Re: Apple II - how much is it worth?

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

wbdesnoy@acs2.acs.ucalgary.ca (Byron Desnoyers Winmill) wrote:

>most computers belong in the hands of people who can use them or the hobbiest
>who will *enjoy* using them.  They most certainly do not deserve to be a
>museum piece, or in a private collection which slowly collects dust!
>
>And yes, this even goes for the plain ol' Apple II.  Despite all that it
>lacks because of its age, it can still be used to learn the basics of high
>and low level programming on, and for the pleasure of games.  Worthy uses
>for such a significant machine.

I agree mostly.  The majority of Apple II units deserved to be used
but I also know the importance of preserving SOME II units for
posterity.  That means keeping some new in the box with all the
original trappings for posterity (eventually in museums, etc).  This
is, after all, a piece of history (the Apple II series).

So if one sees a beat up Apple II that lived years in a school, then
it is best put to use for folks who want to use them.  But if one sees
a new in the box Apple II, that deserves to be preserved in that
condition for history simply because such a unit in such a condition
is so rare and can't be allowed to disappear.