Retro gaming.
Screenshot by ZDNet
The furnace in my house hails from 1969.
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An expert came to service it. Should I switch it out for a new one, I asked him.
“No way,” he said. “In those days, things were built to last. It’s like a Ford Thunderbird.”
Which is why I find myself a touch unsurprised at the events that transpired in Professor John Pfaff’s parents’ attic.
Pfaff, a Fordham law professor, took to Twitter at the weekend to offer his personal tale of product durability.
He wrote: “Oh. My. God. An Apple IIe. Sat in my parents’ attic for years. Decades. And it works. Put in an old game disk. Asks if I want to restore a saved game. And finds one! It must be 30 years old.”
This had some effect on Pfaff. It’s surely rare to see a law professor quite so excited. He added: “I’m 10 years old again.”
Oh.
My.
God.An Apple IIe. Sat in my parents’ attic for years. Decades.
And it works.
Put in an old game disk. Asks if I want to restore a saved game.
And finds one!
It must be 30 years old.
I’m 10 years old again. pic.twitter.com/zL7wWxOo36
— John Pfaff (@JohnFPfaff) February 17, 2019
Pfaff’s enthralled tone began to reach that of a plaintiff’s lawyer who just learned he’ll get 30 percent of a $200 million settlement.
As he began to witness the resurrection of games such a Adventureland, Olympic Decathlon, and even — I didn’t know this had existed — Neuromancer, he considered the effect this would have on his children. Specifically, on their historical perspectives.
My kids thought things were insanely retro when my wife and I played NES Super Mario on the oldest’s Switch.
Tomorrow morning their definition of retro is going to shift significantly. pic.twitter.com/cwpMyvCoYw
— John Pfaff (@JohnFPfaff) February 17, 2019
He found old floppy disks and even a letter addressed to him, written in 1986 and typed by his dad on the computer.
Just found this letter my dad typed to me in 1986, when I was 11 and at summer camp.
I REALLY WONDER what my theory abt the daily newspaper comics Spider-Man was.
My dad passed away almost exactly a year ago. It’s amazing to come across something so “ordinary” from him. pic.twitter.com/Aog3MiSnXN
— John Pfaff (@JohnFPfaff) February 17, 2019
The Apple IIe was launched in 1978. It cost $1,395. Perhaps around $3,500 in today’s money. I confess I don’t remember seeing many of them around in those days.
Still, the sheer humanity embedded in Pfaff’s discovery is glorious to behold.
Some might see, though, a slightly more prosaic — but still powerful — aspect.
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There’s a suspicion that, these days, hardware isn’t made to last. Yet Apple occasionally still manages to insert at least a little durability.
Why, not so long ago, I wandered into Best Buy to buy an Windows laptop and the salesman told me the best Windows computer was a MacBook Pro.
Why? Because, he said, it’ll last twice as long.
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