Re: Turn on Apple to preserve it?

[Mike Willegal <mike@willegal.net>]

There is no question that it takes more effort to keep a machine working 
than it does to put it on static display.

However, if left on display or in storage long enough, it will most 
likely become a more difficult task to get operating, again.  Try 
checking out some of the vintage TV restoration stories floating around 
the web to get an idea about how hard restoring computers is likely to 
get, some day.

The surprising thing to me, is that almost all the replacement parts 
that one could need for II or IIplus can still be obtained, some 30 
years after first shipment.  Another decade or two, and this is not 
likely to be so easy.  Better to keep these machines running now, while 
most parts are still available, than to find out in another decade or 
so, that the part you need is difficult to locate.

Regards,
Mike Willegal



Michael J. Mahon wrote:
> Simon D. Williams wrote:
>
> > On Fri, 14 Mar 2008, Mike Willegal wrote:
> >
> > > Aside from the issue with the capacitors, keyboards are more likely 
> > > to stay in working order with occasional use.  I would not only power 
> > > on, but I would attempt some activity that required keyboard input.  
> > > Try playing one of those old text adventure games or write a game in 
> > > basic of your own design.
> >
> >
> >
> > So Apple II users are doing a better job of preservation than the 
> > collectors... oh the irony!
>
>
> It has always been so...   ;-)
>
> Anytime I visit a museum with machines, I can't help but think about
> the damage done by disuse as opposed to use with good maintenance.
>
> And disuse doesn't provide any incremental indications of failure, which
> are easily repaired.  Instead, multiple silent failures occur, rendering
> the machine very difficult or even impossible to put in working order.
>
> Make no mistake--museums are tombs, not suspended animation chambers.
>
> -michael
>
> NadaPong: Network game demo for Apple II computers!
> Home page:  http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/
>
> "The wastebasket is our most important design
> tool--and it's seriously underused."