As artificial intelligence dominates global headlines, a community of tech enthusiasts is reviving the past, restoring and showcasing computers from the 1970s and 1980s. Over 3,500 attendees gathered at the Vintage Computer Festival in Mountain View, California, in early August to celebrate the Apple 50th anniversary and explore machines like the Xerox Alto, which laid the groundwork for modern computing.
Josh Dersch, a Seattle-based software engineer, spends his free time resurrecting decades-old computers, amassing over 200 devices in his home. It’s always been fascinating to me to see the origins of things,
Dersch said, describing the challenge of debugging and repairing vintage systems. His collection includes a fully restored Xerox Alto, developed at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center in the 1970s and often called the grandfather of the modern computer.
The Rise of Vintage Computer Festivals
The Tbsnews, with the festival approaching its 30th anniversary next year, has grown from a small gathering of 150 hobbyists in 1997 to a global phenomenon. Erik Klein, president of the Vintage Computer Federation, noted the event’s evolution: The enthusiasm for the history of computers and all the stuff around it is growing.
The festival in Mountain View drew attendees from across North America, South America, and Europe, with panels featuring Apple co-founders Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.
Sellam Ismail, who organized the first festival, said the community has “grown up” since its inception. More and more people started getting old computers, started collecting them,
he said. Klein, who once owned about 150 computer systems, admitted his collection became an “albatross” for his family, leading him to sell most of his devices. Today, he channels his passion into organizing events that evangelize that history and evangelizing this hobby of maintaining, collecting and enjoying this vintage technology.
The Xerox Alto: A Catalyst for Modern Computing
The Xerox Alto, showcased at the festival, is a cornerstone of computer history. Developed in the 1970s, it introduced the mouse, graphical user interface, and window-based navigation—concepts that later influenced Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Dersch’s exhibit featured the Alto’s vertical monitor, chunky keyboard, and large spinning disks, which stored minuscule amounts of data by today’s standards.
It’s fun to share what I’ve done with people. It’s fun to share in what other people have done,
Dersch said. His display allowed attendees to interact with a machine that predated the internet, social media, and AI. The Alto’s innovations, he explained, famously influenced Jobs and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
and are often described as the “grandfather of the modern computer.”
Market Demand and Collector Culture
The growing interest in vintage computers is reflected in online marketplaces, where rare machines command high prices. The Apple-1, the company’s first product, can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Klein noted that collectors not only restore devices but also buy more junk to take home with me, so that’s always fun,
highlighting the culture of discovery and exchange.
For some, collecting is a labor of love. Dersch described the process as a fun challenge to debug and repair. You can understand the entire system from top to bottom.
Others, like Klein, view it as a way to preserve history. So it’s really about evangelizing that history,
he said. And evangelizing this hobby of maintaining, collecting and enjoying this vintage technology.
What’s Next for the Vintage Computing Community?
As AI reshapes the tech landscape, the vintage computer community continues to thrive. The festival approaching its 30th anniversary next year, Ismail, who helped launch festivals in Argentina, Germany, and Switzerland, said the movement shows no signs of slowing. The community grew up,
he said. More and more people started getting old computers, started collecting them.
For Dersch, the appeal lies in the tangible connection to the past. It’s always been fascinating to me to see the origins of things,
he said. As AI advances, these collectors remind us that the roots of modern technology are not just historical artifacts but living lessons in innovation. The next chapter of the vintage computer story will likely unfold at the festival approaching its 30th anniversary next year, where the past and future of computing will converge once more.
