[vcf-midatlantic] what no minis this year?

[Herb Johnson]

On 3/10/2016 1:40 PM, Herb Johnson wrote:

>> For related reasons, I deliberately chose to bring S-100 computers,
>> because apparently they weren't represented LAST year.
>
> As I recall I had my S100 Sol-20 Helios system last year
 > representing S100 systems.  Can't get more S100 than a Sol.
>
> Cheers, Corey

My apologies. My notes from VCF-East 10 say you exhibited as
"Moore's law: 4004 through 8080". Thanks for your exhibit and the Sol 
among many early Intel-based microcomputers. I did something similar the 
year prior, for Intel and for COSMAC 1802's.

  http://www.retrotechnology.com/vcfe91/herb_vcf_apr14.html

Also at VCF-E 10, S-100 boards and systems were sold in the vendor's 
area, where I was active last year. It was hard for me to spend lots of 
time in the very busy exhibit areas.

But my point isn't changed, one S-100 as part of several systems in one 
exhibit, among 35 exhibits with likely twice that many computers overall.

--------------------

Slightly related, is a thread "ISA Sound Card is going for $1500". An 
in-the-box ISA sound card, apparently the last model of an early 
sound-card brand that went bankrupt, is being bid up. (shrug) there's 
always some class of collectors chasing rare and BNIB products. The 
relevance to this discussion is the comment by Christian Liendo:

> What I am trying to say is that the younger generation of people who
> are coming into the hobby.
>
> The ones who grew up on PCs and not Ataris, Commodores and Early Apples.
> They are going to want to be represented. They are going to want to
> show off their machines. I think it's time to welcome them.

I certainly agree that vintage computing can be considered as 
generational. Simply put, I'm of the S-100 generation, which by contrast 
is "coming out of" the hobby - from, well, you-know. I said I have many 
reasons to exhibit S-100.

And relevant to the subject of minicomputers: many minicomputer owners 
by necessity were born AFTER their minicomputers were manufactured. 
Minicomputers are interesting on their various merits, plus rarity; not 
necessarily because their current owners used them early on. But few 
people of the era (say before the mid-1970's) actually OWNED a 
minicomputer or mainframe, they were institutional purchases. A 
different world....and so it's valuable to celebrate and preserve these 
minicomputers and mainframes.

Rarity and history can make for value and interest, but volume and 
familiarity also generate interest from more people. It's like any other 
hobby or historical activity.


Herb Johnson

-- 
Herbert R. Johnson,  New Jersey USA
http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net
preservation of 1970's computing
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