On Tue, 27 Jun 2000, Jeffrey l Kaneko wrote:
> > Sellam and many others on this list have put forth great effort to put
> > on the VCF's, which I hope to be able to attend someday soon.
>
> I don't know about you, but I'll bet alot of guys here can't even
> afford the air fare. I know I can't.
C'mon. You gotta look for those super-saver airfare deals. Check out
www.cheaptickets.com and www.bestfares.com for cheap airline specials.
You can usually find roundtrip flights across the country for $198 or
less.
VCF 4.0 is September 30-October 1 at the San Jose Convention Center in San
Jose (you'll want to land in SJO). Formal announcement coming soon.
> Oh, okay, so I'm a 'collector' because I don't have thousands of dollars
> to throw at this. I see. I don't know about you, but I got into this
> because, at long last, I found a truly interesting hobby I could actually
> *afford*. You're damned f'ing right I want to pay 'as little as
> possible'.
> That's the only way I'm going to be able to stay in this . . . .
Yeah, I have to agre with this sentiment. This "hobby" is about as
official as you can get. It's definitely arrived. We don't need high
prices established in order to make it any more legitimate.
> I was priced out of stamp collecting in the 70's. I was priced out of
> numismatics in the early 80's. I'll be goddamned if I'm going to stand
> idly by, to watch this happen again.
Preach on, Brother Jeff!
;)
> And I'm saying, all you will be doing is raising the cost of
> admission. There's nothing anyone can do to stop you, of course.
> If Classic Computing becomes a 'legitimate' hobby with a 'legitimate'
> organization, then I guess there won't be room for amateurs
> like myself. You professional 'true historical preservationists'
> can have it.
There is no such thing as an "amateur computer historian". I don't recall
there being a degree program at any university strictly dealing with
computer history. Anybody who's ever brought home an old computer for the
sake of preserving it and put a lot of time and care into
researching and restoring it IS a Computer Historian.
> This hobby is about people, as much as it is about technology
> (old and new). If you're going to squeeze out a group of its
> people, you may as well forget the group of technology that
> will get squeezed out with them, for the ones who are in charge
> won't care.
Absolutely. It's the hobbyists who are responsbile for uncovering the
history of the machines. Even having them in museums doesn't guarantee
they will be researched and preserved properly (lack of resources being
the main problem). Individual machines in the hands of individual
collectors who will appreciate the machine is the optimal scenario.
Sellam International Man of Intrigue and Danger
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking for a six in a pile of nines...
VCF 4.0 is September 30-October 1
San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, California
See
http://www.vintage.org for details!
Received on Tue Jun 27 2000 - 14:14:27 BST