On Sat, 27 Jan 2001 19:07:39 +0000 (GMT) Tony Duell
<ard_at_p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> Perhaps somebody could expain the aims of this hobby of ours. Is it to :
>
> Obtain as many machines as possible without caring what they are
Not for me!
> Obtain as many of particular types of 'interesting' (to you) machines
Up to a point... but I'd rather swap identical duplicates
for something fulfilling the requirements below:
> Getting (again) the machine that you 'used as a kid' and enjoying those
> ancinet games again (say)
>
> Getting machines that you dreamed of owning many years ago and could
> never aford back then
>
> Getting machines that have particular hardware (or software) features
> that you find interesting, whether or not you've ever heard of the
> machine before
>
> Preserving a piece of computer history
>
> Programming a machine that is really simple enough to fully understand
>
> Repairing a machine that's built from parts you can get and understand
>
> Learning about the operation of a computer by understanding a processor
> at gate level
All of those! I got started by getting machines that have
special features (PERQ portrait screen, Apple /// two-speed
cursor keys, Apricot LCD-in-keyboard thingy). Now I have
reached "critical mass", whereupon old computers arrive at
my house by a kind of gravitational attraction.
--
John Honniball
Email: John.Honniball_at_uwe.ac.uk
University of the West of England
Received on Mon Jan 29 2001 - 06:06:40 GMT