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Fun and Profit With Obsolete Computers

Posted by Zonk on from the what-else-are-you-going-to-do-with-them dept.

An anonymous reader writes "C|Net has a story about the value of aging computer hardware, and the subculture of people who collect them. The story details some of the more enthusiastic collectors currently participating in the hobby, as well as their old-school beautiful hardware. '[Sellam Ismail] recently brought a quarter century-old Xerox Star computer back to life to be used as evidence in a patent lawsuit. The pride of his collection is an Apple Lisa, one of the first computers (introduced in 1983) with a now standard graphical interface. Such items sell for more than $10,000. In an old barn in Northern California that also houses pigs, Bruce Damer, 45, keeps a collection that includes a Cray-1 supercomputer, a Xerox Alto (an early microcomputer introduced in 1973) and early Apple prototypes. '

10 of 186 comments (clear)

  1. 30 years from now by jumper7 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think it would be a good idea to save my current computer in a warehouse for the next 30 years.

  2. Aha! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I've got a 23+ year old genuine Apple RF modulator. Take THAT, suckers. The "switcheur" troll would gladly suck my cock for this piece of Apple antiquity.

    1. Re:Aha! by master_p · · Score: 4, Funny

      Ha! that's nothing! I've got a genuine 6,000 year old Apple! I didn't eat it all back then!

      -Adam

  3. For Our Retirement by Ray+Radlein · · Score: 5, Funny
    That's what I keep telling my wife -- all those old Amigas are an investment.

    Plus, Lemmings looks surprisingly good on the big TV in the living room.

    1. Re:For Our Retirement by Ray+Radlein · · Score: 2, Funny
      That's the main reason why our oldest A1000 is, as I mentioned, hooked up to the TV: My wife and her mother love the two-player mode.

      Many is the morning I have woken up to the sound of my wife yelling at her mother, and her mother cackling with glee in return, over some sudden trick which has allowed her to "steal" her daughter's lemmings.

  4. Creepy by stewbacca · · Score: 5, Funny
    So THAT'S what the creepy math teacher at my school does with all those old computer parts he hoardes.

    Frankly, I don't get the collector (cough, mental illness hoarding, cough) mentality. I suppose I'll sit back and watch this thread for awhile and feed my 30 cats.

  5. There is a down side by edwardpickman · · Score: 4, Funny

    The problem with firing up the Cray 1 in my garage is the power it draws. It is fun to watch the power meter spin around and smoke though.

  6. Tell me about it... by Alioth · · Score: 3, Funny

    I have:

    four Sinclair Spectrums (rubber key 48K, two Spectrum+, and a toast rack Spectrum 128)
    a MicroVAX
    a Sun Ultra 5 (used as a server)

    Out of all of them, the Sinclair machines are the most fun.

    A little song that sums up why the Speccy was (and still is!) so much fun:
    http://www2.b3ta.com/heyhey16k/heyhey16k.swf (warning, flash)

    --
    Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
  7. n00b: Me too! Me too! *waves hands* by rts008 · · Score: 3, Funny

    2 ea 8086's, 4 ea 8088's, 1 ea 386, 3 ea 486's ( one is even a DX!!!!), 1 ea cyrix 5x86 133, 2 ea p75's, 3 ea p133's, 2 ea p166's, 2 ea pII 266's, and the MASTER: 1 ea pIII slot 1 500....all rolled into one.

    I have Caldera OpenLinux Base 1.1 installed on all, with Sun's Distributed Computing software, and I STILL can't get WoW or City of Heroes to run....guess I need to go RTFM AGAIN!!!

    --
    Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
  8. Grrrr .. by nurb432 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Great, tell everyone and make it harder for the 'non profit' collector.

    Bastards.

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----