Software engineer Josh Dersch owns more than 200 vintage computers and devices at his home in Seattle, part of a growing trend among enthusiasts that is also expanding into Europe. Dersch says he has always been fascinated by how technology began, and he finds that the challenge of finding and fixing bugs allows him to understand entire systems from beginning to end.
Dersch is part of a growing community of vintage computer collectors working to preserve the classic machines that sparked the digital revolution. While Silicon Valley currently focuses on shaping the future of artificial intelligence, these enthusiasts are determined to rescue Atari, Commodore, and IBM devices, the predecessors to today's laptops, wearables, and smartphones. Many people regard these machines as junk, but people like Dersch see them as valuable artefacts of computing history worthy of attention and respect, and they enjoy the sounds that remind them of childhood and playing low-resolution games like Pong and Space Invaders.
Erik Klein, director of the Vintage Computer Association which hosts an annual festival at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View in the heart of Silicon Valley, says enthusiasm for computer history and related topics continues to grow. This year's vintage computer festival, held over two days in early August, attracted more than 3,500 visitors who celebrated Apple's 50th anniversary since its founding in 1976 in Cupertino, California. The event included panel discussions with co-founders Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, who recalled the early days of the startup company led by the late Steve Jobs.
Since then, more than 12 similar events have emerged in cities across North America, South America, and Europe. Klein says the rising interest is reflected in increased demand for vintage computers on the online market, where prices for rare and iconic computers like the Apple-1, Apple's first product, can reach hundreds of thousands of euros.
Collectors showcase computer systems they have carefully restored to their original working condition, allowing visitors to experience using computers made long before the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence that changed the world emerged. Dersch drove his car from Seattle to exhibit the jewel of his collection: a Xerox Alto computer. He has spent years restoring what is considered the "grandfather of the modern computer," developed at the prestigious Xerox Palo Alto Research Center during the 1970s.
The Alto was one of the early computers that went beyond text display on screens to use a mouse and graphical user interface, such as windows, icons, and a cursor, which later became the industry standard. This model inspired Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to leverage this technology in their first products.
Klein, who works as a software engineering manager in Silicon Valley, was an enthusiastic collector of vintage computers until his hobby took over his home and family life; he had up to 150 computer systems, complete with all accessories, documentation, and packaging, stacked in the cupboards and garage of his house. He says his beloved collection became a "heavy burden" that he worried he would leave to his family, so he began selling or giving his computers to others until only a few favourites remained in his home.
Now Klein directs his passion for vintage computers towards organising the festival, repair workshops, swap meets, and other events as director of the Vintage Computer Association. He says this is really about promoting this history and advancing a hobby based on preserving, collecting, and enjoying this old technology.
Selam Ismail is pleased to see the collector community grow and mature since he hosted the first festival in 1997, attracting about 150 enthusiasts to a location east of San Francisco, and he managed these events for one decade. He later helped found the Vintage Computer Association, which hosts festivals in the United States and Canada, and also helped other groups launch similar festivals in Argentina, Germany, and Switzerland.
Ismail, who once owned a large collection stored in a warehouse, says the community has matured and more people are starting to acquire and collect vintage computers. He adds that next year marks the 30th anniversary, and he expects this trend will continue and grow larger.
