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Old Computers
[Add a section \ links in this page on Linux also... alternate (open source and free) operating systems.]
Among the other hobbies on this site I've also had a solid interest in computers since my first one - a Commodore VIC-20 I
purchased quite a few years ago, which I still have.
Prior to that I had a more casual interest in computers as I was seeing the first 'personal computer' models begin to become available in the early 70's. Altair 8800 and IMSAI 8080 were two stand-outs of a growing number of similar offerings, but the prices for these were way to high for my small budget at the time. Besides that, many would-be users hadn't quite figured out what to do with them yet.
When computers finally really caught on due to more brands (expecially the Apple) and software were becoming available and competition became hot (and prices were dropping) I started becoming more interested, as it seemed maybe I could actually afford one soon. That's when Commodore caught my notice as I watched the VIC-20's price come down and I think I got one when a sale price dipped below $100. I then joined a local computer club I had heard about and began learning what it could to at a quicker pace. The discovery that there was free software available was probably the point where the computer became an obsession for years to come. We had club disks (5 1/4 inch floppies) that were made available for all club members for a tiny fee (used to support the club activities) that had several programs on each one. I then began a subscription to my first computer magazine and read through each issue cover to cover, voraciously absorbing everything I could about my VIC-20 and others I read about. There were printed programs I could manually key in and save so I did that regularly. I saw ads for companies that were selling something called "shareware" and ended up purchasing quite a few of those for the software included on the disks.
Over the next few years I purchased a few more Commodore computers (a C-128 and C-64) and learned how to use and hack those through articles in the manuals and magazines. At one point I had gotten into attending military equipment auctions on the nearby air force base and through that I had amassed quite a collection of various computers and peripheral equipment. I had learned enough by then to repair and sell them and so turned it into a small business for a few years and made some extra money.
Below are some of my computer aquisitions and treasures I've enjoyed, used, and repaired over the last 40 or 50 years. This is mostly about "old" computers but I guess that's really a subjective classification, so I'll talk about what is 'old' to me.
Prior to that I had a more casual interest in computers as I was seeing the first 'personal computer' models begin to become available in the early 70's. Altair 8800 and IMSAI 8080 were two stand-outs of a growing number of similar offerings, but the prices for these were way to high for my small budget at the time. Besides that, many would-be users hadn't quite figured out what to do with them yet.
When computers finally really caught on due to more brands (expecially the Apple) and software were becoming available and competition became hot (and prices were dropping) I started becoming more interested, as it seemed maybe I could actually afford one soon. That's when Commodore caught my notice as I watched the VIC-20's price come down and I think I got one when a sale price dipped below $100. I then joined a local computer club I had heard about and began learning what it could to at a quicker pace. The discovery that there was free software available was probably the point where the computer became an obsession for years to come. We had club disks (5 1/4 inch floppies) that were made available for all club members for a tiny fee (used to support the club activities) that had several programs on each one. I then began a subscription to my first computer magazine and read through each issue cover to cover, voraciously absorbing everything I could about my VIC-20 and others I read about. There were printed programs I could manually key in and save so I did that regularly. I saw ads for companies that were selling something called "shareware" and ended up purchasing quite a few of those for the software included on the disks.
Over the next few years I purchased a few more Commodore computers (a C-128 and C-64) and learned how to use and hack those through articles in the manuals and magazines. At one point I had gotten into attending military equipment auctions on the nearby air force base and through that I had amassed quite a collection of various computers and peripheral equipment. I had learned enough by then to repair and sell them and so turned it into a small business for a few years and made some extra money.
Below are some of my computer aquisitions and treasures I've enjoyed, used, and repaired over the last 40 or 50 years. This is mostly about "old" computers but I guess that's really a subjective classification, so I'll talk about what is 'old' to me.
The closest thing you will find to an actual IMSAI 8080 for a decent price - a fantastic emulator of the original computer!
A page for my microprocessor and microcontroller collection.