Now Reading: Vintage computer collecting thrives as AI advances
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Vintage computer collecting thrives as AI advances
More than 3,500 people attended the Vintage Computer Festival in California in August, celebrating Apple's 50th anniversary. The event showcased restored machines such as the Xerox Alto, called the grandfather of the…
The Story in Brief
More than 3,500 people attended the Vintage Computer Festival in California in August, celebrating Apple's 50th anniversary. The event showcased restored machines such as the Xerox Alto, called the grandfather of the modern computer. Software engineer Josh Dersch, who owns over 200 vintage computers, drove from Seattle to exhibit his fully functional Alto. The Vintage Computer Federation, which runs the festival, says interest is growing, with similar events now held across North America, South America and Europe. Rare computers like the Apple-1 can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars on online marketplaces.
The Indian Opinion
The rise of vintage computer collecting is a refreshing counter to the breathless AI hype. But the hobby risks becoming a rich man's game: an Apple-1 can cost lakhs of dollars. The narrative that old tech is worthless junk is clearly false, but the community must ask itself whether the beeps and chimes will lure a generation raised on touchscreens and cloud computing. The real test: will the next festival draw more young restorers or just ageing engineers?
Sources (2): hindustantimes.com, livemint.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
