[13of40]

> A highlight of the sale is a computer which Allen helped restore and on which he worked, a DEC PDP-10: KI-10. Built in 1971, it’s the first computer that both Allen and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates ever used prior to founding Microsoft. It’s estimated to fetch $30,000 to $50,000.

What? I know lots of people who would save them the trouble and buy it now for $50K. How bad of an investment could that be?

Edit: I'm picturing something large refrigerator sized like the PDP-8 at RePC down the street. If it's cheap because it's a 20-ton white elephant that's a different story.

[dboreham]

A dec-10 is pretty big (at the LCM it is in a room that's something like 40' by 20'), needs air conditioning, and needs a beefy electrical supply.

Nobody really knows the market price for such a thing because very few are left in running order and there are very few people with the resources to provide it with water and hay.

[Turing_Machine]

Putting an item up for sale to the highest bidder insulates a seller from future claims that the item was sold for a low-ball price in some kind of sweetheart/kickback deal.

[buildbot]

It’s about destruction, not making sense in my opinion.

[ghaff]

> How bad of an investment could that be?

Probably pretty bad.

[mikestew]

There’s a picture in TFA, with a desk for scale. It would be several refrigerators, but might still fit in your garage.