Are IBM PCs classic?

From: Huw Davies <H.Davies_at_latrobe.edu.au>
Date: Tue May 18 08:15:11 1999

At 12:05 18/05/99 +0001, Hans Franke wrote:

[Quoting someone else]

>> I have difficulty with the idea that a PC can ever be a 'classic' in the
>> same sense that a PERQ or a PDP11 are classics. The PC architecture is
>> just plain unpleasant in places.

I don't think PCs will ever be quite as "classical" as say a PERQ due to
the numbers involved. I wouldn't be surprised if there were three orders of
magnitude more PCs than PERQs. This is one of the reasons why a 50 year old
Minor costs a 100 two orders of magnitude less than a Mercedes SSK -
there's lots of Minor's around....

>Now, just compare it to cars - A VW is maybe also unplesant
>(but was OK at their time) and a BMW Isetta or a Gogomobil
>even more (or just take an Moris Minor) - but they are
>classic in any sense - Althou a Mercedes SSK or a Bently
>is still a different class ...

Well I have a share in an original (1949) Minor low light with the 849cc
side valve engine. It's dangerous to use on modern roads whereas an old PC
is still sort of usable on the current network, though you wouldn't want to
run some high powered GUI based OS on it (the PC that is :-)


 Huw Davies | e-mail: Huw.Davies_at_latrobe.edu.au
 Information Technology Services | Phone: +61 3 9479 1550 Fax: +61 3 9479
1999
 La Trobe University | "If God had wanted soccer played in the
 Melbourne Australia 3083 | air, the sky would be painted green"
Received on Tue May 18 1999 - 08:15:11 BST