Public Service Announcement (manuals)

[Keatah]

In times like these it is becoming more important, urgent, even vital, that when going about your business and engaging in daily activities and hobbies such as our favorite pastime like vintage computing, that you keep an eye out for a complete set of manuals for your system. Including reference cards.

 

They really add to the nostalgia factor and may even have information you don't know about. If you're an expert with your favorite machine and have no use for manuals get them anyways. They look good on a shelf and add a level of seriousness to your setup. And they're not getting any cheaper, but there's there's still time!

 

Reading a vintage manual that you read decades ago can take you back just the same as playing with the actual hardware. The manuals and books add flavor and "detail" to the experience. I would even go as far to say they're more important than the boxes if you're messing with computers. The manuals and 3rd party books help shape today's experience in the same form as yesteryear's. They impart a sense of what was going on back then. What was important back then.

 

It can be a real joy to work through the programming examples that illustrate various aspects of the hardware. And this applies even more so to 3rd party books - because authors not directly associated with the computer manufacturer had other goals in mind. Think experimentation and real working practical examples and projects. And different perspectives not shaped by corporate culture. Artful expressions and all that.

 

And consider a folder of text files and .PDFs almost as valuable. You may be able to find a ton of stuff online today, it won't be there forever. Stuff goes missing on the internet all the time. Especially the suddenly important stuff that you just started looking for.

 

While book and manual prices have remained cheap for the past 20 or so years, they are beginning to rise in price. It isn't too late to fill that bookshelf with goodies!