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Backing up the past

Having been involved in microcomputers since the mid 1970s, I've had a lot of different computers over the years.

Starting with home-built rigs (because there were no commercially available products), through a plethora of store-bought 8-bit systems, the inevitable IBMs and clones to today's multi-core powerhouses, I've probably owned at least two dozen computers. Unfortunately, I've never had the foresight or room to hang on to my older machines so they remain just a memory.

That's not the case for Terry Stewart however.

This guy has a wealth of old hardware that he's hung on to or picked up over the years and he's been kind enough to make a fist-full of YouTube videos about them so the rest of us can enjoy a little nostalgia.

What surprises me most about this guys videos is that they're not far more popular.

Okay, some of them are a bit technically lacking (240p in an era of full-HD?) but the content is brilliant and I've wasted far too much time over the past few days revisiting old friends in the form of The Osborne 1, The TRS80 Model 1 The Atari 1040ST The Epson QX10 and a whole heap of other machines I've owned in the past.

Even if you're a relative newcomer to personal computing and have never owned anything older than a Windows-based machine, it will really be worth looking back at the type of gear we used to use in the 1980s and counting your lucky stars.

I did notice a few small errors in some of the videos (who is William Shanter?:-) but his commentary generally ads a wealth of extra material with a totally Kiwi perspective. If you were a subscriber or casual reader of Bits & Bytes magazine you'll recognise a few covers and ads from this ancient periodical as they appear from time to time in the videos.

It's so pleasing to see that someone has done what I always wanted to do and saved so many iconic bits of hardware for posterity.

A big thumbs-up to Terry and I hope he continues this quest well into the future.

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