Altair - A different perspective

From: Dellett, Anthony <Anthony.Dellett_at_Staples.com>
Date: Fri Aug 14 14:48:51 1998

If I remember right, NeXT computers are not that expensive. I think mine
was $450 including computer, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and sound box
(NeXT Station Color Turbo W/400MB hd and 8mb of RAM)

Tony

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Adam Jenkins [mailto:adam_at_merlin.net.au]
> Sent: Friday, August 14, 1998 2:31 PM
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
> Subject: Re: Altair - A different perspective
>
>
>
> >Exactly, the Altair helped kick-off the hobbiest movement by
> being cheap.
> >The Mark-8 did this earlier, but it was so slow and buggy that it was
> >pretty much a non-starter. The Altair was an improvement,
> but it was also
> >pretty much a non-starter that fizzled after about 10,000 units. The
> >Altair was the grandfather of the S-100 bus and CP/M, both of which
> >fizzled and left only a minor mark on MS-DOS, which didn't fizzle.
>
> I think that to say that the S-100 Bus and CP/M "fizzled" is
> to seriously
> understate the value of both. :) I'm sure you don't mean to
> suggest that
> they were without value, but keep in mind that 6 years of
> dominance (which
> is probably the minimum that one would give to CP/M and the
> S100) is an
> incredibly long time in the fledging personal computer
> field. True, it
> doesn't stand up that well to 15+ years of Microsoft, but it was the
> dominate architecture on teh market.
>
> >Low prices, enabled by the microprocessor, is one of the
> elements that got
> >us to where we are today. A high-degree of interactivity is another.
> >Computer graphics is another. The desktop form-factor is
> also a strong
> >survivor. So, if somebody were really looking at collecting
> Altairs as the
> >machine that "started it all", I think they have been misled
> and would be
> >better off collecting the IBM PC, early Apples, early HP
> desktops, the
> >PDP-8, and all of the PDP-1's they can find :-)
>
> I don't support these high prices, and I'm another of the
> collectors who
> wants to save and use, rather than simply buy and store their
> systems. I
> don't have, nor do I particularly desire, an Altair (but I do
> really want a
> NeXTCube), but the significance of the Altair and the
> hobbiest movement
> should not be measured in terms of computers sold. :) My view
> is that the
> Altair made it clear to hobiests that they could own a
> computer, and so
> even if they didn't buy one it started them dreaming about
> one. (And yes,
> I know it was not the first). This is much the same as with
> the Lisa -
> people didn't necessarily buy them, and indeed they ignored
> them in great
> numbers - but without the Lisa then I doubt the Macintosh
> would have been
> as successful. First you have the great implementation of a
> grand concept
> that you can never own, and then you follow it with an
> affordable version.
> Anyway, the point is that the Altair led to the hobbists, while the
> hobbists pushed the tech both in hardware and software, creating the
> potential for personal computers to move into new markets.
> True, this was
> a marketing dream of many of the computer companies before
> the Altair, but
> the Altair is definitly one of the most important systems. That's my
> opinion, anyway.
>
> As to prices, well I come form a number of collecting backgrounds, and
> prices are never increased so much by rarity or actual value, but by
> perceived value. When people started thinking Teddy Bears were worth
> money, the prices lept ahead - but only in the brands which
> the collectors
> recognised. The Altair is recognised as significant, is relativly
> uncommon, and every article on computer history sings it's
> praises. You
> could almost guarentee that the prices would go up.
>
> If only Apple IIc's were worth a fortune - then I could
> finally get my NeXT. :)
>
> Adam.
>
>
Received on Fri Aug 14 1998 - 14:48:51 BST