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What kind of collector are you?

Own apartment + decent job + shady vintage computing friends = you end up buying lots more than you ever had thought. As late as this morning, I burned another $55 on a few games.
 
"finisher" (because I'm stupid (never use ALL the functionality but you know it's not all there if it's not all there) and "repairer/mod'er" love to tinker with the soldering iron and scope. It is the best thing to see something come back to life and really sad when you just cant get it going.
I'm happy to discard stuff to make way for a different one.
 
I like to repair things. I like the hunt.
What I also do is I like to try to understand software
and save the software if I can.
I've been trying to recover material from disk that
used obsolete recording methods. I've resently
read a number of disk with double density hard
sectored.
It took me months to figure out the format and
create the firmware to read it. It also took modification
of hardware that wasn't designed to handle it.
Dwight
 
None of those seem to quite apply to me.

Personal use comes close, but I mainly collect the computers I used back in my "early days". Computers I used and loved, and now miss. Part of why I collect them is nostalgia. So I guess I am a nostalgic personal user :-D
 
I think as well as the embarassing quality I'm probably closer to a hoarder, however I'm really a historian type. I really am wanting to have a museum and have them all up and working for current generation and future generation to be able to remenis.

I also have a few hundred (thousand?) books which is becoming a problem. I'll probably have to filter through some and worry about it later since I'm getting into the piling on floor stage in the library. I have a lot of programming language books, and picked up some intro to computer books from different ages that are entertaining to read when they're older but maybe I'll put up some of the newer ones for auction or something.

- John
 
Definitely nostalgian, and completely by chance:

Several years ago I happened upon a TRS-80 Model 100 sitting in a display case in a building at Hollins University. I remembered wanting one badly when I was a kid, and wondered then and there if I could find one in eBay. I went home and, sure enough, picked one up for about $20. However, in researching the unit before I bought it, I learned about the NC-100, NC-200, WP2, et al. There was a whole dimension to laptop microcomputers that I never knew about. Because of that chance occurrence, I'm now a collector.

I'm definitely interested in the hardware, but I'm a programmer so I find these machines quite pathetic to use (lost my taste for BASIC long ago). Mostly I'm nostalgic for the *era* when there was actually some true diversity in the population of computers: Sinclair, OSI, Apple, Atari, Tandy, Commodore. New machines were innovative, not just faster or in a different color. And people had respect for these computers because they were expensive and difficult to use (user == programmer). Many of us learned, though, that with some perseverance you could pick up a manual and learn everything there is to know about the machine. That was truly rewarding.
 
I think I downloaded over a dozen games from Abandonia. The thought comes to mind just now to use my Null Modem cable and transfer them to my Packard Bell 486 SX but I resist. :D
 
I would call myself a Finishers & Historian!



tezza said:
What kind of collector are you?

I’ve just read an interesting article in “Vintage Technology” issue 3 (www.vintagetechnology.co.uk) about the different types of vintage technology collectors. I’ve condensed the descriptions for brevity’s sake and made them specific to computers. Individuals will overlap but see if you can recognise youself? They list these types…

  • Investor – Mint condition. Collect computers purely in the hope they will appreciate and they can sell at a later date. Must be in mint condition preferably with original box. Even better if it is unopened!
  • Finishers – Complete collection. These folk will seek to collect every item of a certain type. E.g. All Amiga models, all TRS-80 model 1 peripherals etc. They want to get everything item of whatever they have decided to collect.
  • Speculator. Buy what seems to be of value cheaply, then sells it again hoping to make a quick buck. These people can follow fads and can cause price spikes.
  • Repairer – These are rare but vauable folk. Collects broken machines to fix and resurrect. Main enjoyment is seeing something dead spring to life. May then resell.
  • Personal Use – These people have vintage computers because they perform a useful function. Why change?
  • Caretaker. – Just ended up with it and feel they shouldn’t throw it away. No real emotional attachment
  • Historian – Someone who feels these items have historical value and future generations should know about them
  • Part time collector – Just pick up something because it seems interesting. Don’t really understand the true value of it.
  • Hoarders. – Collect anything and everything and just can’t throw any of it away. Have a strong attachment to the past
For myself, I’m mainly Historian, with perhaps a hint of Hoarder. :)

How about you?

Tez
Click to expand...
 
What kind of a collector are you?

What kind of a collector are you?

Something I found on tezza's forums that he found in a magazine.

What kind of a collector are you?
by tezza on Sun Aug 17, 2008 10:20 pm
Do you collect old computers? What kind of collector are you?

I’ve just read an interesting article in “Vintage Technology” issue 3 (www.vintagetechnology.co.uk) about the different types of vintage technology collectors. I’ve condensed the descriptions for brevity’s sake and made them specific to computers. Individuals will overlap but see if you can recognise youself? They list these types…

  • Investor – Mint condition. Collect computers purely in the hope they will appreciate and they can sell at a later date. Must be in mint condition preferably with original box. Even better if it is unopened!

    Finishers – Complete collection. These folk will seek to collect every item of a certain type. E.g. All Amiga models, all TRS-80 model 1 peripherals etc. They want to get everything item of whatever they have decided to collect.

    Speculator. Buy what seems to be of value cheaply, then sells it again hoping to make a quick buck. These people can follow fads and can cause price spikes.

    Repairer – These are rare but vauable folk. Collects broken machines to fix and resurrect. Main enjoyment is seeing something dead spring to life. May then resell.

    Personal Use – These people have vintage computers because they perform a useful function. Why change?

    Caretaker. – Just ended up with it and feel they shouldn’t throw it away. No real emotional attachment

    Historian – Someone who feels these items have historical value and future generations should know about them

    Part time collector – Just pick up something because it seems interesting. Don’t really understand the true value of it.

    Hoarders. – Collect anything and everything and just can’t throw any of it away. Have a strong attachment to the past
If tezza wants to say what he is, i'll let him say what he is.

How about you?
Tez (Terry Stewart)
Administrator

tezza
Site Admin
Click to expand...


Myself, i don't have a collection, but if i was this is what I think i would be:

Caretaker, Historian, Hoarder
 
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