Making the decision to specialize on a particular classic

From: Tony Duell <ard_at_p850ug1.demon.co.uk>
Date: Sat Apr 24 20:48:12 2004

>
> > o Why have five of something? A quantity of a thing past three
> > seems excessive: One to use, one for spare, so the third one
> > is the only excess I try to allow.
>
> Well, except if you actually use more than one. I have a large number

Other reasons for keeping more than 1 of a machine :

You're setting up a network of them. This particularly applies if they
have non-standard network hardware (e.g. Acorn Econet, or the Tandy
cassette port pseudonetwork).

You have lots of add-ons, more than you can connect to one machine at a
time, and you don't want to keep on plugging and unplugging them. This
applies in my case to HP41s. I have one set up with a card reader, HPIL,
Extended IO ROM, another with card reader, HPIL, HPIL Development ROM,
and so on.

The're not absolutely identical. Maybe one has a particular ROM revision
or something. HP41 hackers will know what I mean by a 'Bug 1' machine,
and would agree it should definitely be kept!

-tony
Received on Sat Apr 24 2004 - 20:48:12 BST