I still have our old tandy 1000 computer all boxed up taking up space in the upstairs closet.
It probably isn’t worth much cash wise so I’m wondering how to put it to work.
Doing What???
It is slow by todays standards and doesn’t have a modem which would also be slow if I were to purchase one.
As slow as it is it would still be valuable, I would think, as a controller for most machines. Of course it would be slow to load programs.
Got any Ideas???
Waaay too old to be used as a print or file server (my usual suggestion for these types of questions). About the best you could do is restore it and keep it around for nostalgia.
Give it to a collector. Sure it’s not worth much, but guys like me like to collect the old systems for nostalgia and the fun of tinkering with old systems.
Give it to a local school - or a science/computer teacher. A Tandy 1000 is much too old to be of any use as a production system in the classroom. Newer systems are too costly to take apart. With it’s boards and circuitry exposed, it would make a nice model demonstrating “How a Computer Works” - CPU, RAM, ROM, etc.
When I switched to the Dark Side (from Mac to PC), my Mac was too obselete to even act as a quality paperweight.
I donated it to a local women’s/children’s shelter. They use it to teach some VERY basic computer skills, and word processing to the people who live there. The kiddies can also play some games. Even the very oldest computer can be good for teaching typing, etc.
Also, I got a nice little tax deduction too.
Normally I tell people who ask me this to keep the computer around for spare parts (cables or power supply if nothing else) assuming they have no need for something like a print server. If that isn’t worthwhile then donating the PC to some charity (i.e. an inner-city kids rec center) is often a good idea and you may be able to take a tax write-off.
However, at some point the things are so ancient that they are more of a hindrance than a help to anyone. The Tandy PC you mention falls into this category. At this point I find it fun to pull the thing apart and see things I wouldn’t normally look at (i.e. the inside of a harddrive or floppy drive). The info I get from this isn’t useful to me in any tangible way but I just like to assuage my curiosity. Other than that a boat anchor or door stop come to mind.
If you hang onto it for a REALLY long time there may come a day where it has value as an antique but you can never tell with stuff like that (and in the case of a computer I kinda doubt it). Maybe there is a museum somewhere with a display on the history of the PC that might find it interesting.
It can be useful for anyone who does not have a computer of his own but types a lot (like a student who uses the university’s computers). Typing papers requires hours. You can type the bulk of it in any old computer, put it on a floppy and then go to the real computer for final formatting etc. They sell devices which are just for this purpose http://www.quickpad.com/products/index.htm
Another option is to sell it on ebay. It seems people will pay money for pretty much anything.
And there is always the goodwill stores.
Being the packrat that I am, I have been in the same situation in the past where I was unable to throw away a computer which must have a use. I had a 286 laptop running win 3.1 which I could not give away in China! Finally I convinced someone to accept it telling them they could dump it if they wanted, I just didn’t want to lug it all the way home again.
I often have ideas like using them for some type of control or alarm system, but then I realize it would be a huge investment in time and effort in order to use something which is… worthless.
<Bill Clinton voice>
I feel your pain.
</Bill Clinton voice>
Sailor
Quote
I often have ideas like using them for some type of control or alarm system, but then I realize it would be a huge investment in time and effort in order to use something which is… worthless.
Yeah I know what you mean. If only I had that thing 30 years ago.
I was thinking of maybe a CNC. The last one I used ,quite some time ago, had a tape drive.
Or maybe something to control feed in a cattle confinement.
But then I’d have to buy a farm and then…