Long live the IBM PCjr

Perhaps it's because my family didn't have much money growing up. Maybe it's a function of being ADHD. It very well may have no cause, and I could just be a packrat... but I really might need that [fill in the blank] some day! For whatever reason, I sometimes have difficulty letting go of physical possessions that have outlived their usefulness and now clutter up my life. Much of this clutter falls into the category of computer parts and dinosaur computers.

My very first "real" computer was a TI99/4A. It came out in 1979. I was 10. I still have it. Fortunately, it is small and I have a big attic.

Our family moved from Reading, Ohio to Bedford, Texas in the fall of 1984. The following summer, my parents bought me an IBM PCjr. The PCjr was awesome, and DOS 2.1 was infinitely more reliable than Windows (you pick a version). This computer lasted me through my sophomore year of college as a reliable word processor, expensive calculator, video game console (Touchdown Football is one of the top 5 video games I've ever played), and terminal emulator for dialing into the local FidoNet or my university's mainframe. And if I've never said it, "Thanks, Mom & Dad!". I wouldn't have developed an interest in computers had my parents not encouraged and invested in me, and this is something I'll carry on to my daughters.

This all brings us to today. There are three boxes in my home office that I've needed to go through for at least six months. I finally took the time to go through two of them tonight, and one of them held my old PCjr with a spare motherboard, second floppy drive, and some other random parts. I'm nostalgic, but I'm no fool. This computer is a boat anchor and needs to go, but I'd like to see it live another life if at all possible. I'm going to send a note to Mike Brutman and offer it to him if I can't find anyone else interested in this piece of modern history. Any takers?