Altair - A different perspective

From: Bill Richman <bill_r_at_inetnebr.com>
Date: Fri Aug 14 23:11:22 1998

On Thu, 13 Aug 1998 23:19:43 PDT, you wrote:

<snip>
>My source for buying ended abruptly last week (that is
>another whole story). So it is unlikely that I will be able

If anybody who feels like I do about some of these old systems found
out he was pimping Altairs to someone who sees them only at dollar
signs, he's probably at the bottom of a river, with a couple of
Packard-Bells chained to his ankles... If you want to start a frenzy
over the latest "beanie baby" that was "accidentally" made with three
eyes and sucker a bunch of losers, be my guest. It just seems a
little mercenary to me for someone to be contributing to the obscene
inflation of the price of something that should belong to people who
respect it as other than a "collectors item". Now I'm sure this
sounds like sour grapes, and maybe to a degree it is, but I feel like
the first light bulbs (to use your example) should belong to the
family, friends, contemporaries, and kindred spirits of the person
responsible for them, and not necessarily to the highest bidder.

I've had many discussions with my partner as to the ethics of buying
and selling "old" computers. I've never been the sort who gets a good
feeling out of "suckering" someone into paying too much for something,
or selling it to me for way too little. (Guess that's why I'm not in
sales, or the stock market...) I know this sort of discussion took
place someplace not long ago - I think it was in the
rec.crafts.metalworking newsgroup, about old (but still valuable)
equipment. If I find a little old lady who has an Altair on her
garage sale that was built by her late husband, and it's marked $5,
now I have a quandary. Do I a) give her $5, grab the Altair and run,
b) tell her "Well shucks, ma'am - you can get $2,000 for that on
eBay!", then offer her $200 and hope she appreciates my honesty and
sells it to me for that, or c) slam my thumb in a door because it will
feel better than a or b? On the other hand, if I find one sitting in
an "antique" shop marked "$500", with an owner who is sure it's
"valuable" and won't budge on the price, do I a) slam down the $500,
grab the computer, and run, later mailing them a copy of the latest
eBay auction where an Altair went for $12,000, with a big "smiley"
drawn next to it in crayon, b) refuse to deal with the vulture on
general principles, or c) tell the little old lady from the garage
sale that he has a "thing" for little old ladies, and he loves to be
dominated?

(*sigh) Well, if I can't have an Altair for something approaching a
sane price, maybe a Sol-20. I lost my virginity to a Sol-20...

<snip>
>But the personal computer is now as important as the electric
>lamp was 100 years ago. And, over time, the first examples
>will be regarded with the same reverance as Edison's first
>light bulbs. I feel lucky to be one of the people witnessing
>the birth of that.

Nah. The intelligence of most people being what it is these days,
they would have just found them in the attic, discovered that they
wouldn't screw into their reading lamp, and chucked them in the trash
(or given them away to people who knew what they were!) Unless, of
course, someone started paying lots of money for them; then, suddenly,
they wouldn't *think* of parting with them (for less than $2,000)!


                            -Bill Richman
                             bill_r_at_inetnebr.com
                             http://incolor.inetnebr.com/bill_r
                             (Home of the COSMAC Elf microcomputer simulator!)
                              
Received on Fri Aug 14 1998 - 23:11:22 BST

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