legalize
Experienced Member
I'm glad folks are finding things in there worth rescuing.
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FYI: Computer Reset liquidation (Dallas, TX)
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SomeGuy
Veteran Member
What kinds of software? The original walk through video did show some IBM Assistant series stuff.
I wish I could justify going down there and spelunking. If a group from here went down there (and got a u-hall or something to bring back a shared load) I'd love to go along. My car can't really hold that much, I had to have someone help just to get all my stuff to and back from the VCFSE.
I've bought a couple of items via eBay that I suspect came from there (I didn't ask). Without being there, that is the best I can do to show my support, and it beats a random grab bag.
All kinds of stuff! I tried to focus on stuff I couldn’t easily find online, on that one website.
Some of the coolest stuff I found: a copy of WordPerfect for dec rainbow, and it was still sealed. Lotus 123 on cartridge for PCJr, sealed. Wordstar Pro 3.31, sealed.
Some of the coolest stuff I found: a copy of WordPerfect for dec rainbow, and it was still sealed. Lotus 123 on cartridge for PCJr, sealed. Wordstar Pro 3.31, sealed.
legalize
Experienced Member
I know some of those VisiCalc versions had special ROMs you plugged into the computer as some sort of license key check thingy. Sealed copies will have this!
SomeGuy
Veteran Member
That was the Commodore PET version. Although who know, they could have one buried in there. I'd be surprised if they didn't have copies of Lotus 1-2-3 for IBM PCJr, which required a cartridge. Also, there were ports of Lotus 1-2-3 for many oddball machines such as the Texas Instruments Professional Computer. They might even have some of those there.
A lot of that DEC Rainbow stuff has not been publicly archived, and some of it is copy protected, which requires dumps with a Kryoflux.
A lot of times it is the lesser known titles that are really important or interesting.
They did. Stacks of them. I grabbed one.
In my best Monty Python impersonation, "He's already got one you see."
Freestyle
Member
Hey jafir, did you happen to buy that MS Office? I've been searching for that version for about 5 years ...
SomeGuy
Veteran Member
It just occurred to me, I wonder if there are any CGA light pens hidden in there anywhere?
Hi, I am the "Keyboard guy" everyone's been talking about. I haven't messed with those TI boards, they are actually going to dkarguth because I met him at tanners after and we talked for a bit about the warehouse and had a nice conversation, he mentioned he wanted the TI board and I said I wouldn't want to part with it for cheap. Didn't know I was a "jerk" until after my third trip. Because I was banned after I went the third time and to this day have had no further communication from the organizer.
He messaged me on Deskthority after and I offered to desolder the rare brown alps switches and solder back in less rarer ones. He didn't want to do that and since he has a TIPC I decided to part with the parts board for next to nothing compared to what I'd get from selling the rare switches. Which is cool, since I got a lot from the trip and didn't want to deprive other people from using their systems.
The rare switches I sent off went in fact desoldered, but I still have the complete assembly and internals from the Tandem board. They were not thrown away so if someone needed it I could just solder in some new switches to make it usable.
I do not only buy the boards to sell or scrap, barely any of my boards are just desoldered for the switches, only one so far has been desoldered and that's because it had rare switches someone wanted to use for their custom(modern) keyboard.
I enjoyed going to Computer Reset for multiple reasons, not only because I could get ahold of some stuff that would be a PITA to acquire online, but I was meeting all kinds of new people and stepping into a place full of history. I talked to dkarguth several times and learned about retro systems and he explained more to me on discord after we messaged on Deskthority. I always thought retro systems were cool, but didn't know enough about them to get into the hobby. Talking to all the people at Computer Reset definitely gave me some interest in setting up a IBM system for myself, since I would have the resources to actually get it to work and people to talk to that would help me find cool things to do with it. It also made me get back into mechanical keyboards as a hobby more and start completing projects I put off before. I like to convert the vintage keyboards to USB, and restore them to working condition when they are broken and/or filthy.
I also have quite a few people on that forum(Deskthority) asking me to look for certain things for them and especially manuals and whatnot so they can make their keyboard goals come to life and make their systems work. I remember awhile ago I grabbed an IBM model M13 trackpoint keyboard floppy drive before Computer Reset I sent the files to someone who really needed it. I now have to tell all these people who were hoping I could find them boards and documentation that it isn't going to happen because I have been banned.
I have also started learning programming with my brother this July, and have an even greater interest in Computer Reset due to the fact that I can appreciate more of it since I am learning about logic gates and computer architecture. There is a plethora of other projects I want to do that could make use of stuff found in Computer Reset. My brothers house is very close to CR so it's starting to become impossible to ignore the warehouse and its a constant reminder that I got banned and is a very unpleasant feeling that sticks with you throughout the day.
I also offered to help the organizer with moving and sorting things in the warehouse, I sent him some ideas I had and some suggestions but was surprised to find myself banned before I could get a response. On one of my trips to Computer Reset, my father came with me and we enjoyed our time there, and he is now banned from going as well(even though he had NOTHING to do with my mess) which I feel is incredibly unfair. I did in fact leave a mess. I was high on the pallets looking for neat stuff under the piles and I moved some of what was up top to the floor. In my mind I was helping people get to stuff that was up high. That way they wouldn't have to climb like I did to get to it. Not a single person told me that I was making a mess when I was there. Not one. So it was surprising to find out after that I was this menace that ruined the warehouse for everyone. This is the main thing that bothers me about the whole experience, I thought I was helping people out moving things as I went up on shelves to grab stuff for people but all at once I learn I was making a mess, being rude, and other things that don't make sense after I get banned with no chance to defend myself. I didn't get a warning, an outright ban out of nowhere.
So now I'm just frustrated, because I not only have to realize stuff I wanted isn't going to happen but the people that were counting on me online won't get the things they were after either. The organizer hasn't responded to any of my attempts to contact him, and I doubt I'll ever get back in. I want to make things right and I don't think I'll get the chance.
He messaged me on Deskthority after and I offered to desolder the rare brown alps switches and solder back in less rarer ones. He didn't want to do that and since he has a TIPC I decided to part with the parts board for next to nothing compared to what I'd get from selling the rare switches. Which is cool, since I got a lot from the trip and didn't want to deprive other people from using their systems.
The rare switches I sent off went in fact desoldered, but I still have the complete assembly and internals from the Tandem board. They were not thrown away so if someone needed it I could just solder in some new switches to make it usable.
I do not only buy the boards to sell or scrap, barely any of my boards are just desoldered for the switches, only one so far has been desoldered and that's because it had rare switches someone wanted to use for their custom(modern) keyboard.
I enjoyed going to Computer Reset for multiple reasons, not only because I could get ahold of some stuff that would be a PITA to acquire online, but I was meeting all kinds of new people and stepping into a place full of history. I talked to dkarguth several times and learned about retro systems and he explained more to me on discord after we messaged on Deskthority. I always thought retro systems were cool, but didn't know enough about them to get into the hobby. Talking to all the people at Computer Reset definitely gave me some interest in setting up a IBM system for myself, since I would have the resources to actually get it to work and people to talk to that would help me find cool things to do with it. It also made me get back into mechanical keyboards as a hobby more and start completing projects I put off before. I like to convert the vintage keyboards to USB, and restore them to working condition when they are broken and/or filthy.
I also have quite a few people on that forum(Deskthority) asking me to look for certain things for them and especially manuals and whatnot so they can make their keyboard goals come to life and make their systems work. I remember awhile ago I grabbed an IBM model M13 trackpoint keyboard floppy drive before Computer Reset I sent the files to someone who really needed it. I now have to tell all these people who were hoping I could find them boards and documentation that it isn't going to happen because I have been banned.
I have also started learning programming with my brother this July, and have an even greater interest in Computer Reset due to the fact that I can appreciate more of it since I am learning about logic gates and computer architecture. There is a plethora of other projects I want to do that could make use of stuff found in Computer Reset. My brothers house is very close to CR so it's starting to become impossible to ignore the warehouse and its a constant reminder that I got banned and is a very unpleasant feeling that sticks with you throughout the day.
I also offered to help the organizer with moving and sorting things in the warehouse, I sent him some ideas I had and some suggestions but was surprised to find myself banned before I could get a response. On one of my trips to Computer Reset, my father came with me and we enjoyed our time there, and he is now banned from going as well(even though he had NOTHING to do with my mess) which I feel is incredibly unfair. I did in fact leave a mess. I was high on the pallets looking for neat stuff under the piles and I moved some of what was up top to the floor. In my mind I was helping people get to stuff that was up high. That way they wouldn't have to climb like I did to get to it. Not a single person told me that I was making a mess when I was there. Not one. So it was surprising to find out after that I was this menace that ruined the warehouse for everyone. This is the main thing that bothers me about the whole experience, I thought I was helping people out moving things as I went up on shelves to grab stuff for people but all at once I learn I was making a mess, being rude, and other things that don't make sense after I get banned with no chance to defend myself. I didn't get a warning, an outright ban out of nowhere.
So now I'm just frustrated, because I not only have to realize stuff I wanted isn't going to happen but the people that were counting on me online won't get the things they were after either. The organizer hasn't responded to any of my attempts to contact him, and I doubt I'll ever get back in. I want to make things right and I don't think I'll get the chance.
Caleb Hansberry
Veteran Member
While I can have empathy for your person situation, I can't have any empathy for your mission to help members of Deskthority.
Considering how keyboards/switches go for much more on the internet than the rest of the systems, what can you say about the idea of just grabbing the most valuable things for primarily mercenary reasons? It's hard to see you as a philanthropist if you're making money hand over fist from your transactions while not helping anyone from the vintage computer group get keyboards to go with the systems they're finding.
I wasn't there and what I say must be taken as things that are possibilities for the sake of discussion.
Considering how keyboards/switches go for much more on the internet than the rest of the systems, what can you say about the idea of just grabbing the most valuable things for primarily mercenary reasons? It's hard to see you as a philanthropist if you're making money hand over fist from your transactions while not helping anyone from the vintage computer group get keyboards to go with the systems they're finding.
I wasn't there and what I say must be taken as things that are possibilities for the sake of discussion.
Stone
10k Member
If someone is making lots of money and everything he's doing is legal the only comment I would make is... bravo!
Caleb Hansberry
Veteran Member
I absolutely get that, and I wouldn't mind making some money myself, but there are other humans involved here... not just the law. This is a private collection and privately owned warehouse and everyone there are all guests at this point, so there has to be some aspect of working together. What exactly that looks like I don't know, but you can't solely think of yourself and expect it to not affect other people. Again, I'm not saying that's what redhaus did, I'm saying if that happened, then...
Shadow Lord
Veteran Member
True, and if you piss off someone else with power then you get banned and you get to whine. :D
I agree completely he didn't do anything illegal but there are many ways to make money. If your way involves being an a$$ to everyone else then expect mother karma to bitch slap your ass at some point.
Chuck(G)
25k Member
I guess that the thing that annoys me about the keyboard hackers is the lack of any desire to learn about the system they're cannibalizing for keyboards. I suspect that not one in fifty could tell you about the internal workings of a 6580 Displaywriter, for example. Tandem Computers probably doesn't mean a thing to them.
Still, possession is nine-tenths of the law. If you own the Mona Lisa and you want to use it as a dog bed, there's nothing preventing you from doing so.
Still, possession is nine-tenths of the law. If you own the Mona Lisa and you want to use it as a dog bed, there's nothing preventing you from doing so.
If this was going on a decade or two ago nobody would have cared then. Back then of course you could still buy those key swicthes new.
There will always be a fight between hobbyists and people looking to make a profit from the hobby. The people who cry over terminals with no keyboards probably didn't care when 386/486/early Pentium and Pentium Pros were melted down in the gold rush a few years back or all the older ISA/VLB/EISA/Nubus boards that got recycled.
Most of us don't care about the P4 systems going straight to recycling now but some 15 year old now will care in 20 years.
Most of what I collected 15+ years ago was junk at the time, now people are willing to pay some money for it. Just like the old computers and keyboards were junk when that guy in Texas started hoarding them and now being fought over and worth some money. If it wasn't for the hoarders none of that stuff would still exist in any quantity. What we have now are fights over who will pay the most for something, a guy who needs an intact keyboard for a system he collected or the guy who can pay more for that keyboard to part it out. Sooner or later we will reach an equilibrium where collectors will pay around the same amount or more for something that a guy would make tearing it apart so it will stay intact. I think quite a bit of the stuff scavenged from that Texas warehouse is heading to ebay anyway.
There will always be a fight between hobbyists and people looking to make a profit from the hobby. The people who cry over terminals with no keyboards probably didn't care when 386/486/early Pentium and Pentium Pros were melted down in the gold rush a few years back or all the older ISA/VLB/EISA/Nubus boards that got recycled.
Most of us don't care about the P4 systems going straight to recycling now but some 15 year old now will care in 20 years.
Most of what I collected 15+ years ago was junk at the time, now people are willing to pay some money for it. Just like the old computers and keyboards were junk when that guy in Texas started hoarding them and now being fought over and worth some money. If it wasn't for the hoarders none of that stuff would still exist in any quantity. What we have now are fights over who will pay the most for something, a guy who needs an intact keyboard for a system he collected or the guy who can pay more for that keyboard to part it out. Sooner or later we will reach an equilibrium where collectors will pay around the same amount or more for something that a guy would make tearing it apart so it will stay intact. I think quite a bit of the stuff scavenged from that Texas warehouse is heading to ebay anyway.
Caleb Hansberry
Veteran Member
Yes, for all that reason it's good to have a moderate opinion and try to keep perspective. For example, Macintosh Pluses are not as rare as an IBM 5110.
Keyboards are unique. They are not like the main units in that they can be modified to work with modern systems. Most people don't modify old computers to work with their modern keyboards.
The issue at hand isnt this age old keyboard struggle; it can somewhat balance itself out. The issue at hand is what happened to this guy. If it were a warehouse of keyboards I would be less bothered, but I think there might be some expectation on our part that where there are a lot of desktops and keyboards gathered together, we'd want keyboards to go along with them.
But how is one going to quantify taking "too many keyboards"?
Keyboards are unique. They are not like the main units in that they can be modified to work with modern systems. Most people don't modify old computers to work with their modern keyboards.
The issue at hand isnt this age old keyboard struggle; it can somewhat balance itself out. The issue at hand is what happened to this guy. If it were a warehouse of keyboards I would be less bothered, but I think there might be some expectation on our part that where there are a lot of desktops and keyboards gathered together, we'd want keyboards to go along with them.
But how is one going to quantify taking "too many keyboards"?
In the end it is really up to the person who owns it to determine how it goes. If it is their property, they can do it anyway they see fit.
Like others, I would not like to see someone go in and take part of something that makes what is left unusable or much less than it is otherwise. When things are old/unavailable and people want to collect them, it is really in bad taste to go in and pick them in such a way as to ruin that.
Like others, I would not like to see someone go in and take part of something that makes what is left unusable or much less than it is otherwise. When things are old/unavailable and people want to collect them, it is really in bad taste to go in and pick them in such a way as to ruin that.
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