On Wed, 18 Oct 2000, Tarsi wrote:
> But, I'm unsure where to start. I mean, getting hardware in the micro
> realm is a matter of chance stops at the Goodwill store or
> something...plug it in, see if it works, etc. No doubt in areas which
> have businesses which throw away minis the same is the case.
> However, it looks as though places like Ebay et al will be my source
> for such things.
Here's an article I wrote earlier this year on where to find stuff, aptly
titled "Find Old Computers". Perfect for the beginning collector:
http://www.vintage.org/cgi-bin/content.pl?id=001
> I don't know how the hardware follows conventions. I mean, in the micro
> world, there are a lot of standards: ISA, PCI, VGA, etc...so it makes some
> parts interchangeable and such. I would imagine when you get into micros
> and such the parts aren't all that interchangeable, and some are downright
> nasty to obtain.
I assume you meant "minis" in the last sentence, but even micros before
the IBM PC standardization basically homogenized the computer world, you
had a lot of uninterchangeable computers.
> I guess I'm looking for advice from the list members to whom this stuff is
> "old hat". How you shop around for systems of this nature, how easy it is
> to interchange hardware, where you manage to find your systems, what to
> look for, what to avoid. Things like that.
Read the article referenced above, but what you really need is a good
surplus shop in your area where this stuff will filter in. And your best
resource for learning about what you've found or acquired is this very
list. Ask away. There is an amazing amount of knowledge floating around
in here. I think historically the number of questions posed that have
gone unanswered is less than one percent.
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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International Man of Intrigue and Danger
http://www.vintage.org
Received on Wed Oct 18 2000 - 13:42:53 BST