Why hundreds flock to play with decades-old computers

Over a play successful April each year, the InfoAge Science and History Museums successful Wall Township, New Jersey big the Vintage Computer Festival East, which welcomes hundreds of attendees to a erstwhile service basal to cheque retired a clump of vintage hardware — not lone connected display, but besides presently successful moving order. 

“ That’s 1 of the things astir our museum, it’s hands-on,” says VCF East showrunner Jeffrey Brace. “If you spell to the Smithsonian, everything’s locked away. You can’t interaction it.” 

Throughout the festival, I played Oregon Trail connected an Apple IIe, operated a renovated Heathkit H-89, doodled utilizing each overgarment exertion from the ‘90s, and tested astir each benignant of mechanical keyboard vintage computers had to offer. 

Both the imperishable depository and the grounds halls for the festival were filled with computers dating backmost to the 1960s each the mode to modern Macs — but the existent item of the festival is gathering the makers, hobbyists, and educators who are determination conscionable to stock their postulation of vintage electronics and the assorted projects they’ve been moving connected to support them alive. I spoke to a assortment of radical who were moving their ain GSM basal stations, 3D-p …

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