Micro 84: The conundrum of curating a classic computer collection
From shrinking storage space to moldy microcomputer manuals, it ain't easy to maintain a personal computer museum.
So it turns out we've had a video game celebrity in our midst: Retronauts East regular Benj Edwards recently tweeted about his intention to downsize his massive collection of vintage computers, and his photo went viral. He's received inquiries about his collection from collectors, corporations, and museums alike. That means the greatest challenge of his extensive collection, created over the course of a quarter-century, is now the question of what to do with all these computers?
That's quite a change from his usual computer conundrums, though. As we discuss on this episode, the creation and maintenance of a museum-sized collection of computers has involved a process fraught with difficulties and tricky logistics. But who better than the man behind Vintage Computing to speak to the realities of amassing a collection of vintage computers?
In this Micro episode, Benj and I explore the history of his collection, the philosophy behind it, and the whole lot's future prospects. If you've ever thought about hunting down some interesting PCs from the past, this conversation should be an invaluable resource.
Retronauts Micro 84
The trials of vintage computing
MP3, 19.1 MB | 0:40:28
Direct download | Retronauts on iTunes | Retronauts at PodcastOne
Episode description: Benj Edwards has long dreamed of curating a museum of vintage PC history, and he's amassed hundreds of classic computers to make it happen. We talk about the unique challenges of preserving so many aging machines… especially finding room for them all.
The music in this episode comes from SaGa Frontier. It has nothing to do with the subject, but since Benj and I are pretty low-key speakers, I figured some similarly chill music would be appropriate here.
