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Old Computers
[Add a section \ links in this page on OS's including 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 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. At some point around that time I 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.
And then there were the 'computer fairs' that happened here and there in the 90's and early 2000's... Those were the most awesome things to go to! They were held usually in very large spaces, like Costco sized spaces, huge. These made it possible for average computer enthusiasts to build their own customized systems, usually towers with room for everything you could want in a system. These computer fairs didn't last forever and pretty much went away in the early-mid 2000's, at least in my area.
I also remember my first time in a Fry's Electronics store... maximum WOW factor! These stores were each designed with a different theme inside and out. There was one in the bay area that looked like a giant integrated circuit, another somewhere that had an ancient egyptian theme, and one in Phoenix I remember that had a flying saucer sticking out of the wall in the front like it had crashed there. These stores had quite a bit of the stuff that could be found at the computer fairs along with electronic equipment of all types as well as discrete electronic components for those of us that valued electronics as a hobby. Alas, these stores eventually went out of business... a sad day for computer and electronics enthusiasts alike.
Ebay, and the occasional yard sale, seems to be the best place to find vintage computer equipment from back in the day now. I still look for old computer treasures at yard sales and occasionally find something.
I wish I had retained more of the computers I had from my air force base auction days, but I suppose if I had I wouldn't have enough room to display and enjoy them anyway. As it is I still have a lot of my 'stuff' in cardboard boxes in the garage. It is kind of fun though, as I'm going through the boxes, to re-discover some of my old treasures.
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 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. At some point around that time I 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.
And then there were the 'computer fairs' that happened here and there in the 90's and early 2000's... Those were the most awesome things to go to! They were held usually in very large spaces, like Costco sized spaces, huge. These made it possible for average computer enthusiasts to build their own customized systems, usually towers with room for everything you could want in a system. These computer fairs didn't last forever and pretty much went away in the early-mid 2000's, at least in my area.
I also remember my first time in a Fry's Electronics store... maximum WOW factor! These stores were each designed with a different theme inside and out. There was one in the bay area that looked like a giant integrated circuit, another somewhere that had an ancient egyptian theme, and one in Phoenix I remember that had a flying saucer sticking out of the wall in the front like it had crashed there. These stores had quite a bit of the stuff that could be found at the computer fairs along with electronic equipment of all types as well as discrete electronic components for those of us that valued electronics as a hobby. Alas, these stores eventually went out of business... a sad day for computer and electronics enthusiasts alike.
Ebay, and the occasional yard sale, seems to be the best place to find vintage computer equipment from back in the day now. I still look for old computer treasures at yard sales and occasionally find something.
I wish I had retained more of the computers I had from my air force base auction days, but I suppose if I had I wouldn't have enough room to display and enjoy them anyway. As it is I still have a lot of my 'stuff' in cardboard boxes in the garage. It is kind of fun though, as I'm going through the boxes, to re-discover some of my old treasures.
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.
An old 'lunchbox' computer update project.