Legitimacy of the Ten Year Rule.

From: Bill Yakowenko <yakowenk_at_cs.unc.edu>
Date: Tue Jan 26 23:51:40 1999

On Mon, 25 Jan 1999, ard_at_p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote:
Subject: Re: Legitimacy of the Ten Year Rule.
] > <1. Ten years is just a guideline. If something is only 9 years old,
] > < I won't much mind hearing about it. I might even like it. But if
] >
] > I happen to like that.
]
] So do I. 10 years should be taken as a guideline. If you happen to have
] just rescued some unbelievably cool machine - say a supercomputer - that
] happens to be only 8 years old, I don't think anyone will flame you for
] mentioning here.

Of course, nobody gets flamed for being only slightly off-topic.
But we should at least be clear about what "off-topic" means, so
we can recognize how far off we've gone.


] There are better places IMHO for mainstream stuff like PCs, Macs,
] Windows, Linux, etc. Not to say that there aren't some real experts on
] all of those here, but you'll get better answers elsewhere.

And even if you could get better answers here, I submit that it is
rude. I am here because of an interest in older computers. The
whole point of having distinct mailing lists for distinct topics is
to get information to the people who want it, and not add to the
collective information overload. *Please* go to the right list
with each question.



] > <2. Nothing PC- or Mac-compatible can ever be classic. Sorry, that's
] > < just an indisputable fact. :-)
] >
] > I draw a line based on two things early 386 or older and uniqueness. There
] > are many clones but a few were very unique and interesting of themselves.
] > An example is the Leading Edge Model D I have or the Kaypro ProPC both Xt
] > class and a bit different.
]
] As I've said before, I have great difficulty in calling a no-name
] PC-clone a 'classic'. Especially when what you actually find in the case
] depends on the week that it was made. Even if it's 10 years old.
]
] Some clones will be 'classic'. The first Compaq probably is. Things like
] the Torch Graduate (A PC-compatible add-on for the BBC micro) is.
]
] And the non-clones (80x86 boxen that run MS-DOS, but which are not PC
] compatible) can be classics IMHO. Things like the Sirius, Apricot, HP150,
] Sanyo, etc...

Okay, I'll agree that you think they are classic. :-)



] > <5. The ten year rule should apply to the date when a thing dropped off
] > < in popularity; if it was still in common use eight years ago, it is
] > < not yet classic. (Justification: if it is still in common use,
] > < there will be other places to discuss it.)
] >
] > Humm. This one is tough. We talk about VAXen and the MicroVAX is only
] > about 14-15 years old and some models do persist but they are uniquly
]
] Rememeber that DEC sold PDP11s until a couple of years ago, and that ISA
] cards with CPUs that execute the PDP11 instruction set are (IIRC) still
] in production.

Yup, PDP11's are classic. The ISA cards emulating them are not.

] However, a lot of us think of the PDP11 as being a very classic machine.
] It also happens to still be in serious commerical use in a lot of places.
] There are probably more PDP8's out there in control systems than a lot of
] us realise.

PDP11's are still in serious use. But is it not well past its prime?
How many had Dec manufactured in the last year? Ten years? When you
want to buy a computer from Dec, do they offer you a choice between a
PDP8 or an Alpha?


] > The keys are OLDness, UNIQUEness and desireability. I'm sure there are
]
] Of course what's desirable to one person may not be desirable to another.
] I can't see why I'd want an Altair, but I'd go quite a way to get a Xerox
] D-machine. I suspect that for others on this list that would be reversed.
]
] -tony

A lot of people want the latest PC, too. And prices on PC's are
generally higher; doesn't that indicate greater desirability?
Even to people on this list, how many can honestly say that the
most expensive computer that they own, as measured in the price
that they actually paid, was not a PC or Mac? (I can, but I
strongly suspect I'm an exception.)

Desirability does not make a computer a classic. Age does.
Rarity doesn't make a classic, but excessive commonality could
preclude it. (Which I think is the source of my bias against
PC's and Macs).

        Bill.
Received on Tue Jan 26 1999 - 23:51:40 GMT