While Silicon Valley heavily backs artificial intelligence, hardware hobbyists are increasingly restoring vintage computers like the Xerox Alto, Atari, Commodore, and IBM systems.
Apple’s Golden Anniversary Draws Thousands to Silicon Valley
While modern technology giants pour billions into artificial intelligence and automated systems, a counter-movement is quietly thriving in garages and museums across North America and Europe. The two-day gathering marked the 50th anniversary of Apple, which was founded in 1976 in nearby Cupertino, California.
The milestone event featured a panel discussion with Apple co-founders Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The two pioneers reminisced about the company’s early days as a scrappy startup led by the late Steve Jobs. More than a dozen similar festivals now take place annually in cities across North America, South America, and Europe, reflecting a broad surge in grassroots hardware preservation.
Rescuing the Grandfather of Modern Computing from Obscurity
For hardware hobbyists, vintage machines represent tangible artifacts of the digital revolution rather than obsolete junk. Software engineer Josh Dersch traveled from Seattle to showcase the pride of his collection: a fully functioning Xerox Alto. Developed at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in the 1970s, the Alto introduced a graphical user interface, a mouse, and windows that later influenced early products by Jobs and Bill Gates.
“It’s always been fascinating to me to see the origins of things. It’s a fun challenge to debug and repair. You can understand the entire system from top to bottom.”
Josh Dersch, software engineer and vintage computer collector, via The Associated Press
Dersch estimates he owns more than 200 vintage computers and devices in his Seattle home. His exhibit featured the Alto’s boxy vertical monitor, chunky keyboard, mouse, and pizza-sized spinning disks designed to store tiny fractions of modern data quantities.
The Challenges of Sourcing Parts and Counterfeit Chips
Maintaining decades-old hardware requires meticulous patience and specialized technical skill. Hardware collectors frequently rely on donor machines to keep functional systems alive, a reality that creates unique logistical hurdles.
Finding replacement components often means harvesting hardware from dead systems. Collectors also face a thriving market of fraudulent components. Counterfeit chips, such as re-etched logic ICs with sanded-off labels, regularly fool basic testing equipment and fail inside vintage motherboards, creating steep learning curves for hobbyists repairing machines built long before the internet or social media existed.
From Personal Obsession to Global Federation
As collections expand, managing physical space becomes an acute challenge for enthusiasts. Erik Klein, a Silicon Valley software engineering manager and president of the Vintage Computer Federation, once accumulated roughly 150 computer systems, manuals, and original packaging that completely filled his closets and garage. Concerned that his beloved collection had become an albatross for his family, Klein systematically sold or gave away most of his inventory until only a few favorites remained at home.
Klein now channels that organizing energy into managing festivals, repair workshops, and swap meets.
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