The Joy of Classic Home Computers
There is a growing international community of serious collectors, archivists and historians of early home computers. The people that devote themselves to this field of study find unique rewards in their pursuits. Here are some of the reasons why...
1. ) It's Unusual.- It's very unusual. Rare and unique computers aren't something most people have seen in a museum setting yet once the awesome variety of design and diversity of technology is seen, it can be immediately appreciated by anyone.
2. ) People Care! - As unusual as preserving computers is, it has a positive impact on visitors. When a group of people walk into the museum and see the collection for the first time, invariably somebody runs up to one of the computers and says "This was my first computer!" and then starts excitedly telling stories about the things they did with it, what they learned etc. People formed emotional attachments to these computers. Some people swear that these machines had personalities.
3.) It's Educational - You learn not only about how far the computer industry has come in such a short time, but also about what 'might have been'. What if IBM had selected a Motorola processor instead of Intel? What would PC's look like today? You also learn that our modern computers in some ways aren't quite as advanced as these old machines. These old machines boot up instantly, where today's machines take more than a minute to boot in most cases. You see first hand the steps (and mis-steps) that the computer industry took to become the global force it is today. As with zoology, sometimes the most interesting evolutionary forks are the ones that didn't survive. Understanding why can help us make better design and usability choices today.
4. ) Great Variety! - For all being roughly the same kind of thing, home computers were wildly different. Different keyboards, different shapes, different sizes and different colors. In fact some the machines are so beautiful that they are really art pieces.
5.) It's Not About Money - Many kinds of museums are built primarily with money... lots of money. Most of the time however, home computer preservation is not about affording the computers - it's about finding them and then being able to identify, restore, research and document what you've found. It takes specialized skills and sometimes arcane knowledge.
6.) It's Global - Back in the heyday of home computers every continent had it's own companies making original console computers (well, ok maybe not Antarctica, but if you find a Penguin ICE-9000, we want it!) Thus, there are a great variety of machines to learn about, each influenced by their own unique culture. Because of the challenges inherent in finding and preserving such rare items from all over the planet, the community of serious researchers, archivists and preservationists is by necessity a close-knit community that collaborates and shares information. We get to work with many very smart, highly experienced and interesting people from all over the globe. We see computers with strange writing on them and bizarre video and power requirements. It's a whole new challenge reviving computers when you can't understand the output! There are even some machines with no name, no markings, no manuals, nothing. Then you get into real crypto-computology.