Vintage Technology Collector

There is a pretty rare computer for sale on eBay, its called the KIM-1. Here is a brief quote from Wikipedia "The KIM-1, short for Keyboard Input Monitor, was a small 6502-based microcomputer kit developed and produced by MOS Technology, Inc. and launched in 1975. It was very successful in terms of that period, due to its low price (following from the inexpensive 6502) and easy-access expandability."

eWeek reports: "IDEMA, the International Disk Drive and Materials Association, hosted its annual DISKCON conference in Santa Clara, Calif., Sept. 23 and 24. Included as a bonus on the show floor was a literal walk down memory lane for older engineers. This was a display of history-making hard drives, staged by longtime industry analyst and consultant Jim Porter"

From the author of the video: " This is dedicated to all fans of Queen and hey let's not forget about Mike Myers and Dana Carvey of Wayne's World. No effects or sampling were used. What you see is what you hear (does that even make sense?) Atari 800XL was used for the lead piano/organ sound Texas Instruments TI-99/4a as lead guitar 8 Inch Floppy Disk as Bass 3.5 inch Harddrive as the gong HP ScanJet 3C was used for all vocals. Please note I had to record the HP scanner 4 seperate times for each voice. I wanted to buy 4 HP scanners but for some reason sellers on E-Bay expect you to pay $80-$100, I got mine for $30. I keep hearing parts of the song are out of tune. Keep in mind the scanner and floppy drive are not musical instruments. These are mechanical devices whose motors tend to drift and can cause some notes to be out of tune. "

Computerworld reports: "You're not really supposed to love an operating system. It's like your car's hydraulic system, your digestive system or the global financial system. It's supposed to do its job -- and not get in your way while you're doing yours." Do you remember CP/M, O/S 2, MS-DOS, take a trip back down silicon memory lane...

CNN iReport: "The Macintosh desktop is turning 25 on Saturday, and we'd love to take a stroll down memory lane. Apple's tiny computer, released in 1984, was different with its uniform design, decidedly un-furry 'mouse' and innovative graphical user interface." CNN wants you to send them photos and video of you and your vintage Macs. They also want to know: What was your first Mac, and why did you get it? How are you using this device? Are the computers still as mind-blowing now, and how far have they come?

MSN Tech & Gadgets has a slide show of what they consider the most collectible computers. I would say a lot of their choices I would agree with, but I still think others are missing from the list. Here is excerpt from the article: "personal computers have been around long enough that certain models -- mostly dating from the 1970s and early 1980s -- have gone from newfangled gadget to prized relic. We compiled this list after consulting with tech historians and collectors, including Bryan Blackburn, Digibarn's Bruce Damer, the Vintage Computer Festival's Sellam Ismail and Erik Klein of Vintage-Computer.com" I am going to do my own version of this list for this blog. Hopefully I will complete it soon.

Here is a very rare computer that I would buy if I had a spare $11,000. Its an original Apple Lisa (with Twiggy drives). Definitely a prize for any collection, and as the description states there are only 50 still around. Normally if someone was asking $11,000 for a computer, I would say its way over priced. With the exception for a very few, and this is the exception. What makes it valuable and rare is that it has the 5.25" drives (known as Twiggy). This system is an excellent example of Apple Computer's Second Rarest Computer, next to the original Apple-1 (1976). Less than 50 are known to exist in the world today. The Lisa was a landmark in computing history, being the first personal computer available with a mouse & GUI (Graphical User Interface). The release of this machine and the Lisa Office System to the public pre-dates Microsoft Windows 1.0 by almost 3 years! The Apple Lisa was the programming platform for the Macintosh. Apple offered Basic Plus, Pascal, and C...