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As AI grips world, the thrill of collecting vintage computers is growing
Collectors are restoring Atari, Commodore and IBM machines as festivals draw thousands and rare models fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- In early August, more than 3,500 people attended the two-day Vintage Computer Festival in Cupertino, Calif., celebrating Apple's 50th anniversary with co-founders Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne reminiscing about the company's early days.
- Enthusiasm for computing history is growing, with more than a dozen similar gatherings now springing up across North America, South America, and Europe, according to Vintage Computer Federation president Erik Klein.
- Seattle software engineer Josh Dersch, who owns more than 200 vintage devices, showcased a fully restored Xerox Alto that he spent years fixing, considered "the grandfather of the modern computer."
- Collectors delight in hearing childhood beeps and playing games like "Pong" or "Space Invaders," viewing the hardware as historical artifacts, while Dersch noted that debugging systems allows enthusiasts to understand the entire architecture.
- While Silicon Valley shapes the future of artificial intelligence, enthusiasts remain intent on preserving ancestor machines like Atari, Commodore, and IBM, as growing interest drives market demand for rare items like the Apple-1 fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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Software engineer Josh Dersch estimates he owns more than 200 old computers and devices in his Seattle home — part of a growing collector trend that has spread to Europe. “I’ve always found it interesting to see where things came from,” Dersch said. “It’s a fun challenge to fix. You can understand the whole system from top to bottom,” he added. Dersch is part of a growing community of vintage computer collectors who are preserving the classic ma…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources25
Leaning Left13Leaning Right4Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution57% Left
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources lean Left
57% Left
L 57%
C 26%
R 17%
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