On Fri, 30 May 2003, Cynde Moya wrote:
> I'm finding many aspects of this discussion very compelling. It got me
> to wonder some things.
>
> How would you categorize and describe classic computer items? Is there
> an accepted descriptive benchmark in the collectors discipline?
Not yet, but I've been working on one for the forthcoming Vintage Computer
Festival Marketplace.
I've adopted a heirarchical structure as one would expect. It is a
taxonomy of sorts, with the top level genera being:
Hardware
Software
Literature
Component
Media
Ephemera
Video Games
Calculator
Toys
Other
I'm still thinking about it but I think this is a good start. I separate
out calculators from hardware because in my mind it seems appropriate. A
Burroughs hand-cranked calculator from the late 19th century just doesn't
seem like it should go in the same genus as a 1975 MITS Altair, or an
ENIAC plugboard, even though a calculator is, after all, "hardware".
> Or better still, how would you *like* to see it done? What would be an
> appropriate descriptive level of a flip chip, a unibus terminator, a
> cable, a power cable, a backplane, a cabinet part? If you had a museum
> or archival collection of these DEC things, what would you want to know
> about them that would make them useful to you?
To take each example you gave, in my system, they would be categorized as
follows:
FlipChip -> Hardware:Board:Adapter Card/Logic Module:FlipChip
Unibus terminator -> Hardware:Adapter Card/Logic Module:Unibus
Cable -> Hardware:Cable/Connector:Cable:Data
Power Cable -> Hardware:Cable/Connector:Cable:Power
Backplane -> Hardware:Board:Bus
Cabinet part -> Hardware:Enclosure
Some of these examples got me thinking, which gave me a chance to edit,
expand, and re-think some of my current heirarchy, which is good. This is
an exercise that needs to be iterated many times with many different
artifacts so that a sensible and logical heirarchy can be developed.
As an example of something that will require some thought: what would a
lone front panel be considered? It's a circuit-board, but it's also an
input/output device, but it's also part of the enclosure. For now, I'm
saying it's a Hardware:Board:Front Panel.
Of course, there will always be the platypus, which will throw the
heirarchy for a loop, but that's what the "Other" category is for ;)
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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Received on Sat May 31 2003 - 11:34:00 BST