Author: D Ridge
Date: 18:17:12 09/24/00
Greetings All, I'd like your collective opinion on an ambitious, gigantic and noble project I've been thinking about. My name is David Ridge, I'm in my mid-forties and I've been a computer chess fanatic for 23 years. My first machine was a Chess Challenger 7 in 1978 and I've owned over 40 different dedicated units between now and then. Like most of you, I mostly use chess software on a PC these days but I have fond memories of those early days when dedicated units ruled and a newer, stronger, better one was always just around the corner. You see, I learned chess in 1978, just when dedicated chess playing units were becoming technically possible. For those of you who weren't around the scene then, I'll tell you a little about it. The early machines played poorly, but so did I. They improved with each new unit and, so did I. We kind of grew together. The late 70's and early 80's saw a furious pace of development with great imagination and ingenuity applied to some very unique concepts like the Scisys Mark V and the Executive hand-held. Even Mattel got into the act with a LCD pocket unit. There were LCD touch screens and Robot Adversaries. Heady days indeed. Anyway, I've been thinking a lot lately that someone ought to preserve this history of computer chess. A computer Chess Museum is required. Of course this could never be a commercially viable project. People aren’t going to line up around the block to buy tickets to see this stuff. Some form a privately owned view-by-appointment collection would be the way to go. I would like to try to take this project on. Now, I know there were about 500 different units manufactured since the beginning of time and, since I'm not wealthy (an understatement to be sure) there is no way I could afford to purchase these things. Surely many of the really old ones are probably lying dormant and worthless in someone's closet or garage, waiting for the next yard sale.I was thinking that I would appeal to the world chess community to send me their old, useless, unloved computers for a nominal fee of ..say…$10 to compensate them for the trouble of packaging it up and I would also pay the cost of shipping. In return I would pledge to inscribe their name prominently as "Donated by...", sort of their chance at immortality. I'm not talking about finding all 500…that would be unrealistic. I'm thinking that, over a period of years, 100 to 200 units could be accumulated, all representing something different or unique. Perhaps a kind of retirement project. Do you think it would fly or am I over-estimating people's philanthropy? Or am I just plain crazy?? Looking forward to your responses. You can respond here or to me directly at dridge@idirect.com. Thanks David
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