I occasionally get calls from people doing estate sales and old house cleanouts. Most are thrown away...

I doubt any of them will be working still so maybe a museum or the rubbish dump.

Muz wrote:

Who inherits your computers? Or are they just gonna be thrown into dustbin?

You know what Muz, whoever you are and sometimes I think you are just a chat bot or someone just trolling in these forums, BUT whether you are fake or real this is actually an excellent subject I have discussed with many preservationists and collectors alike.

After all this work that we do to save this stuff what happens to it when we die? Considering we usually pick this stuff up cheap at garage sales, thrift stores, recycle centers, etc. from family members dumping their deceased loved one's belongings not knowing what the value of any of their objects are shouldn't we at least have a living will or at minimal leave a detailed document informing our loved ones what this stuff is worth and where it should go to make sure it gets into the proper hands?

Man, I sound like a life insurance commercial, but it's absolutely true. After all this effort we put into saving these historical specimens they could easily just end up full circle at the places where we found them in the first place.

Alright Muz, you finally sucked me into one of your black hole comments. Now it's time for me to escape your event horizon.

It's going to be like that scene at the end of Citizen Kane, but with PCs being tossed in a trash compactor instead of a furnace.

I'd probably just wipe the hard drives of my computers clean and sell them to people for free. But I'll be around up until the 2090's, so my PCs would be gotten rid of decades before my death 🤣

I buy every now and then stuff from people who ‘passed away’ (aka died). You can find the best deals in such occassions, because the relatives just want to get rid of all the stuff a.s.a.p. They usually look for people like me who are not that picky and take it all.

I don’t know what would happen with all my containers full of stuff if I would suddenly die. Haha, I hope my relatives would sell the stuff to the highest bidder and do something nice with the proceeds (like vacation). Maybe they can keep something as a reminder of who I was, but other than that; feel free to sell.

JonathonWyble wrote:

I'd probably just wipe the hard drives of my computers clean and sell them to people for free. But I'll be around up until the 2090's, so my PCs would be gotten rid of decades before my death 🤣

After you die?

JonathonWyble wrote:

I'd probably just wipe the hard drives of my computers clean and sell them to people for free. But I'll be around up until the 2090's, so my PCs would be gotten rid of decades before my death 🤣

2090 eh? That's very optimistic. Are you 5 years old now?

Dominus wrote:

JonathonWyble wrote:

I'd probably just wipe the hard drives of my computers clean and sell them to people for free. But I'll be around up until the 2090's, so my PCs would be gotten rid of decades before my death 🤣

After you die?

No, I would clear the storage out of the computers before I die of old age, or illness depending on my "currently undetermined" cause of death.

r.cade wrote:

JonathonWyble wrote:

I'd probably just wipe the hard drives of my computers clean and sell them to people for free. But I'll be around up until the 2090's, so my PCs would be gotten rid of decades before my death 🤣

2090 eh? That's very optimistic. Are you 5 years old now?

Nah, I'm 16 (almost 17), which makes me feel like the youngest member here. It's probably unusual for a teenager like me to have an interest in vintage computers 😜

JonathonWyble wrote:

No, I would clear the storage out of the computers before I die of old age, or illness depending on my "currently undetermined" […]
Show full quote

Dominus wrote:

JonathonWyble wrote:

I'd probably just wipe the hard drives of my computers clean and sell them to people for free. But I'll be around up until the 2090's, so my PCs would be gotten rid of decades before my death 🤣

After you die?

No, I would clear the storage out of the computers before I die of old age, or illness depending on my "currently undetermined" cause of death.

r.cade wrote:

JonathonWyble wrote:

I'd probably just wipe the hard drives of my computers clean and sell them to people for free. But I'll be around up until the 2090's, so my PCs would be gotten rid of decades before my death 🤣

2090 eh? That's very optimistic. Are you 5 years old now?

Nah, I'm 16 (almost 17), which makes me feel like the youngest member here. It's probably unusual for a teenager like me to have an interest in vintage computers 😜

No, actually, there are many young vintage hardware enthusiasts here at Vogons. You guys are actually the ones who will inherit this hobby and the preservation of this hardware in the future and I am personally glad young people are taking an interest in it. I think hardware is going to become more and more boring as time marches on as everything eventually goes to cloud and all anyone has is a glued together dumb terminal so to speak. Funny how history repeats itself. I started in computers when I touched the first IBM PC back in 1982 at a friend's house and finally got a Commodore 64 in 1983 (I was 13). The 1980s were really a magical time for personal computing because of so many competing platforms and a wild west computing environment. So, I think, if I was young today, I would probably have an interest in the older computing platforms as well, just because it was so much more interesting with the variety that was out there back in those days and how mechanical everything was. The noises, the lights and the rapidly changing technology of the time. It was all very exciting and according to Disney we would eventually be sucked into our computers and fight virtual wars with little glowing people that lived inside our circuit boards called Tron.

In my will, I have bequeathed all of my computers to whoever is the current junior senator from New Jersey.

All your PCs are belong to us

No illusions here... It will all go straight to the dump! 😲

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07So_lJQyqw

Clearly the only acceptable answer is to be buried with them like a computer pharaoh if only to confuse future archeologists.

liqmat wrote:

No, actually, there are many young vintage hardware enthusiasts here at Vogons. You guys are actually the ones who will inherit this hobby and the preservation of this hardware in the future and I am personally glad young people are taking an interest in it. I think hardware is going to become more and more boring as time marches on as everything eventually goes to cloud and all anyone has is a glued together dumb terminal so to speak. Funny how history repeats itself. I started in computers when I touched the first IBM PC back in 1982 at a friend's house and finally got a Commodore 64 in 1983 (I was 13). The 1980s were really a magical time for personal computing because of so many competing platforms and a wild west computing environment. So, I think, if I was young today, I would probably have an interest in the older computing platforms as well, just because it was so much more interesting with the variety that was out there back in those days and how mechanical everything was. The noises, the lights and the rapidly changing technology of the time. It was all very exciting and according to Disney we would eventually be sucked into our computers and fight virtual wars with little glowing people that lived inside our circuit boards called Tron.

I think that the classic computer hobby will eventually end up just like the classic radio hobby: the people who actually understand the stuff become old, lose interest and eventually die. The market will become saturated with broken stuff. Young people won’t have a clue about what to do with all the old defective tech and they are simply not interested to repair. The people who grew up with the C64, IBM PC etc. are already >45 years old and lots of really old computer hardware from the 80’s is currently dying. You’re better off collecting art 😊

I’m not so sure about the cloud theory. Many people use that word to sound interesting, but they have no idea about what it would take to actually implement a cloud based IT infrastructure. Haha, in my country most neighbourhoods don’t even have fiber glass wires for internet in the ground yet (only very few places to this date). It will take at least 5 more years to implement 5G on a wide scale. Add VPN and your connection is still slow. That’s just the technical side. I don’t want to store my data on someone elses computer, period.

SpectriaForce wrote:

liqmat wrote:

No, actually, there are many young vintage hardware enthusiasts here at Vogons. You guys are actually the ones who will inherit this hobby and the preservation of this hardware in the future and I am personally glad young people are taking an interest in it. I think hardware is going to become more and more boring as time marches on as everything eventually goes to cloud and all anyone has is a glued together dumb terminal so to speak. Funny how history repeats itself. I started in computers when I touched the first IBM PC back in 1982 at a friend's house and finally got a Commodore 64 in 1983 (I was 13). The 1980s were really a magical time for personal computing because of so many competing platforms and a wild west computing environment. So, I think, if I was young today, I would probably have an interest in the older computing platforms as well, just because it was so much more interesting with the variety that was out there back in those days and how mechanical everything was. The noises, the lights and the rapidly changing technology of the time. It was all very exciting and according to Disney we would eventually be sucked into our computers and fight virtual wars with little glowing people that lived inside our circuit boards called Tron.

I think that the classic computer hobby will eventually end up just like the classic radio hobby: the people who actually understand the stuff become old, lose interest and eventually die. The market will become saturated with broken stuff. Young people won’t have a clue about what to do with all the old defective tech and they are simply not interested to repair. The people who grew up with the C64, IBM PC etc. are already >45 years old and lots of really old computer hardware from the 80’s is currently dying. You’re better off collecting art 😊

I’m not so sure about the cloud theory. Many people use that word to sound interesting, but they have no idea about what it would take to actually implement a cloud based IT infrastructure. Haha, in my country most neighbourhoods don’t even have fiber glass wires for internet in the ground yet (only very few places to this date). It will take at least 5 more years to implement 5G on a wide scale. Add VPN and your connection is still slow. That’s just the technical side. I don’t want to store my data on someone elses computer, period.

Probably a lot of what you say is true and why I try to donate to museums when the item is worth it. If I'm honest with myself I usually fire up an emulator to play a classic game and not the real hardware, BUT I will always try and save the hardware from destruction when I see it and I can afford it. A lot of the hardware can be maintained and kept in working order indefinitely with enough effort. It's why I really like the Living Computer Museum in Seattle. They have guys going in there and maintaining 70s era mainframes which still operate and that you can interact with as well as all the great 1980s personal computers. I hope that kind of stewardship continues long into the future.

Most of what people collect is pretty common and most museums have it already and don't want it.

My collection will end up in the trash except for items i get rid of before I go senile and die.

SpectriaForce wrote:

I think that the classic computer hobby will eventually end up just like the classic radio hobby: the people who actually understand the stuff become old, lose interest and eventually die. The market will become saturated with broken stuff. Young people won’t have a clue about what to do with all the old defective tech and they are simply not interested to repair. The people who grew up with the C64, IBM PC etc. are already >45 years old and lots of really old computer hardware from the 80’s is currently dying. You’re better off collecting art 😊

I hear the same is happening to the vintage Hi-Fi hobby. Millennials aren't interested in this stuff, and the old geezers who are are all dying off, so a lot of high quality audio hardware is on sale for knockdown prices. Now is a good time to start collecting this stuff.