> Most of us who collect vintage computers probably have our own stories > like this, but I find this so amusing that I just have to share it. > Last year I did an exhibit on SPARC clones for VCF PNW and wanted to > include a Solbourne in it. Unable to cajole Cameron into loaning me one > :-), I went looking for one to buy on eBay.
I'm a jealous collector :) I do think an S3000 would display well. Stephen Dowdy sent me his old one and I should try to tidy it up as an exhibit. My "S3000DX" is too precious to me; that one stays here. > There was a seller with, among other Solbourne hardware, a listing for > some number of IDT S4000DXs. They had started with 6 and were down to > 4-5 when I started looking. IIRC, the base Buy-It-Now (BIN) price was > around $225, but, when they didn't sell, they were relisted with a > varying discount. In relistings, the BIN was as low as $167. [...] > The seller is still trying to sell 2 of the original 6 S4000DXs (that at > one point included the one that I have). However, the pricing has > changed. Now, instead of the old base price of around $225, the base > price is now $3060. Yes, $3000. But they are being offered with an 83% > discount, so one can get a S4000DX for the low, low price of just under > $500. > > I find this amazing and odd. It's really rather ludicrous, given how even the IDT Solbournes really only run OS/MP. My affection for them is largely nostalgia; as SPARC systems they are quite finicky and the later SPARCstations surpassed even the S4100 in performance. It's really the S3000 that's the gem because of that wacky plasma display. -- ------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckai...@floodgap.com -- ASK ME ABOUT MY VOW OF SILENCE!!!! -----------------------------------------