| Thinking about this is interesting if you go with premise the author uses. (to the extent I understand it. Which might be entirely wrong) The farther we progress techologically the less can be salvaged in the aftermath of a collapse. I have done a bit of manual soldering earlier in my life.
This was simple stuff but I switched out memory chips. Switched out ROMS (only way to update some machines) Primarily, zx81 (that you could get as a kit) zx spectrum and then what I consider my first real computer the Atari ST. I have not performed any such surgery since my ST. Looking at motherboards if various types we have now requires a lot more precision to “fix” If you found 3 broken motherboards for the latest version of an I9 it would I think be difficult to cannibalize. Parts to get one working motherboard. One these old computers it would be possible. I presume that is one of the reasons the author talks about the z80. I am very familiar with the generations Sinclair used. And there are genuinely massive amounts of them in various less sexy roles as controllers for electric appliances. I wonder how far in the Intel PC evolution one could realistically salvage and make Frankenstein computers out of. Storage would be a problem.
Hard disks are complicated and prone to fail more so after a collapse I am sure. Getting production of floppy drives going is not trivial either Say the collapse hapoens in 20 years there will not be easy to find huge collections of 3.5 5 or 8 disks Casette takes are also getting rare. Though some appear to think it retro and it is making a comeback now. VHS tapes would be nice. |