Looking for a unique, one-of-a-kind gift for the retro-chic technophile on your Christmas list? Tired of buying gear that was cutting-edge on December 10th, only to become obsolete on the 24th? Need a gift for someone who already has seventeen MP3 / Ogg / WMA / MPG / AVI / FLI / MOV players? Then I am your salvation, for I have a massive retro computer collection for sale locally.

• Originally released in 1979; 26 years old this year. Despite its age, this was *the* computer to have throughout the early 80s. Although the Apple II was more popular, and although technically-superior machines emerged in the years following its release, the Atari 800s distinctive hard-edge design and 80s color scheme made it stand out from the bland beige-and-grey machines that began emerging en masse.
• System information available here and here.
• Maxxed out with a whopping 48k RAM!
• Includes two Atari 810 5.25″ floppy disk drives
• Includes one very rare Atari C225 standalone numeric keypad
• Includes one Atari 850 serial/parallel/SIO interface box
• Includes two 2600-style joysticks and two 2600-style paddles
• Includes a shoebox-sized box of diskettes. Some of these diskettes are historic in their own right, including some original titles from unknown startups like Microsoft and On-Line Systems (who later became Sierra On-Line, and today just Sierra).
• Includes numerous cartridges such as Basic, Pac-Man, Defender, Breakout, and Centipede
• Includes a “high-speed” 300-baud direct connect modem - the cable modem of the era! (NOTE: This is not an actual cable modem, so don’t think you’re getting away with that)
• Includes a large number of programming manuals, operating instructions, reference guides, and more.
• Includes RF switch to hook directly up to your TV
• Includes power transformers and SIO cables (SIO was Atari’s way of connecting peripherals; like a USB cable from the 80s)

Atari 65XE: $50

• This was regarded as the beginning of the end of Atari’s home computer dominance. Badly-designed to begin with and crippled upon release, the 65XE never caught on. Information here. Computer + original box in decent condition + power supply; nothing else is included.

Apple IIe (grey revision): $200

• First released in 1983, this was the “enhanced” version of 1978’s Apple II, and one of the most popular non-PC PCs ever. The IIe was still being produced right up through 1993 and had a massive stranglehold on the educational market. I’m told most of the Harrisburg-area schools were using PCs, but my school district didn’t retire these until the mid-90s.
• This is the newer, light-grey revision with 80-column color video and numeric keypad. Probably circa early 90s.
• Includes two light-grey 5.25″ floppy disk drives
• Includes a light-grey Apple color monitor (RGB)
• Includes an envelope of diskettes. These are mostly education and / or publishing programs, such as Bank Street Writer and AppleWorks.

Apple IIe (original beige version): $100

• This is the first version of the Apple IIe. Though I can’t verify its date of manufacture, I’m guessing it’s 1983 - 1985.
• If your significant other is a programmer and between 25 - 35 years old, chances are that her / his first program was written in BASIC on one of these.
• Information can be found here
• Includes two original beige-and-black 5.25″ floppy disk drives; these were the “diesel-powered” units that made loud knocking noises as they operated. Very, very, very cool.
• Does not include system manuals, software, or a monitor, but will hook up to any TV. AppleSoft BASIC is hard-coded and runs at power-up.

Commodore 64: $250

• The single best-selling computer of all time, even today. Chances are you either had one or knew someone who did. The system is actually still somewhat popular for gaming and sound generation; who knew?
• Information here and here.
• Includes original box and almost all packing material
• Includes the notoriously-slow 1581 5.25″ floppy disk drive
• Includes a data cassette drive (yes, before disks came along, everything was stored on cassette tapes)
• Includes an acoustic-coupler modem of unknown speed; probably 300 or 110 baud
• Includes a numer of games, including several original SSI D&D adventures - some in the original box!
• Includes quite a bit of business / productivity software, in the original oversized boxes.
• Includes a homemade speech synthesizer which works, but is a real pain to program
• Includes a 24-pin dot matrix printer with tractor feed
• Includes an RGB cable to enable connection to any TV/monitor with RCA inputs

AT&T 7300 (?) Unix PC: $250

• Way, way, way ahead of its time. Ran the Unix operating system from a then-mammoth 20mb (that’s right; not 20gb) MFM hard drive. Includes built-in amber (monochrome) monitor, one DSSD 5.25″ floppy disk drive, and 3-button mouse. You can actually see this computer in the shipyard scene from The Hunt for Red October.
• Includes built-in applications for word processing, email, and more
• Includes built-in 1200 baud modem and StarLAN network interface (will NOT connect to a standard ethernet LAN)
• This is not a machine for everyone. This is best served to the Unix / Linux guru on your list. Though it can be made into a very nice serial terminal for a *nix box or text-only retro-Internet terminal, it would require a bit of effort to do so.

IBM DisplayWriter: $400

• A pre-IBM-PC standalone word processor that is quite historic for its innovative features. Built-in spellcheck, document formatting, built-in networking … this did it all, and for only $7895.95!
• Information can be found here.
• Includes keyboard, CPU, amber monochrome monitor, and dual 8″ floppy disk drive.
• Includes boot diskette, work diskette, and “scratch” diskette.
• This thing is extremely heavy. The monitor alone weighs about 30 pounds, the disk drive is at least 30, the CPU is another 20, and the keyboard is at least 10. Be sure you have a steady computer desk.

Pickup can be arranged in the Harrisburg area. I can even deliver or meet halfway. Because of the size and weight of these packages, shipping (especially in time for Christmas) will be outrageously expensive and at your cost.