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Collecting computers is a relatively recent discipline in that most of the pieces collected date back less than thirty years. However, even in this short period, many tech buffs have grouped together a long list of machines that have become part of the history of technology.
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Since the manufacture of the first valve-based computers such the Colossus or Mark I, the early years of computing were reserved almost exclusively for governments, armies, universities and large companies, the only ones able to take on the huge costs of development and maintenance of these machines. At the end of the 1960s, however, advances in miniaturisation and the launching of microprocessors and closed circuits meant a reduction in the size and cost of computers, in turn opening the way for personal computing as it is known today. The first affordable desktop computers were launched, which were able to do something more than add and subtract on a red monitor. In this era, such collectable computers as the Commodore PET 2001 were launched. With a 6502 processor at 1 MHz and 8Kb RAM of memory, these computers offered a personal computing workplace for all those willing to pay the price of a few thousand dollars. Other similar computers of the period were the Altair 8080 or the Xerox Alto, currently sought-after collectors' items.�
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The first PC
On 12 August 1981, IBM launched the 5150, to which the letters PC (Personal Computer) were soon added. Its characteristics were impressive for the period: a 16-bit Intel 8088 processor (8 bits was the norm at the time), a 4.66 MHz clock speed, 256Kb of RAM and an MS-DOS 1.0 operating system with MS-Basic 80. It had no hard drive of course. It was not the cheapest computer at the time, but it did have one unique quality: it was an open platform computer, and could thus be expanded in the future. Thanks to this concept, the first compatible PCs appeared that formed the basis of a more complete system, a concept that has not changed up to the present day. The 5150 was followed by such mythical computers as the Sinclair ZX80 that cost 100 pounds sterling, five times less than any other computer of the time, including the Commodore Vic-20.
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The first shoots of Apple
Some of the most appreciated computers among collectors are the first machines launched by the company Apple. Its origins date back to 1976 when two young Californian students, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, finished the first prototype of what was known as a personal computer. The Apple I was a true exponent of the era's high technology. It was made of a single motherboard that was sold without the shell and without any peripherals (such as the monitor or the keyboard), to which all the components were joined: an MOS 6502 processor at 1 MHz, 8Kb of RAM (expandable to 32) and an 8 bit bus, as well as a graphic card that allowed a unique text mode 40 columns by 24 lines. The buyer needed to buy his own shell and the most important peripherals. Its initial cost hovered around $650 and this is where its true value to history of computing can be found: thanks to creators of Apple, the idea that anyone could have a personal computer in their homes became a reality.
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A world of peripherals
Logically, PCs are not the only computing-related objects that can be collected. Also of value are a long list of peripherals without which personal computing would have been impossible. These include printers, monitors, storage drives and, of course, the ever-popular mice. The first of these electronic rodents was launched some 33 years ago by the engineer Douglas Engelbart, a tool capable of moving a cursor up and down the screen to click on various elements. In 1984 the first computers such as the Commodore Amiga or the Atari ST were launched that soon converted the mouse into an everyday tool.
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