Key Takeaways
- Vintage computer collecting has moved from a niche hobby to a growing global community, driven by enthusiasts who view old hardware as historical artifacts.
- Events such as the Vintage Computer Festival in Mountain View now draw thousands of attendees and feature panels with industry pioneers like Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.
- The market for rare machines is heating up; iconic systems like the Apple‑1 regularly command hundreds of thousands of dollars on resale sites.
- Restored classics—including the Xerox Alto, often called the “grandfather of the modern computer”—are displayed in working condition, allowing visitors to experience early graphical interfaces and mouse‑driven computing.
- Community leaders emphasize that the hobby is as much about preserving history and sharing knowledge as it is about acquiring more equipment.
Josh Dersch’s Love for Vintage Computing
Software engineer Josh Dersch spends countless hours in his Seattle garage coaxing decades‑old machines back to life, estimating his collection exceeds 200 vintage computers and devices. “It’s always been fascinating to me to see the origins of things,” Dersch said. “It’s a fun challenge to debug and repair. You can understand the entire system from top to bottom.” His fascination stems from a desire to trace the lineage of today’s laptops, wearables, and smartphones back to the pioneering hardware that launched the digital revolution.
A Growing Community of Collectors
Dersch is part of a expanding tribe of vintage computer enthusiasts who see old silicon not as junk but as artifacts worthy of attention and respect. They delight in hearing the familiar beeps and chimes of their youth and firing up low‑def classics like “Pong” or “Space Invaders.” As Erik Klein, president of the Vintage Computer Federation, observes, “The enthusiasm for the history of computers and all the stuff around it is growing,” a sentiment echoed by collectors across North America, South America, and Europe.
Erik Klein on the Vintage Computer Festival’s Rise
Klein, a Silicon Valley software engineering manager, turned his personal passion into organizational leadership after his own collection began to overwhelm his home and family life. He now helms the Vintage Computer Federation, which stages festivals, repair workshops, swap meets, and other events aimed at “evangelizing that history and evangelizing this hobby of maintaining, collecting and enjoying this vintage technology.” His shift from collector to organizer illustrates how the hobby can mature into a communal preservation effort.
Festival Draws Thousands to Celebrate Apple’s 50th
The most recent Vintage Computer Festival, held in early August at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, attracted more than 3,500 visitors over two days. The event commemorated the 50th anniversary of Apple, founded in 1976 in nearby Cupertino, and featured a panel with co‑founders Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne reminiscing about the company’s scrappy startup days under the late Steve Jobs. Attendees could explore rows of meticulously restored systems, from early Atari consoles to IBM mainframes, all displayed in working order.
Festivals Spreading Across Continents
Since the inaugural gathering in 1997, which drew roughly 150 hobbyists to a venue east of San Francisco, the festival model has proliferated. More than a dozen similar events now take place in cities across North America, South America, and Europe. Sellam Ismail, who co‑founded the Vintage Computer Federation after running the original festivals for a decade, notes that the community “grew up. More and more people started getting old computers, started collecting them.” He anticipates the 30th anniversary next year will usher in even larger gatherings.
Market Demand Drives Prices for Rare Vintage Computers
The surge in interest is reflected in online marketplaces where rare, iconic machines command premium prices. Klein points out that items such as the Apple‑1—the very first product Apple ever sold—can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars. This financial upside, while not the primary motivation for most collectors, underscores the cultural and historical value placed on these early computing artifacts.
Dersch Showcases the Xerox Alto, the ‘Grandfather of Modern Computing’
At the festival, Dersch drove down from Seattle to exhibit the crown jewel of his collection: a fully functioning Xerox Alto. Developed at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center in the 1970s, the Alto is widely regarded as “the grandfather of the modern computer” because it pioneered the mouse, graphical user interface, windows, icons, and cursors—concepts later adopted by Apple and Microsoft. Dersch’s setup included the Alto’s boxy vertical monitor, chunky keyboard, mouse, and pizza‑sized spinning disks that store only tiny amounts of data by today’s standards.
Sharing Knowledge and Hunting for More ‘Junk’
Beyond displaying his restored Alto, Dersch relishes the opportunity to share his work with fellow enthusiasts. “It’s fun to share what I’ve done with people. It’s fun to share in what other people have done,” he said. He also enjoys the festival’s consignment area, where he can hunt for more projects. “Also, there’s a consignment area where I can buy more junk to take home with me, so that’s always fun,” Dersch added, highlighting the communal swap‑meet spirit that fuels the hobby.
From Overwhelmed Collector to Festival Organizer
Erik Klein’s personal journey mirrors that of many collectors whose passion outgrows their living space. He once amassed as many as 150 computer systems—complete with accessories, documents, and packaging—crowding his closets and garage, describing the collection as an “albatross” that threatened to burden his family. By selling and giving away excess machines, he narrowed his holdings to a few favorites and redirected his energy toward organizing events that let others experience the joy of vintage computing without the same logistical strain.
Sellam Ismail Recalls the Festival’s Origins and Future Growth
Reflecting on three decades of activity, Sellam Ismail remembers the modest beginnings of the first festival and watches with pride as the community has matured. “The community grew up. More and more people started getting old computers, started collecting them,” said Ismail, who once stored a massive collection in a warehouse. He looks ahead to the 30th anniversary, confident that “this [the festival and the hobby] will continue and grow even bigger.” His optimism captures the enduring appeal of preserving computing’s past while inspiring future generations to appreciate the foundations of today’s digital world.
https://abcnews.com/Technology/wireStory/ai-grips-world-thrill-collecting-vintage-computers-growing-135508246