rarest computers

From: William Donzelli <aw288_at_osfn.org>
Date: Tue Aug 3 17:03:13 2004

> Sure, I know what you mean.

I do not think you understand, perhaps I should clarify.

> It is just hard
> to pick such items out from the flow. Things
> like the Altair 8800 or an original IBM PC
> come to mind.

Provenance applies to *individual* artifacts (instances, if you will). It
does not apply to kinds of artifacts (classes, to keep the OOP thing
going). Nearly all Altair 8800s sat in some geeks' basements, playing
tictactoe or some other menial task. Maybe a few did get used for
developing some bit of well known software. Likewise, most 5150s were used
in the offices of well known (and more now-forgotten) corporations. A few,
however, could have been used to write a great American novel or
screenplay.

Look at your machines as individuals. Where did you get each one? What
were they used for? Do you have evidence to back up the claims?

You will see that most machines - nearly all - did pretty unimportant jobs
in their lifes. I look at mine - one was used for managing parts for GM in
Canada. Another did payroll at a steel and bridge company. Another was
used in a high school. A few I simply do not know. Anyway, not very
exciting. What I am looking for are instances of machines with a exciting
history.

William Donzelli
aw288_at_osfn.org
Received on Tue Aug 03 2004 - 17:03:13 BST