At 8:32 -0500 8/16/07, Jason wrote: I echo what other list members have said. You will catch a brief glimpse of floor, before it gets buried in more classic computer gear. Might as well clean, vacuum, wax, or whatever, this week, since it'll be the last chance you ever get. Here's a suggestion. Make 3 prioritized lists (examples below 1) With which of the machines I have do I intend to do something? a) Mac Plus - port distributed.net to this b) HP 712 - port distributed.net to this c) Color Computer 3 - program pythagorean triplet search in assembler d) PB3400 - port distributed.net to this .... y) SE-30 - no projects in mind z) Rainbow - no projects in mind 2) Which of the machines I have is really unique or irreplaceable? a) Rainbow, with graphics, hard drive, and 8087 co-processor b) Mac Plus with Brainstorm Accelerator c) NeXT cube with Dimension card d) PDP-11/60 .... y) SE-30 - stock z) Color Computer 3 - stock 3) To which of my machines have I the strongest sentimental attachment? a) Mac Plus - *my* first computer, did my college and grad work on it b) Rainbow - my second computer, duplicate of first machine I assembled c) NeXT cube - my first workstation, totally rocks ... y) SE-30 - scavenged from bottom of closet at work z) PDP-11/60 - waiting for another list member to come pick up :-) Now identify any machine that's on the bottom half of all three lists. In my case, it'd be the SE-30. Put all such machines on Vintage Computer Marketplace *this weekend*. Charge something above "cost of shipping" (since stuff that is acquired free is often thrown away) to be sure the thing has value to its new owner. If no bids on VCM in 2 weeks, put it on eBay, no minimum bid. If no bids on eBay in 2 weeks, *lose it* the cheapest way you can. Goodwill Computerworks, Apple electronics recycling, donate to a local private school, donate to one of the existing or nascent computer museums, whatever. Make sure this process takes less than 2 weeks. If no takers for freebies within 2 weeks, dumpster it. Better a quick death and you don't have to pay for storage while it rusts/deteriorates/loses magnetization for the hard drive bits. If you keep it, it'll die eventually anyway and you'll pay for it (fiscally and emotionally) over the decades it takes to die. During the 2-week VCM and eBay bid periods, expend round tuits on the top end of list 1 above. Having accomplished what you intended, re-evaluate lists (systems will move down list 1 but probably simultaneously up list 3). Repeat process until you can get rid of the storage unit. I say this because "storage unit" == "garbage dump" in my experience, it just takes longer and costs more. Once put into a storage unit, most equipment is dead - it'll never serve or run again, because of the trouble to dig it out and the damage done to it by humidity, time, dust, rodents, and neglect. In my opinion, if you can't climate-control the sensitive parts of your collection and store all of it such that you can be using any part of it within about 10 minutes' of the impulse striking, the collection is too big for you. Of course, YMMV! FWIW, my (relatively small) collection is climate-controlled, with the exception of monitors and the PDP-11/60 (CPU and power supply only), which are in the attic (where it gets hot, but since there's wood flooring and decent ventilation, no obvious humidity/mold problems.) So no, you won't see the SE/30 on VCM this weekend. But there are some printers that I really should dispose of.... Heh. Sure hope you meant that literally; apologies if not. -- - Mark, 210-379-4635 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Asteroids headed toward planets inhabited by beings that don't have technology adequate to stop them: Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.