Mountain View: As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes the technology industry, a growing community of enthusiasts is turning its attention to an unlikely corner of the past — vintage computers.
Software engineer Josh Dersch is among those preserving machines that helped lay the foundation for today’s digital world. He estimates that he owns more than 200 vintage computers and electronic devices, many of which he repairs and restores in his Seattle home. For him, working on old machines offers a unique opportunity to understand how early computer systems were built.
The growing hobby is focused on iconic brands and systems from the early days of personal computing, including Atari, Commodore and IBM. Collectors see these machines not as outdated electronics, but as important pieces of technology history.
For many enthusiasts, the appeal is also deeply nostalgic. The familiar sounds of old computers, classic low-resolution games such as Pong and Space Invaders, and the experience of getting decades-old hardware working again have become part of the attraction.
Erik Klein, president of the Vintage Computer Federation, said interest in computer history and vintage technology is continuing to grow. His organisation hosts an annual festival at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, bringing together collectors, restorers and technology enthusiasts.
Vintage machines become valuable collectibles
The renewed interest is also visible in the growing demand for vintage computers on online marketplaces. Some historically important machines can now command extraordinary prices.
The Apple-1, Apple’s first computer, is among the most valuable examples and can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on its condition and provenance.
Klein himself once had around 150 computer systems packed into his home, closets and garage. Eventually, the size of the collection became difficult to manage, prompting him to sell or give away many of the machines and keep only a few favourites.
Today, he continues to promote the hobby by organising computer festivals, repair workshops and swap meets.
A growing movement to preserve technology history
The vintage-computer movement is expanding beyond individual collectors. More than 3,500 people attended this year’s two-day Vintage Computer Festival, which also marked the 50th anniversary of Apple. The event featured discussions involving Apple co-founders Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne about the company’s early years.
More than a dozen similar gatherings have emerged across North America, South America and Europe, highlighting the growing international interest in early computing technology.
While today’s technology industry is focused heavily on AI, cloud computing and increasingly powerful digital systems, vintage-computer collectors are taking a different approach: looking backward to understand how the modern computer age began.
For enthusiasts like Dersch and Klein, restoring these machines is more than a hobby. It is a way of preserving the technological history that ultimately led to the smartphones, laptops, wearables and AI systems that dominate modern life.
