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[Tony Duell]

> 
> Segin wrote:
> > They're only humans. We got 6 and a half billion on this planet, losing 
> > one or two doesn't really make a difference.
> 
> And how many *computers* do we have?  Losing one or two doesn't
> really make a difference...  :>

Well, in the case of some of the classics I've worked on, the total 
number of known examples can be counted on the fingers of one hand -- in 
unary.

The total number of classic computer enthusiasts well exceeds that number.

Anyway, how often does a classic computer failure (unlike a car crash)
resulted in death or serious injury to the user? 

> And a modern drive has an MTBF of, what, 500,000 to 1,000,000 hours?!
> :>

I've always found this to be somewhat misleading. If a modern drive runs 
for 10^6 hours, and then fails in a way that I can't repair it, is it 
really better than an old drive that runs for a hundredth of the time, 
but then just needs a common, easy-to-get component replaced?



-tony