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 threadDorshoJun 29, 2023
@ernie @Motherboard This is basically a real-life version of Halt and Catch Fire’s Mutiny except instead of being from Texas it’s from Ottawa
Show threadErnie Smith
@dorsho @Motherboard I literally thought about framing it that way and said that to Leo in an interview.
Jun 29, 2023 at 5:19pmWeb