On Mon, Aug 29, 2005 at 06:40:40AM -0500, Howard R. Katz wrote: > Yes, I'm being serious. Ask an antique car buff how much he'd pay for a > vintage hubcap for their car, even tho the actual worth of the hubcap > isn't much, and newer ones would fit.
Well, every hobby is a little different and it would be a sad state of affairs if all hobbies were priced out of the reach of the less affluent. Obsolete computers have traditionally been withing the reach of the less affluent for a few reasons: there is a glut of relatively unwanted hardware on the market, which has kept prices low; the facilities required to participate in the hobby are modest, because of the relatively small size of the equipment and the limited set of tools required to work on them (ie. storage space and tools cost money, thankfully you don't need much of either to participate); and because the community has traditionally be open in sharing information, which has reduced the cost of purchasing reference and learning materials. Compare that to other technical hobbies like amateur astronomy where you really should have a telescope, sky atlases, and a rural observing site and/or transportation to get to one. Or maybe amateur radio, where you will probably need to pay for courses or learning manuals (or both) just to get licensed. Then there are the radios, antennas, and so forth. Car collecting will involve dedicated storage space (even if you only have one car, you probably won't want to park or service it on the street), specialised tools, service manuals, insurance, and likely a lot more. I've also noticed something about the computer collectors which I associate with: they tend to be students, unemployed or underemployed, or on disability. It is a blunt way to put it, but this is a hobby for people bordering on destitute. Quite frankly, I don't see any reason why this should change, because there are more than enough other hobbes for the wealthy. Byron. -- Apple2list is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... / Buy books, CDs, videos, and more from Amazon.com \ / <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/lowendmac> \ Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Apple2list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/apple2.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:apple2list@mail.maclaunch.com> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/apple2list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com
