zlacker

Recording the history of computing for future generations will be so important for a wide range of studies.

It's great people collect, restore, and publish valuable historical pieces like these.

>>calrai+(OP)
That messsage taped on the box was so moving to read. I felt so proud and thankful toward the man

>>calrai+(OP)
I'm not disagreeing, but I'm not necessarily convinced there's real value "for future generations". I love nostalgia, but it seems pretty useless beyond the entertainment value.

What benefits do you, or others, see in looking back at these computer systems?

Thanks.

>>107292+ag
I love that people properly document important stuff like that. My grandma died last year aged 94 or so, and in her inheritance was a load of stuff that she wrote tiny notes on. I've got a plastic ibex head with a barometer on my wall now from the 60's or whatever with a tiny handwritten note taped to the back when and where it was bought. I mean it's worthless in both collectability and sentimental value, but the little note gives it a bit more personality.

I should do the same with anything I think is collectible / not trash / may end up in someone else's hands. For example, I bought some LPs over time, I should document when and where I bought them from at least. Maybe print out some information about the band / artist and include it, as the music themself is only part of the "product".

>>pbhjpb+sn
I think history is worth mining for future ideas for producitvity software – especially when we finish mining everything LLMs and RAG can do, we might go back to past experiments in information retrieval. We might know the history now that we're reading this thread... but who's to say that a developer in 2030 who's never read HN has?

>>pbhjpb+sn
it must be recorded, otherwise it will seem like magic

>>pbhjpb+sn
This is no different to me than other historical artifacts. Old furniture, cars, clothes, books and so on tell a lot about the time they were created, and the people that lived during those times. It is not just about nostalgia. It is about knowing about the past. History and archeology are scientific disciplines where this is crucial.

>>mongol+iw
Agreed on the first sentence... I like history too (now I'm middle-aged). I see some benefit, but mostly that seems to be entertainment too. One perhaps can't separate the useful bits from the other bits.

Like, those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it. But, those who do are mostly doomed to watch from the sidelines as other people repeat it. And even the things that are possibly obviously bad ideas without historical analogues get done...