Extremely nice writeup, Keith. The more I think about the subject, the more complicated it is. There's just a lot of factors that go into something having meaning for us, and those factors are going to be different for every person, as well as changing as the person matures or learns more. For instance, I started out collecting machines I had as a young guy -- Apple II, S-100, Mac. But because of the internet, delving into those led by chance into learning about others... never imagined I'd end up with a PDP-11 in my house. You are so right about soul. I will never collect one of my Dell laptops, even though I love them as an appliance.. and I really can't tell you why. Maybe if my first machine ever had been a Dell laptop? For me, at some point machines evolve from being magical to commonplace. Computers when they first appeared in my life really did seem magical... Remember the feeling of your first car vs. buying cars now? Perhaps it is precisely that initial awe of something new is what inures us to certain machines and not to others... Machines that don't wow us now because our initial exposure has passed, might wow others. Or maybe, kids growing up with them will see them as like a toaster -- so ordinary as to be nothing more than a tool... who knows. More, it's being able to comprehend the machine. The machines I collect are ones I can service and fairly comprehend the entire picture of (even if not all the options and variations). Machines today.. whether they be cars or computers... are beyond my currently ability to service or fully understand the innards of... therefore, I'm forced to just accept them as tools that work. John Singleton