As an old computer returns to its original owner, we wonder: Are old-car fans so different from vintage appliance fetishists? Photo by Rama.

Are you a tech fetishist? I am not. Computers have, traditionally, been tools for me. And much like my cameras–more than a few of which I’ve worn out over time–they don’t linger in my heart. However, cars linger. I remember the smells and feelings of each of the cars and vans (and one slightly sour old pickup) I’ve owned, even ones I didn’t hold onto for long. But computers? For my money, they’re replaceable and interchangeable. Better, faster, cheaper, sure. All good. (A series of crappy Windows-based laptops at the start of the 2000s returned me to Apple a decade ago, though, and I’ve not looked back. I know what works for me, and I stick within my comfort zone.) I want to switch it on, and I want it to work as it’s designed to. Can I print? Will it connect me to the internet? Will it remember my passwords? Good. The end.

And so I was struck recently by the reintroduction of an hoary old Apple IIe into my life. Originally beige but now yellowing badly, with a green-tinged monitor not a lot larger than my current smartphone, the IIe was originally gifted to me for Christmas 1985. As a way to encourage my writing at home–one of the few things I’d ever shown an interest in or aptitude for–my parents chose a system identical to the one I used at Howell High. It was a stiff hit to the retirement account, but they saw it as an investment in my future.

One of auto fanboy reminisces about classic computers, not cars.