Importance of "original" parts

From: jpero_at_cgo.wave.ca <(jpero_at_cgo.wave.ca)>
Date: Mon Dec 8 03:54:49 1997

> > How important is it to obtain computers in their "original" state? Is it
> > worth it to save a computer that is known to have been hacked together?
>
> 99 times out of a 100, I'd prefer to have the "hacked" computer rather
> than the "original". At least in the minicomputer world, just about every
> modificiation is there for a very important purpose - it either fixes
> a bug in the hardware or adds an actual enhancement. If the modification
> was absolutely useful at the time it was made - and is something that
> every sane original owner did - then it's part of the culture of the
> machine!
>
> Some computers are basically unusable in their original form. Take the
> Altair 8800's original power supply. Please!
What's this mod is done to it to make it useful?
I'm born in '72 so I did not see these early stuff, only saw machines
in 80's onwards. :) )

>
> I don't know about other folks, but I don't collect computers to get
> pristine working examples that are filed away forever with "do
> not touch" signs on them :-).

Exactly! Any hacks, mods or such that makes a machine more useful
unless some can stand the originals in form. For me,
I rather hack it to usefulness even it's a original NOS and smells
new. In Mac Plus, a resistor has to be cut and moved, maybe removed
when configuring the memory upgrade for example. Sheesh, I wished
that Mac Plus has capacity to take more than 4mb stock.

Jason D.

> Tim.
>
>
Received on Mon Dec 08 1997 - 03:54:49 GMT