Pick my next adventure!

I just recently finished moving and had to get rid of an entire room of Commodores. Didn't think I'd have the room but with some creative unpacking...

I want to re-start my casual obsession but I'll be honest I'm bored with Commodores. While they were the computers of my youth I also played a little with Apple before getting an IBM clone. So with that in mind... should I pick Apple, Sun, or other?

In my collection I have Apple II, IIe, II Platinum, Apple 3, and a few early Macs, but the later Macs really don't interest me. I think it's largely because I've had nothing to do with newer machines so have no sentiment towards them.

Accordingly as with your Commodores, I think you'd enjoy something you have strong sentimental links to - or wanted but could never have.

How about some nice pukka IBM kit...5150s etc or even very early Compaq gear?

Get yourself either an 8088 (5160 or clone) or a 286. I get the most enjoyment out of the PCs in my collection. (If you're tired of C=, do you have a C64 that you could spare?)

Tired of c64 eh? :O

An early mac be a good changeup, like a classic/color classic/pizzabox LC :thumbsup:

Or for IBM compatibles, I second the first compaq. Very sexy machine, and imho just as historic as the XT itself. I want one myself tbh.

I would recommend a 5150, 5155 or any XT. It's alot of fun playing with these old machines. Just making them do thing they never dreamed about in there hayday, it a good feeling.

Robert

ChrisCwmbran said:

Accordingly as with your Commodores, I think you'd enjoy something you have strong sentimental links to - or wanted but could never have.

Click to expand...

A very good point here. I think the main reason I went with the C64 and all its brethen is because that's what I first got. Sadly the problem with nostalgia is sometimes its best to leave it be. However, the idea of picking up something I never had but always wanted is appealing. I remember always going to the mall into the local Radio Shack to play with and gawk at all the Tandy computers. So that could be a strong possibility there since there is no real nostalgia factor.

If it was me, and I'm a horrible example I would keep one Commodore unit for nostalgia sake and see how far you can get it with things you may not have done (i.e. get it on the net, play a MUD, etc). Get a C/PM cart for the 128 or somethin would be another idea. Or continue on Commodore and get one of their PCs Commodore PC-10 through -40, pick up a Victor or something, or any other obscure system to venture into the other market desired/missed in your youth. An apple isn't a bad choice of course if you enjoyed that as a kid. Could get even crazier (and more expensive) finding an Amiga then tracking down an Apple II emulation card and an 8088 (or higher) Bridgeboard and get your ultimate system going with some old school emulation. Tandys were interesting systems too in their own right. Quite interesting (I never experienced them much growing up) but the sounds in games with the 3 tone generation instead of single tone music that my 8088 had were an interesting touch.

I'm with barythrin: keep a C= system for nostalgia; in my experience, you'll regret getting rid of all of them at a later time, and will just reacquire them again - usually at a much higher expense. Amiga is also really nice, though I wouldn't necessarily delve into the classic PC world unless that's your jazz... you can assuage that desire with DOSBox in most cases, I think, as most of us probably want old computers to experience the games and stuff we loved (or wanted to love) as kids.

I think that the Tandy systems are interesting... which is why I got a 1000HX. Tandy sound, 3.5" disks, DOS in ROM, 640kb, and DMA for an XT-IDE and hard drive. Tandy CoCo units are also pretty cool, and different enough that they'll keep you entertained for awhile, especially if you bite the bullet and get a 512kb RAM expansion and start delving into OS-9 (something I've not yet done, though my CoCo III does have 512kb)

Apple IIgs is a surprisingly nice machine as well (begrudingly admits the long-time Apple-hater). Though be prepared to spend > $100 if you want any form of hard drive solution. Especially since reactivemicro has closed its doors.

Chromedome45 has a nice Apple IIgs for sale, and CoCo's are available all over the place, though be sure to watch pricing carefully... sometimes the bidding can get quite high. Other times, you'll get them for a song. Be aware that the TRS-80 external disk drives will work with the CoCo machines just fine - you'll need the FD-502 disk controller interface, however.

Why not try something totally different like the Acorn risc line? Wouldn't ditch all the C64 stuff though, just consolidate it a bit.

You could also try your hands at a system that runs CP/M.

I liked the SGI MIPS running on IRIX, but that's just me, and what I found along the way, might not even be considered vintage.