On Thu, 13 Aug 1998, D. Peschel wrote:
> > I can't put my finger on exactly why, but I find myself extremely
> > depressed by this. Does anyone know (personally) the fellow who put in
> > the high bid? Will the Altair be something of inherent value to him,
> > or is it simply an investment?
>
> It IS depressing, isn't it? I've been thinking about this aspect of computer
> collecting for a while. Someone on alt.folklore.computers said that he had
> verified the authenticity of an Apple I system (complete with original cover
> letter receipt signed by Steve Jobs, etc.) just before it was shipped across
> the country to a new buyer.
>
> I'm just too practical, I guess. I believe in collecting things to use them/
> have fun with them, and the rarity of the Apple I is at odds with this goal.
> I too have to wonder at the motives of the buyer of this Altair.
If you're interested in actually playing with one, the schematics for the
Apple 1 are readily available with a little searching. You can just
re-create your own. In fact, I'd imagine you could make a pretty
lucrative business making and selling Apple 1 reproductions (as well as
other early classics).
S-100 parts are readily available as well, and again there are schematics
out there if you put a little work into searching them out. If you want
to actually play with your own S-100 box, building the chassis, power
supply and backplane is relatively easy. You would then need to search
out just the CPU, I/O and RAM boards, which would be considerably easier
than finding a complete S-100 system at this point (it would seem,
although S-100 boxes can still be found if you're not simply lusting after
an Altair or IMSAI).
People make re-creations of old cars all the time, so the parallels of
that hobby to this one should extend into that realm as well.
Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar_at_siconic.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ever onward.
September 26 & 27...Vintage Computer Festival 2.0
See
http://www.siconic.com/vcf for details!
[Last web site update: 08/09/98]
Received on Thu Aug 13 1998 - 15:39:26 BST