Much to my wife’s frustration, I have a habit of holding on to old tech.
So what’s in my basement?
Computers
A 1987 Mac II (16-bit 68020 chip!) with a 40MB drive and 5MB RAM (yes, I bought an extra 4MB). It also has a 8-bit card (color!) for the 8-bit Mac Monitor I have as well. Alas, the Laser Printer disappeared. I think my wife “quietly” discarded it (that mo’fo’ was heavy!).
An old Syquest drive – for huge 45MB disks. SCSI, too. [I think I have a Zip drive down there as well.]
I have two 1997 MacBook 3200c laptops. Color, 2GB drive, and a trackpad that is better than anything Toshiba or Lenovo have created since. I think I still have the Zip expansion cartridge for one of them.
I have a 1999 Blueberry iMac. It was our first DVD player and we watched movies on the 13″ screen for years.
Somehow I ended up with a Tangerine iBook, the one with the handle and scallop shape. What was Apple smoking?
The last of the inactive computers is a busted up MacBook G5.
Counting as a living fossil, my daughter uses my old 2007 MacBook, Black, 13″, every day. Yes, she’ll get a new one – in about 18 months, when she’s almost done with high school.
Electronics
Last time I organized things, I also found a bunch of different generation of digital cameras, starting with the QuickTake from 1997, through various megapixels – 1.x, 2.x, 3.x. I also have a camcorder from 1995 – yes, tape!
Landfill?
I’d been thinking of what to do with all of this. It’s be a shame to landfill them like Atari did (read this great story for the reference).
But at the same time I do not think any of it has any significance or that there are collectors looking for such forgotten tech.
What do you do with all your old tech? Do you hold on to it? Bin it? Find a needy historical museum?
Image from article on Atari dump archeology
PS I also have a ’86 Benz that is ready for the scrap heap. As you can tell, “what to do with old stuff” is on my mind!
