Retro collectors are uncovering hoards of old data

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October 29, 2021 Retro collectors are uncovering hoards of old data By Matthew Hughes In May, Sean Malseed hauled the latest addition to his computer collection into his Philadelphia home. The bespectacled software developer and YouTuber had acquired a sought-after specimen: the PowerComputing PowerWave 604/150, a Macintosh clone sold over just five months between 1995 and 1996. "I turned it on and the first thing I saw on the desktop was a file called 'infectious diarrhoea'," he says.  Malseed had inadvertently acquired the former workstation of a medical scientist. With its contents fully intact, the hard drive provided a candid insight into the former owner's life. "I poked around a little bit because I wanted to see if there was any rare software or something. It was filled with the person's work and personal stuff," he says. "There was software on it for DNA sequencing and all kinds of medical and scientific information. It also had all sorts of personal files, like tax records and letters to mom." Malseed is a high-profile figure in the retrocomputing community. His ActionRetro YouTube channel, where he documents his latest projects, has amassed over two million views and nearly 30,000 subscribers. Like other enthusiasts, he regards vintage hardware not as something to be discarded, but rather historical artefacts worthy of preservation. This includes both the underlying hardware, as well as the files stored on their ageing mechanical hard drives. Read the full story on WIRED   Countries unable to reach COP26 could soon vanish By Jocelyn Timperley Small island nations that will likely be wiped from the face of the Earth by rising sea levels risk having the smallest voice at a crucial moment   Bose QuietComfort 45 headphone review: outdone by older models By Simon Lucas The Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones have exemplary noise-cancelling, but there are issues with the sound. So, oddly, older models may be better Today's job picks Junior DevOps Engineer Funding Circle UK Apply now Graduate Technical Analyst and Support Engineer Graduate Recruitment Bureau Apply now Get the latest issue of WIRED   Meet the innovators taking local action for global impact in the fight against the climate crisis. Also in this issue... Inside Cornwall's lithium rush A cold war on melting glaciers  Meet your virtual twin The best tech of 2021   Subscribe for £19 a year Prefer a weekly digest? Subscribe to the WIRED Weekly Unsubscribe  |  View this email in your browser  Queries about this email? Contact datacontroller@condenast.co.uk Condé Nast Publications 1 Hanover Square, London W1S 1JU © The Condé Nast Publications Ltd Our Privacy Policy