This page is under construction. In other words, it’s not quite ready yet. In fact, we have barely started yet because other pages had to be finished first ;) However, there’s already some links here that I’ve found particularly good on the subject of computing antiques. (For the uninitiated: the computer pictured above is a 1984-type Apple Lisa (Mac XL). - www.blinkenlights.com. Great site on the origins (and I mean REAL DEEP, WAY-BACK origins) of the personal computer. - Classiccomputing.com. Nice little site with all kinds of info and good links about collecting old (personal) computers. - Al Kossow’s Xerox collection. Great link to a great collection. - The Machine Room. Good site with info on a LOT of old computers. - The CHAC links page. Many, many ‘antique computer’ links on this club page. - The Low End Mac site. Good site with info on all kinds of older (and some Really Classic) Macs and Lisas. - eBay Computers:Vintage auctions. Probably the best/most extensive site where antique (and/or just plain old-but-worthless) hard- and software is auctioned daily. Here’s your chance of obtaining a real PET or Lisa if you’ve got the cash... - The alt.folklore.computers Usenet news group. One of the few newsgroups where Old Iron is discussed virtually on a daily basis. TIP: Read here which computers are worth collecting - and which are not. __________________________ / / / _________________________ Collecting old (ok, let’s say “antique” - they’re stone-aged by now) computers is a hobby of mine. I’ve managed to build a reasonable little collection by now, including (among other things): - A PET 2001 (One of the two first ‘real’ (and popular) personal computers, together with the Apple II) - Several Sinclair ZX-81’s and Spectrums (The ZX81 was the first popular low-budget computer) - An Acorn BBC and Electron (The BBC was perhaps the most powerful 8-bit computer of its time) - Some Apple II+ (With the PET, one of the two first computers that ‘sparked’ the pc industry in ‘77) - A Lisa 2 (Mac XL) (The Lisa was the first mouse/GUI-driven personal computer on the market) - An Amiga 1000 (The first real multimedia pc. Multitasking, super sound/graphics in 1985) - A VIC-20 (The VIC-20 had 3.5 Kb RAM and color video, very popular - the first to sell a million) - Several C64 (This was my first computer, like so many other people. Still popular and in use today) - An Epson HX-20 (This was the world’s first laptop. Even precedes the Tandy Model 100) - Several MSX-machines including the proto-MSX Spectravideo SV-328 - A Philips 2000T (The first home computer from the Dutch Philips company. Program-controlled tapes!) - A Commodore 128 (Successor to the C64, pretty powerful 3-in-1 machine: C128, C64 and CP/M) - A TI-994/A (The first ‘16-bit powered’ home computer. Very slow BASIC cancelled this out though) - An IBM PC. The first ‘PC’ (from 1981). This is one of the original series, with a cassette port. - In the ‘bigger iron’ category I’ve managed to get hold of two DEC PDP-11 minicomputers so far, a PDT-150 and a MicroPDP-11/23. And then there’s a MicroVax II (VAXstation IIrc). I’d have a lot more of these if I had the room ;) All machines were working the last time I used them (well, some of them have several bad keys and the like, but who cares - they’re not meant for the daily grind). They can be seen/visited or even displayed - just call or Email first ;) Of course I’d be happy to answer any questions about such antiques if I can. |
