Cleaning out the computer graveyard

Bookshelf
Originally uploaded by Chris Bailey.

Today my wife and I spent a good chunk of time cleaning out the home office, aka the computer graveyard. The accumulation of equipment is kind of amazing. People are already awed when they learn we have eight computers in-use in the house (three others not in use). But the office had gotten out of control. Of course my bookshelf is still completely overflowing. I really need to purge. I rarely do Java work anymore, and a large chunk of space is occupied by Java books (click on the pic to see the books more closely). Some of the things that we found/have, and are either going on eBay or are getting trashed:

• The Be Book - yes, this is the original manual for the Be computer - a collectors item now I'm sure :) This will go on eBay for sure.
• 3 dead hard drives
• Dead SonicWall VPN box
• Old video cards, NIC's, SCSI cards, etc.
• USB Bluetooth adaptors
• Mac Cube computer
• US Robotics Mac&Fax 28k modem
• Several Iomega Zip and Jazz drives (I still use a Zip for some things)
• Tons of cables, many useful, many I have no idea what they even are. Some include, parallel, serial, SCSI (in about 4 formats), ADB, telephone, power, the list goes on.
• Tons of converters, parallel, serial, ADB, null modems, PS/2 to USB, etc.
• A couple 10Mbit hubs (10MBit is so last century!)
• A half dozen cruddy old mice (the computer kind, not the rodent!)
• Lucent Orinoco Gold WiFi PCCard
• Inkjet printer
• A flatbed scanner
• About 10 bags of software/instructions for APC backup power units

The various cables and such really take one back to the pre-USB/firewire days. What a pain. So many varying formats and junk and hoops to jump through.

Tags: Books