Agent Orange
Veteran Member
I believe "vintage" is more or less used as a metaphor for something "old" these days.
- VCF South West - June 14 - 16, Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at University of Texas at Dallas
- VCF West - Aug 2 - 3, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA
- VCF Midwest - Sept 7 - 8 2024, Schaumburg, IL
- VCF SoCal - Mid February 2025, Location TBD, Southern CA
- VCF East - April 2025, Infoage Museum, Wall NJ
-
Please review our updated Terms and Rules here
Defining Eras of Vintage
- Thread starter lyonadmiral
- Start date
I believe "vintage" is more or less used as a metaphor for something "old" these days.
NeXT
Veteran Member
It's a pet peeve of mine to the point I try explicitly NOT to use the word "vintage". The term "old" works just as well and sounds a lot better unless we up the class on "Vintage" computer shows with a table serving fine wines and cheese while we wear formal attire and discuss the microcode options of an IBM 5100 that is on display.
Agent Orange
Veteran Member
I'm down for the wine and cheese. :crazy:
snuci
Veteran Member
I like this particular definition as an adjective from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/vintage
In my opinion, I think the distinction is the "enduring appeal". A computer could be 50 years old but if it has no appeal, it is just old. If it appeals to people who might desire it for collectability sake because it is an excellent example of the era, it is considered vintage and people seek them out. So old + desirable = vintage. In this case, "classic" and "vintage" could be interchangeable. I tend to think of "vintage" as a little more celebratory than "classic", probably because of the wine linage of the term
In my opinion, I think the distinction is the "enduring appeal". A computer could be 50 years old but if it has no appeal, it is just old. If it appeals to people who might desire it for collectability sake because it is an excellent example of the era, it is considered vintage and people seek them out. So old + desirable = vintage. In this case, "classic" and "vintage" could be interchangeable. I tend to think of "vintage" as a little more celebratory than "classic", probably because of the wine linage of the term
Scali
Veteran Member
I think 'vintage' has a positive connotation as well. If something is 'vintage', it is not just 'old', but also has some specific kind of intrinsic value/quality.
Like people talk about 'vintage' clothing these days, as if it's something more fancy than just 'second-hand'.
lowen
Veteran Member
One man's junk is another man's junque^H^H^H^H^H^Htreasure.
While I typically think of 'vintage' in terms of computers that are at least 20 years old, there will come a time where it becomes very difficult to draw that line, since the last ten years have really seen precious little real advances. My ten-year-old Core2Duo can do pretty much anything my 3rd-gen Core i7-3740QM can do, and that particular 3rd-gen Core i7 is not that far from the fastest, latest-and-greatest, Core i7 quads (at least on mobile platforms) in terms of performance.
To use the automotive analogy, there really hasn't been a fundamental change in automotive engines, in terms of basic performance, since the 60's, and maybe even the 50's. The GM 409 big block with a tri-power setup will make just as many horses as a modern big-block V-8 of recent 'vintage' (albeit you need tetraethylead to do it for the older engine). In terms of drivability, a 64-and-a-half Mustang with a 289 can cruise with the best of them. My 2000 Mustang is plenty enough car for what I need; I don't need a Bugatti Veyron to drive the speed I drive.
Now, as you go back decades before the 50's you can see significant leaps in performance, starting with something like say an REO Speed Wagon of 1917 with a 4 cylinder 10-horsepower engine (REO=Ransom Eli Olds, where REO was Olds' second automobile company; the Speed Wagon is considered by many to be the ancestor of all modern pickup trucks), but by 1929 it had a six-cylinder making 67 horsepower. The early days of the automobile have great resemblance to the early days of computing. EDIT: After writing the line about a six-cylinder making 67hp, I realized that that was still a typical entry-level pickup truck engine all the way to 1990; the Chevrolet 'otto' inline six's basic design was set from 1929 all the way through 1990, with the pinnacle of its performance being the 292, which can be run with a cylinder head made with two bowtie SBC V-8 heads (chop one cylinder from each and weld together to get six) and blown to make upwards of 800 horsepower. Not a dragstrip hemi whose supercharger alone draws 800hp at full boost, but still respectable for what is essentially a 1929 design!
Last edited:
Chuck(G)
25k Member
As one gets older, it gets a bit disconcerting to discover that items that one purchased new are being referred to as "antique".
FWIW, there *is* a classic computer email list (cclist and cctalk) that seems to concern itself less with personal computers than with old DEC minis. To the best of my knowledge, the moderation has never dunned a poster for not posting "classic" computer material. It could be because the medium for the list itself is considered by the younger folks as "antique"; that is "email".
FWIW, there *is* a classic computer email list (cclist and cctalk) that seems to concern itself less with personal computers than with old DEC minis. To the best of my knowledge, the moderation has never dunned a poster for not posting "classic" computer material. It could be because the medium for the list itself is considered by the younger folks as "antique"; that is "email".
ClassicHasClass
Veteran Member
Depends on when they think the good old days were!
sciencegirl100
Experienced Member
Vintage in the terms of items usually put up for auction (such as furniture, vehicles, and appliances) is defined as older than 30 years of age.
However, vintage computers, in general, would include historic or odd machines over 10 years old. 10 years, as it is double the usual computer warranty of 5 years.
Historic (and odd) referring to a system that was innovative (brought a new technology to the world) or unique (unusual compared to other systems of its era / day).
So, the laptop I am using to post this (2008 MacBook) is a little over a year away from being "vintage".
Chuck(G)
25k Member
Ah, my point is missing its target, I see.
This isn't my forum, so clearly I have nothing to say about its organization.
But if I were concerned with "vintage", my main categories would not be "Commodore" "Apple", etc. but rather "Vitnage 1970-75", "Vintage 1975-80" with appropriate sub-categories by manufacturer. So if you have a system that doesn't fit one of the "Vintage xxxx-xx" categories, it isn't vintage.
But again, this isn't my forum and clearly others view things differently.
This isn't my forum, so clearly I have nothing to say about its organization.
But if I were concerned with "vintage", my main categories would not be "Commodore" "Apple", etc. but rather "Vitnage 1970-75", "Vintage 1975-80" with appropriate sub-categories by manufacturer. So if you have a system that doesn't fit one of the "Vintage xxxx-xx" categories, it isn't vintage.
But again, this isn't my forum and clearly others view things differently.
Scali
Veteran Member
I would think that this forum's idea of 'vintage' is far older than 10-20 years.
Pentium Classic is just about tolerated, but the main focus is on 70s and 80s hardware I guess.
Pentium Classic is just about tolerated, but the main focus is on 70s and 80s hardware I guess.
+1
And I'm perfectly okay with that. Hardware changes very little between socket 5 and now. Standards were (mostly) finalized and honestly life has been better because of it. Granted, Apple and Amiga do their own thing, but there are circle-jerk forums just for those people.