Other Sides of the Coin
That phrase is the guiding philosophy for my computer collection: lets unpack it.
First off, I've been around PC's all my life. While I don't remember it, the family's XT clone, then a 486 and onwards. I know PC's in and out. While they are fascinating machines in their own right, they aren't the only computers out there.
So what is out there? Many systems, all shapes and sizes, commercial and enterprise machines that never see the light of day until they are scrapped and the consumer machines meant for the home. For me the commerical and enterprise machines don't hold that much allure, they are curiosities for sure and one of two of them may find their way into my collection but that's for later. I focus on consumer machines currently.
But wait, there are many of those machines!? How do I keep myself from drowning in silicon and rocks we tricked to think?
Representatives.
You'll see this more in the earlier systems that had a vast array of systems that either competed with the example in my collection or preceded it. CP/M systems were many in a vibrant competitive ecosystem, I simply cannot own an example of every kind that is out there, so instead I settle on a well known unit and say it represents what the other units are.
Lastly, I sort the collection into bittiness and while my decisions are arbitrary and subjective, there is method behind them:
8 Bit Systems: Everyone will think of systems like the C64 but I also class systems like the PC/XT and the TI99/4a in the same category.
Limited color palettes and sounds
expectation to load software from 5.25" disks, cassette tape or cartridge ROM's.
BASIC in ROM.
Majority of the IO or internal operations done in 8 bits.
Limited RAM to 1MB or less.
Examples in my collection:
Commadore C64/C128
IBM PC/XT
Apple IIeP (Representative for the Apple II line)
Kaypro 4-84(Representative for the CP/M ecosystem.)
Texas Instruments TI99/4a
Timex Sinclare 1000
Missing:
Atari 8 bit. :(
16 Bit Systems: Here the lines start to blur and you'll see why.
Enhanced colors and sounds
Expected to load software from hard drives and 3.5" disks, gone are cassettes and cartridges for computers.
Faster CPU's
Majority of the system conducts itself in 16 bit operations.
RAM expanding above 1MB.
Expected to run GUI's
Examples:
Commadore Amiga 1000
Atari ST520
Apple IIgs (16 bit CPU but does everything in 8 bits)
Apple Mac Plus
IBM PC/AT (HA)
Clone PC/386 (full 32 bit CPU but all IO is 16 bits)
32 Bit Systems (Early)
Why do I say early? The 386 is a 32 bit CPU, but it's in the 16 bit category. And to that, I say the 386 didn't have a standard 32 bit expansion slot for it to use, a CPU like the 486 had two.
High color resolutions, and high fidelity sound capabilities.
Hard drives are standard equipment now.
CPU's pushing mid double digit speeds.
Multiple megabytes of RAM are expected
GUI's and multimedia.
CD-ROM is the new hotness
Examples:
Gateway 2000 4dx2/66V
Apple Performa 630CD
Missing:
Commadore Amiga 2000/3000
Atari Falcon
32 Bit Systems (Late)
At this point we are seeing the foundations of the modern computers as we know them today.
Unlimited Colors and Resolutions
Hard drives pushing dozens of gigabytes
RAM in the hundreds of Megabytes
Advanced CPU's with SIMD instructions running at several hundreds of Mhz.
Advanced OS's
Examples:
Compaq Deskpro EN866
Apple Imac G3(750)
Missing:
To be decided
The tail end:
Here the lines blur to the point it's difficult to call, so it's here where I plant the end of my collection, at least for now.
The modern computer as we know it has been invented and we start to shed the legacy of decades of computers that came before them. It is here that the coin has become flat. Apple is still doing their own thing with the Power PC's but will soon drop them in favor of x86. Intel is scratching it's head at the Pentium 4, AMD is ruling the roost with it's wildly successful Athlon processor.
There may be a home for systems in this era in the future as memories coalesces into nostalgia. There is already a root forming with two systems that blur the late 32 bit system lines, a Pentium 4 XP box and a Sawtooth G4.
Perhaps I'll get a G5. That would really blur the lines.
Thank you for reading.
Here is were I will put my wish list. Some of these systems are my biege whales, I would love an Amiga 4000T but at the costs of these machines, it is unlikely without shelling out as much as a decent used car.
Commadore Amiga 4000T
This machine doesn't have a direct comparison with either a PC or a Macintosh, but there are contemporary machines that would be added to the collection with it.
IMSAI or Altair 8800
Mostly for it's front panel toggling goodness. I'd reasonably be just as happy with something like a modern clone for me to twiddle the switches but still have something usable afterwards.
