Pre-Google I/O Entertainment: Old Electronics Stores and Computer Resellers!
The opportunity Google gave me to attend Google I/O, their annual conference, two weeks ago required me to travel to the Bay Area in California in order to attend in person. Also known as Silicon Valley, it is an area steeped in computer history, featuring (of course) the Computer History Museum, not to mention large offices or global headquarters for many current and long-gone tech behemoths, plus all the tiny startups making millions off various Internet and mobile technologies. As someone who has been using computers their entire life (well over 25 years now), I am enthusiastic about the way forward but do not want to forget about the winding, bumpy way that has gotten us to this point. As I seek to bolster my collection of retro-tech, it is fascinating to pontificate on what all these devices would have cost brand new. There's no way my family could have afforded but one or two these things back in the day, but as technology marches on and leaves so much of itsel...