Re: Too many computers...

On 1/19/2025 7:23 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

 Once a year (at least) I go through my collection of old PCs (and
other devices), fire them up, make sure they're still running, update
software as necessary (or possible. There's not a lot you can do with
a Win95 machine with regards to updates these days ;-) and generally
make sure my collection of obsolete junk isn't actually, irredeemably
junk. It's time consuming and repetitive but (for certain types of
strange personalities, at least) fun work.
 A lot of my older PCs, I don't really have much use for; I keep them
around for the nostalgic joy they bring me. That old 1997 IBM Lenovo
laptop is never going to be my main computer, but it's fun to use and
is surprisingly responsive. Less so that ancient Dell Inspiron, that I
keep around mostly because it is the sole archive of my ancient iTunes
library that I'm too lazy to transfer.
 Still, it occurs to me that maybe its time to cull the herd. But its
so hard to choose which computer gets sent to the slaughter-house
(a.k.a., the parts bin). Not my cube-like i5-4670 desktop; I love its
chassis and hot-swappable hard-drives too much. The MacBook 3? No,
that's (nominally) just a loaner given to me so not really mine to
scrap (Admittedly, it was loaned to me ten years ago and I'm pretty
sure the owner has forgotten all about it, but still). The old Gateway
desktop? But how could I? That's the back-up to my back-up server!
 Well, surely I could get rid of some of the mobile devices. That Palm
Pilot with the screen that doesn't respond to touch; that can go,
right? Oh, but I have such fond memories of using it as my MP3 player
and it takes up almost no room in the closet; keeping it would make
almost no difference. Maybe my first cell-phone... except it's a
flip-phone Motorola; they don't make the like anymore! It's
practically a historical artifact at this point!
 Well, those Tzumi Bluetooth headphones can definitely go. The battery
is dead, they never were comfortable, I've no use for bluephone
headphones anyway, and I've no nostalgic feeling whatsoever for the
device. It's just a shame they're buried so deep in storage. I'd
literally have to move furniture just to open the drawers where
they're stored. It all feels like too much effort.
 Hmmm. This old plastic screw I just found at the bottom of the parts
bin is broken, and I don't know what it goes to anyway. I'll toss
that. Yeah. That's a good start. But for now, I'd better just put
everything away so it doesn't look all messy. You know, just until I'm
ready to really start getting rid of stuff. Tomorrow, maybe. Or next
week. Next month surely. Definitely by next January, when I have to
check all the PCs again. But it'll happen; count on it.
 In the meantime, maybe I should get rid of some of my computer games?
;-)
 

Aren't some of those games the reason for keeping some of the old computers?
--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky dirty old man.