Minicomputer Storage Myths

From: Sam Ismail <dastar_at_crl.com>
Date: Wed Jul 23 00:47:54 1997

On Wed, 23 Jul 1997, Carl R. Friend wrote:

> On Tue, 22 Jul 1997 19:03:32 -0700 (PDT), Mr. Ismail was rumoured
> to have remarked:
>
> > [...] Tim was complaining that nobody wanted the stuff, but the fact
> > is, who wants to spend hundreds of dollars in shipping or
> > transportation charges?
>
> Offhand, and I may offend a few sensibilities here, that folks who
> care for computing's history should be willing to bear such short-
> term inconveniences as medium-sized monetary expenditures. If you

Sure, I'll just needlessly add to my current mountain of debt. There is
a practical limit to what any individual can do or be expected to do.
I'm not going to over-burden myself over a hobby. Sure I take it
seriously, but again, I've set limits. Someone else is just going to
have to cover for me.

> > [...] that's all fine and dandy if you're a bachelor or your wife
> > could care less what kind of crap you drag into the house. [...]
> > She has problem enough with the garage full of crap.
>
> Oddly enough, Diana and I have been together now for the better
> part of a decade, and while she occasionally grumbles about my hobby,
> she supports it because she knows that it's important (not just to
> me, but for a larger cause as well).
>
> I believe the use of the term "crap" comes from fundamental
> misunderstandings of our common computing history. Sad.

I believe your misunderstanding of my using the term "crap" comes from
you taking me too literally. I love the stuff just as much as the next
guy. But collectively, its a bunch of crap, just like a pile of stuff in
the back yard in a corner would be called a pile of crap. If you saw my
garage, you'd know why I refer to it as a pile of crap. Its a mess!
There's stuff stacked haphazardly all over the place. Its a big pile of
crap! :)

> > Right now I'm not fully prepared to start taking in large systems
> > (larger than S-100 rackmounts). I'm not going to give up my living
> > space for the hobby.
>
> It all depends upon how seriously we take our hobby, doesn't it.

Sorry if I can't be _Super Collector!_ Again, someone else will have to
cover for me in this respect.

Also, I'm just not as interested in older mini-computers as I am in
micros. Micros take precedence because: a) I grew up in the age of the
micro, b) they're easier to come by, c) they're normally easier to
transport and store (yes they have odd shapes but generally they are
smaller than a rackmount cabinet). When I own a warehouse, it will be
filled with minis as well.

Really though, I don't understand the point of arguing over this.
Collect what you want. That's fine. Let me do the same. If my sole
interest was, say, collecting Commodore 64's only with serial numbers
starting with '1', that's my perogative.

Sam
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Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
Received on Wed Jul 23 1997 - 00:47:54 BST