The second-highest bidder has also placed large bids on other items, including the Apple I ($18,475), 20th anniversary Mac ($1,925), and a MIB Mac Plus ($1026). This bidder doubled the previous high bid for the Sol from $1500, but lost to someone whose other purchases have been motorcycles, Limp Bizkit CDs, and late-model scanners. My guess: The second highest-bidder is a serious collector with money to burn, but the winning bidder, who obviously also has a large disposable income, might have bought on impulse. Prices for milestone systems in good condition are going up, I think because relatively wealthy people involved in high tech have latched onto the hobby as collectors. A similar phenomenon has happened with Depression glass, which my wife collects. Martha Stewart "discovered" Depression glass, and has even had some items reproduced. Prices for rare or scarce items have gone way up, and dealers tell us it's due to a new wealthy clientele. They also believe that this is temporary and prices will moderate once the fad passes. The question for our hobby is whether the high eBay prices are a fad or a long-term trend. I'm not sure what the answer is. --Mike ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marvin" <marvin(a)rain.org> To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2000 1:09 PM Subject: Re: $3551 Sol??? pictures, http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1201894666&e…

Michael Nadeau wrote: Here is the interesting part of all this we are now getting into a collection of people who are starting to realize that computer are reaching 20 years old (and older of course) and that magic number is either the classic or antique age for collectables. They think that suddenly these computers have a monetary value that will increase with age. I don't know if they're right or wrong but I know that I want various computers because I worked with them or 'lusted' after them as grew up with computers. My view of my collection is that I can still use them and appreciate them. I still haven't figured out why I will tolerate an XT running DOS loading Word Perfect yet I get ticked off waiting for my laptop to load a doc with Microsoft Word (OK so the XT is faster :-). -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)home.net http://members.home.net/ncherry (Text only) http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/lightsey/52 (Graphics) http://linuxha.sourceforge.net/ (SourceForge)

see below, plz ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Kenzie" &lt;KenzieM(a)sympatico.ca&gt; To: &lt;classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org&gt; Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2000 2:30 PM Subject: Re: $3551 Sol??? <snip> I doubt the accuracy of that statement. How fast does the XT run with no connection to the power company and how much does it do when confined to the tray-table on the back of the seat in front of you on an airliner? Dick

Did anyone else noticed that the SOL-20 that sold for $3551 in December was actually the same machine, placed for sale by the same seller, that recently sold for $1510? The earlier auction didn't include the floppy drive or disks, but did include the controller. The original high bidder is no longer a registered user either. Jeff -- Collector of Classic Microcomputers and Video Game Systems: Home of the TRS-80 Model 2000 FAQ File http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lakes/6757

Snipe software??? Available for a Mac? If so, where? TIA Jim

Iggy Drougge wrote: Argh! That's an ATR8000, it's a CPM machine that used the Atari 800 as a terminal. The Atari could also access the drives connected to the Z80. The Atari normally uses a serially attached drive while the ATR used a normal (?? :-) floppy interface. Sorry for the confusion, my typing has been getting worse (note the "amy" in the first line of my previous message). -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(a)home.net http://members.home.net/ncherry (Text only) http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/lightsey/52 (Graphics) http://linuxha.sourceforge.net/ (SourceForge)

Dont forget that there are lots of people to whom amounts >> $100K are NOTHING. If somebody like that wants a Gorman painting or a THE Apple-][ that "Wierd Wozniak" used, he'll pay it, since he'll make another $100K next week. The fact that this particular SOL went for that much doesn't mean YOU have to pay it. I saw a board eBay-auction for $1300 one week, and, while I was dusting mine off, preparing to list it, I saw another one, much more complete, with doc's etc, end up at $10. I've still got mine. The fact that people bid up the price simply suggests that they WANT these items. That doesn't mean that someone will want them that badly the next week, though. BTW, a working computer from the "ALTAIR" era was a rare thing, since these items seldom worked as shippped. They required fix upon fix in order to get them to work at all, and if you wanted them to work correctly, you had not only the PCB layout errors to fix, and the odd circuit design errors, but the conceptual errors of the designer as well. It was not unusual for an Altair to go through 1000+ hours of reengineering, reconfiguration, and repair before it blinked its first light. That may not have been the case with a SOL, but it's not unusual for a 25-year old computer to be sold nowadays, never having computed a single byte. Dick ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lawrence LeMay" &lt;lemay(a)cs.umn.edu&gt; To: &lt;classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org&gt; Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2000 11:40 AM Subject: Re: $3551 Sol??? increase phenomenon). http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1201894666&e…