Tech Talk: ‘Retro-computing’ trend on the rise

Old computers — everyone has one (or at least parts of one) collecting dust in the attic somewhere. Depending on when you bought it, it might have been obsolete within a year, or, if you were a very early adopter, the entire platform might have gone extinct. But you might want to check that basement, because in the 2020s, “retro-computing” has become a big deal. Much like classic cars, a very real market has emerged for vintage computers, and a thriving 8-bit sub-culture has emerged.

Prices for classic machines — old Amigas, Commodore 64s, early Apple machines and PCs, have been skyrocketing, especially if they’re in good shape. Who would have thought that outmoded junk and eWaste could become a cash cow?

There are many reasons for this, from simple nostalgia, to a resurgence in the popularity of arcade gaming, or for many younger people — they never got to experience what computers used to be like before everyone had settled on more-or-less the same paradigms for using them.

And the trend isn’t limited to just hardware. Old computer games and software are in some cases now exceeding their original value, if they’re in good enough shape.

Keep in mind that this trend is largely confined to truly vintage systems: mid-80s to early 90s seems to be particularly popular, with some systems fetching more than $1,000 and games running nearly $30 in good shape.

Huge communities have sprung up dedicated to enhancing the capabilities of these machines as well — adding modern storage solutions, HD video output, memory and processor upgrades as well as developing new software and games. Many of the games and much of the software for these machines is also freely available. Often, these machines are very reasonably priced (although you may spend some money if you want to guarantee yourself a well-sorted, complete machine), meaning that if you’re thrifty and know where to look, this can be a hobby that’s high-reward, low cost.

I’m not immune to the bug myself. I recently acquired a 1987-vintage Commodore Amiga 500. I had wanted one for years, because Amiga machines are legendary in the retro computer world. Sporting a mere 7Mhz processor, the Amiga was capable of 4000 color graphics and playing high-fidelity sound in the 1980s. It even had a graphical operating system. Back when Macs and PCs were struggling to render pixelated images and would do well to do more than make “beep-boop” sounds, this thing has amazing capabilities for it’s time. I’ve upgraded the machine to have HDMI video output and USB storage, and I’ve got a number of other upgrades on order.

There are other benefits for hobbyists as well — if you’re restoring one of these machines, particularly an early one, it can help you learn about basic electronics principles, because they’re fairly simple, and there’s a lot of tutorial videos on YouTube. It’s also a great primer on the basics of how computers actually work, because modern systems are still based on the same principles.

For me though, it’s a way to recapture the feeling of a simpler time, where I can pop a 3.5 floppy with PacMan or OutRun in without all the distractions, and it’s just as fun as I remembered.