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Money Matters

Vintage Machines As the digital conversion approacheth, newer and more powerful PCs threaten to usurp the functions of our televisions, telephones and even the public library. It's enough to forget that it is really just a machine. No better way to remind ourselves of the computer's mortality than a trip to a Silicon Valley thrift store. At Community Value Center on South First Street, San Jose, baby Macs can be had for $1.48. And at St. Vincent de Paul Society on South Seventh, a selection of original IBM PCs is priced to move at $15. "We try not to take them," says the manager of Happy Dragon Thrift Store in Los Gatos. But imagine resurrecting some of that old metal and putting it to use for the occasional letter or parlor conversation piece. Don't have the cash for a Playstation? How about a game of Atari Superman--that shooshing noise takes one back to 1982--or Space Invaders, Pac Man or Asteroids? [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]