earl Evans
retro(a)retrobits.com
Enjoy Retrocomputing!
Join us at http://www.retrobits.com
3:35 p.m.
Hi Francois,
On Wed, 28 Jun 2000, FBA wrote:
Howdy all,
Another free for all question:
How much time do you devote searching for old machines?
Bout 15 minutes a day to search EBay, and another hour perusuing
auction sites.
How much time "Playing" (fixing, using
etc...) these machines?
All weekend during cold weather, very little during the summer.
I've found lately that when I'm done with the
rounds (that is when I can do
the rounds) I usually don't have time to do the play and the machine often
end up on a shelf (or floor or table or....) until I finaly free myself up.
Also as the collection grows I have less time to spend with each machine and
some don't get out anymore (C64, C128, ADAM etc...). It seems that the
longer the setup time the less likely the machine is going to be used.
I used to try to get one representative of each group easilly accessible but
it is now impossible.
What do you do? How do you manage your "quality" time with your machines?
Do you feel guilty for neglecting that old (insert machine name here)?
Francois
I feel guilty about the stack of VS3100's and DS3100's that I need to
test, document, clean up, and sell. I want to build two boxes with
a variety of parts to test NetBSD ports on, and unload the rest.
I feel guilty about the stack of documentation I have that needs
to be scanned, buffed, PDFed, and posted to the website I need to
build.
I feel guilty about the home repair and improvement that isn't getting
done.
I feel guilty about not getting out and meeting more people (female),
and not getting in better shape (not round).
If I had kids or pets I'd feel guilty about not spending enough
quality time with them.
I don't feel guilty about doing any of the above things whilst my
computers sit idle.
Clint
8795
days inactive
8795
days old
3 comments
4 participants
participants (4)
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fauradon＠mn.mediaone.net -
John.Allain＠donnelley.infousa.com -
retro＠retrobits.com -
vaxman＠uswest.net