Computer Collecting

Back in the "old days" (say, the 80's and early 90's) buying a personal computer meant that one had to make a choice among different machines with widely varying design philosophies.

Each of these machines had advantages but they also had their limitations. For example, the Apple II (at least at first) had the widest selection of software. But its graphics capabilities were soon outclassed by machines such as the Atari 800 and Commodore 64.

Most of these machines were also expensive to purchase (up to and over $1000 in many cases), notwithstanding the shakeout of late 1983. Wanted a printer or a disk drive? Sometimes, users were shocked to pay more for these peripherals than the main CPU cost.

Once a decision was made and a machine bought, users defended their choice, sometimes rabidly. Remember all the "TRS-80 vs. Apple", "Commodore vs. TI" or "Amiga vs. Apple" wars of those earlier times?

Nowadays, of course, such "wars" make little sense, as anyone who really wants to do so, can obtain all of these machines, often for the cost of hauling them away ("It's only going to go into the trash can if you don't want it!")

So far, I have collected the following: