Hello from an SF Bay Area collector—and an introduction to Dave’s Computer Museum

[davesmuseum]

Hey Everybody!

Just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Dave, a vintage computer collector in the SF Bay Area. When COVID hit, I was at home a lot more than normally (like most of us) and was looking for something to do. So, I taught myself to solder and repair old computers, thanks to videos from YouTube. Since then, I've built a hobby finding and repairing the computers of my youth (late 1970's through early 2000's), most of them rescued from local flea markets or garage sales. What can I say, I like rooting through stuff!

In any case, my latest fun adventure has been putting together an online "museum" to share my collection and the stories behind finding and repairing the machines. Particularly fun (I think!) is that the site looks and behaves like a classic Macintosh. You can open folders and windows to explore computers in the collection. There are about 30 currently on display, and more to come. There’s also a special exhibit devoted to pocket computers and PDAs, plus you can play Pong and use a browser-based Applesoft BASIC simulator.

I'd be honored if you'd visit! After all, that's why I made the thing!
https://davescomputermuseum.com

I’d love to hear what you think, especially if you have memories of using any of these machines. Corrections and additional historical details are welcome, too!

Dave

 

[Trash80toG4]

Cool, somebody else has a Visor! Got mine new in the day. With EyeModule in its expansion slot, it was my first digital camera.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

I beat the Dave Bot!

Such a fun website. The window animations are especially so cool

 

[davesmuseum]

I beat the Dave Bot!
View attachment 30727
Such a fun website. The window animations are especially so cool

Congratulations! I guess I'll just have to make it harder! LOL. BTW, I've got a few ideas for a new game or two. I'm thinking of doing a "name that computer" guessing game.

 

[davesmuseum]

Cool, somebody else has a Visor! Got mine new in the day. With EyeModule in its expansion slot, it was my first digital camera.

Yeh. Back in the late 90s, I was one of the first people to have a PalmPilot (the original). I wish I still had that thing! But, then the Visor came our, and I remember being envious of my friend who had one. The expansion modules were so cool. So, when I found one at the flea market, I jumped on it. The EyeModule was way ahead of its time.

 

[davesmuseum]

Hi Everyone!

I'm so grateful that folks have enjoyed my Dave's Computer Museum site (davescomputermuseum.com). If you haven't visited in a few days, check out a new feature I just added. I'm calling it "Guess That Computer." See how quickly you can guess which computer appears in a photo from the collection as it's revealed little by little. Are you a vintage computer wiz? Test your chops.

As always corrections and old computer stories are welcome!

Dave

 

[mac27]

Cool idea for a collection site. Thanks for sharing.

 

[davesmuseum]

Thanks @mac27! Glad you enjoyed it! Keep visiting from time to time, as I'll be adding some additional features! Did you try the new "guess that computer" game?

 

[davesmuseum]

Hey All!

Thank you to everyone who has stopped by my computer museum site (davescomputermuseum.com)!

I’ve been having fun the last couple weeks adding a new things:
There’s now a BBS Interactive Exhibit, where you can “dial” into an imagined bulletin board system from 1993. I ran a BBS in high school, so this one was fun to put together.

I also added a “Guess That Computer” game, where you can test how well you know classic computers. Finally, if you haven’t yet, you can try programming in the AppleSoft BASIC simulator. If you’re really up for a challenge, you can even try downloading a program from the BBS and then loading it up in the BASIC simulator. Relive the glory days!

And, of course, you can also visit the “collection” and read about the history of some of your favorite classic computers. If you have a chance to stop by, I’d love to hear what you think! And I’m very open to new feature suggestions, stories, and corrections.

- Dave

 

[nilobject]

make the icons animated, like the play pong icon
desktop widgets like neko, flying toasters
easter eggs, like a book to myst in a library
sounds fx and music with audio controls to mute. classic tech radio, music and interviews
the sky is the limit dave. if you build it, we will come