I would like to give my things to a younger person who has an active interest in the history, architecture, and programming of the systems I have. I've already told some family to post my stuff here should I drop dead unplanned :p. I don't have the valuable goodies like a pile of Voodoo cards but my ideal candidate doesn't care!

I think there will always be young guys or gals who appreciate what was treasure to us 25 (or way more now) years ago. My nephew always likes playing on my 486, but I'm afraid now that he's older and realizes it won't run fortnite he may call it junk :p

Good topic muz you advanced google AI you

VOGONS deadpool! Last man standing gets everybody's stuff.

I've already told some family to post my stuff here should I drop dead unplanned :p.

That can be arranged 😈

I’m guessing 1-800-GOT-JUNK will get most of my stuff. I don’t have many family or friends that share my interest in computer hardware.

BinaryDemon wrote:

I’m guessing 1-800-GOT-JUNK will get most of my stuff. I don’t have many family or friends that share my interest in computer hardware.

Your friends are right here!

I'm thinking some kind of Viking funeral 🤣

(artists impression)

Seriously, my will liquidates my entire estate and divides it between my few remaining immediate relatives and a chosen charity, and as my primary executor is my brother (who knows precisely nothing about computers), then that should go well 😲

Just like all appliances, food, houses, clothes, streets, roads, sidewalks, etc.
They have a shelf life, warranty, reliable usage span, and time line.
They are susceptible to the environment, earth quakes, floods, storms, snow, sun, weather, heat , dust, dirt, moisture, and cold and age.

Elements are susceptible to “Rate of Decay”.

Electronics usually have a warranty of 3-5 years. ( Capacitors, batteries, SSD’s, internet access, fans, mechanical failures, etc. ).

So basically, old computers without constant maintenance will not last more then a year with out some kind of failure ( Power supplies, capacitors, electronic components, batteries, fans, dust and dirt, heat, moisture, and mechanical failures ).

You might have longer life span with an “iPad” but even then the battery will fail after about 3 years.

I think dust, heat, and moisture and the life of electronic components is the biggest cause of computer failure.

Old computers are like old cars and old houses . They can break anytime. And are unreliable.
If you want reliability then buy a NEW house, car or a NEW computer.

If you want to save your data , you are better off writing on a stone tablet.

Intel486dx33 wrote:

So basically, old computers without constant maintenance will not last more then a year with out some kind of failure ( Power supplies, capacitors, electronic components, batteries, fans, dust and dirt, heat, moisture, and mechanical failures ).

What are you doing to your computers that they only last a year before failing?

Nothing. I am not doing anything to them. That is why they will not last long. These components are from the 1990’s. Old hard drives, capacitors, batteries, and electronic components. Mechanical failures.

They are already falling apart and failing. I do not plan on fixing them.
Even if i did fix them they would not last more than 3-5 years without needing a complete rebuild and refurbishing again. A hardware refresh as Apple like to call it. But even more than that.
These electronic boards will need complete rebuilds and resoldering.
The solder joints don’t last forever are are susceptible to heat which often causes the solder joints to break and fail. Motherboards are only good for about 3 years. I think that is what computer manufactures recommend as a replacement time line for computers and computer leases.

I have noticed that ISA cards do last longer than PCI cards. Better design and engineering I think for durability and heat disapation of components.

If you want to save your data you are better off with google drive, Apple iCloud or drop box.
A USB flash drive or USB SSD.
A 120gb USB flash drive or SSD can endure for over 100 years with out failure with as little as 5gb. writes per day.
They usually have a warranty of 3-5 years to 4tb writes but can endure even longer. Up to Twice that.

I have had very few vintage computer components fail in 10+ years of working with this stuff. In fact, I can't remember the last time something outright failed on me.

Some of my components were in continuous service for more than a decade before I got to them.

Even many of my old hard drives still work after being reformatted and rewritten countless times over many years.

I really don't buy your "1 year is the average lifespan" theory.

It’s not 1-year. In total these 486’s are from 1993. So it’s 26 years plus 1 = 27 years.
By far passing the warranty and life-span of the computer.
They are unreliable in electronic components and mechanical failures and can fail at anytime.
It’s like having a car that is 27 years old with out maintaining. It can break any time.
Or a house that is 27 years old without maintaining, The roof only has a 10 year warranty.
Electric switches and plumbing can fail. Paint only has a 5 year warranty.
Water and heat damages from elements.

These are just antiques for playing old computer games and to study.

Intel486dx33 wrote:

These are just antiques for playing old computer games and to study.

Them's fightin' words where I'm from, mister!

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.

Well, that's something you don't hear about a lot. I mean, I have heard of some kids my age, or even younger, be interested in the history of computers and other technology. I'm not a total craze with retro computers, of course I like the newest and hottest tech, but sometimes I like to try out older tech.

BeginnerGuy wrote:

I would like to give my things to a younger person who has an active interest in the history, architecture, and programming of the systems I have. I've already told some family to post my stuff here should I drop dead unplanned :p. I don't have the valuable goodies like a pile of Voodoo cards but my ideal candidate doesn't care!

I think there will always be young guys or gals who appreciate what was treasure to us 25 (or way more now) years ago. My nephew always likes playing on my 486, but I'm afraid now that he's older and realizes it won't run fortnite he may call it junk :p

Good topic muz you advanced google AI you

Looks like someone needs to make a fortnite demake.

I've started to make a google spreadsheet which I'll share with my wife and brother (as he has no interest in old computers but at least knows whats what)
It lists the parts with my PC's and a short ebay disruption, and a note if something is worth selling separate like voodoo cards.
That way if I'm hit by a bus tomorrow some rare parts wont end up being thrown out and more importantly wife and kid get some cash, as some of these parts are worth more then obvious things like our tv.

But yeh, just like the toys of our parents generation the demand will die out with the people that have the nostalgic memories of the era

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote:

I'm thinking some kind of Viking funeral :lol: […]
Show full quote

I'm thinking some kind of Viking funeral 🤣

(artists impression)

vpyre.jpg

Seriously, my will liquidates my entire estate and divides it between my few remaining immediate relatives and a chosen charity, and as my primary executor is my brother (who knows precisely nothing about computers), then that should go well 😲

Just remember that you will need the company, of a female slave that have been given mjöd that was sometimes mixed with some fly agaric and perhaps some Atropa Belladonna (sources are vague) to the point of her being uncontiosnes. And then she would have been raped by 4 to 6 men from the village and her throat slit. She will need to burn with you at the pyre. Seriously. That was the ways of my ancestors some 1200 to 1400 years ago.

Good we have moved on.

On topic....
My kids will have to get the machines. If they are not interested in old computers, then I have already told them to donate to a museum or sell then on eBay for the highest bid that a buyer will give. I won't care at all, as I will be dead.

EDIT:
By the way.... You will need someone to kill your horse and dogs, and burn them with you. As you will enter eternity as a rich man. And don't forget to give instructions, to the townspeople to place your sword, your comb and all your jewelry at right next to you.

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote:

I'm thinking some kind of Viking funeral :lol: […]
Show full quote

I'm thinking some kind of Viking funeral 🤣

(artists impression)

vpyre.jpg

Seriously, my will liquidates my entire estate and divides it between my few remaining immediate relatives and a chosen charity, and as my primary executor is my brother (who knows precisely nothing about computers), then that should go well 😲

Wait a minute... where did that picture of burning old computers come from?

We need to find out who did that and bring them to justice!

cyclone3d wrote:

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote:

I'm thinking some kind of Viking funeral :lol: […]
Show full quote

I'm thinking some kind of Viking funeral 🤣

(artists impression)

vpyre.jpg

Seriously, my will liquidates my entire estate and divides it between my few remaining immediate relatives and a chosen charity, and as my primary executor is my brother (who knows precisely nothing about computers), then that should go well 😲

Wait a minute... where did that picture of burning old computers come from?

We need to find out who did that and bring them to justice!

Perhaps Ghana...
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature … rica-180957597/

After you die, who inherits your computer?

I don't know, who surely does, anyway ? 😉

My father is a member of a vintage radio club, so I often have the choice to read their magazine.
According to that, these radio collectors are worried that their beloved stuff will disappear
along with them one time. On the bright side, they hope that younger people will
keep these radio as decorative objects, at least. In addition, they also point out
that old radios don't loose functionality in case analog radio broadcasts wents away.
FM and AM modulators are widely around that turn old radios in quality amps (tube power!) and speaker boxes.
Heck, they just started to even design and document their own schematics for that purpose. 😀
Last but not least, a few museums host their own low-power AM and FM broadcast that can cover a little town.
Remember the old saying - Things don't dissappear, they just change appearance.

Personally, I have faith that some of our stuff will survive. Somewhere, somehow.
As most of you do point out, the 70s and 80s were special time, even to people just born
(just have a look at the comment section of all these 60s/70/80s YT music clips.
The most touching comments are being made by people that are below 16, even.)
So it's more than an optimistic point of view that something will last.
Also, a lot of computers are well documented. They cannot only be emulated, but be replicated "just for fun" already.
Just to name a few platforms: C64 in-a-joystick, NES (Famiclone, NOACs), SNES, Genesis, IBM PC.
At the end of the day, it's not so important what piece of our hardware is left.
It rather is important how we lived, what joy we had when we were experimenting,
the things we learned and the people we met. So long! 😀

I'd like to think I'd go insane shortly before my demise, at which point you'll see me chained to my bed by immediate family with piles of my computers around me. One of them will probably figure out a proper twitch stream, and then everyone can watch me trying to guess which machine (hint: it's every box with an overclocked 300A) is sentient, and out of those,which are actually decepticons.