Ernie SmithJun 28, 2023

I have waited three months to share this with y’all.

In the fall of 2022, literally thousands of computers flooded eBay, with a brand name few knew, at a rock-bottom price of $59.99 plus shipping. A YouTuber did a video about them and the machines—2,200 in all—went viral.

Where did they come from? Why were there so many? I spent the last few months determining this answer. And well, it’s a story.

For @Motherboard, the story of the NABU Network: https://www.vice.com/en/article/ak3k34/2200-forgotten-vintage-computers-are-being-liberated-from-a-barn-in-massachusetts

2,200 Forgotten Vintage Computers Are Being Liberated From a Barn in Massachusetts

The NABU Network was an obscure, forgotten part of Canadian tech history—until the day the internet noticed that thousands of NABU machines were being sold on eBay at rock-bottom prices.

Show threadCcollet
@ernie @Motherboard what I've never understood about this story is why didn't find out until *after* they launched the network that it wouldn't work bidirectionally unless cable providers upgraded their equipment (which they were unwilling to do). Did they think they were going to be more successful and have leverage to force them to upgrade?
Jun 28, 2023 at 4:07pmWeb
Show threadErnie SmithJun 28, 2023
@Ccollet @Motherboard Yes, that was exactly the idea.