Catalano

Frank Catalano: If you want to experience the gulf between cutting-edge technology then and cutting-edge now – just try getting rid of it.

Take several items that were state-of-the-art for turn-of-the-century mobile and communications tech: An IBM WorkPad z50, Intel AnyPoint Wireless Home Network adapters, and a 3Com USRobotics ISDN Pro Terminal Adapter. I purchased these around 1999-2000, thoroughly used them, bought replacements, and put them and their manuals back in the original boxes several years ago, intending to sell them.

Rule number one: Boxes, when in a garage long enough, become invisible.

Then there was a move this year. I rediscovered the devices and reconfirmed I didn’t need them. But ten years, and the turn-of-a-new decade later, did anyone?

I didn’t just want to toss them. Potential lithium-ion battery pack eco-disaster aside, it seemed wasteful. Besides, I mused nostalgically, some collector nerd might see value in them. So I put them on Craigslist the last weekend of 2009, individually, under “free stuff.”

Frank's tech relics

Rule number two: When posting anything under Craigslist “free stuff” expect non-human life forms to respond.

First came the autobots spouting almost identical messages of “still available? I can pick it up immediately,” with the I’m-going-to-sell-what-you’re-giving-away lack of specifics or questions. Sprinkled among these responses were the occasional question or follow-up phone call which indicated the ads hadn’t been fully read, or if so, understood.

Me: “You know a WorkPad isn’t a standalone computer.” Caller: “But it’s from IBM and that means I can use it to get on the Internet, right?” Me: “It has no USB or Ethernet ports, only has a 33.6K built-in modem, and requires a serial cable to dock it with a personal computer to load software, much like an early Palm.” Long pause: “A … serial cable?”

Email: “I’ll take all four of the wireless adapters.” Me: “You’re aware they’re not WiFi but an earlier standard, Home RF 1.0, and won’t work in any Starbucks or McDonald’s on the planet – this or any other?” Email: “I thought these were for a wireless network.”

All of this had been spelled out in the ads. But I might have well have been writing in a language that few knew (say, Na’Vi). What was clearly going on was a lack of comprehension. And it illustrated how far personal technology has come in a decade.

The once-$1,000 IBM WorkPad z50 or mobile companion (running Windows CE but still with that great IBM keyboard) has been replaced by Blackberry, iPhone and netbook devices – no cables required, broadband connections assumed. The Intel AnyPoint adapters running at a now-pokey 1.6 Mbps were replaced by cross-compatible 802.11x hardware that, at its g-slowest, is now almost 50 times faster. And the USRobotics ISDN Terminal Adapter was outclassed by cable/DSL modems, despite the fact that the box still proudly shouts, “High-speed Internet access!” (well, at 128K).

I gave up and posted a single Craigslist ad under “electronics” that began, “If you have to ask what these are, you don’t want them. The IBM WorkPad z50 is not a standalone laptop computer. The Intel AnyPoint Wireless Home Network Adapters are not WiFi/802.11x compatible. The 3Com USRobotics ISDN Pro Terminal Adapter is not a cable DSL/modem.”

Excruciating detail followed. Needless to say – even after putting a $1 price on all of it and offering a $1 instant rebate – there was not a single bite, even from a starved autobot.

Rule number three: We always think our tech stuff is more cool and collectable than others do.

Ultimately, I went the recycle route. After perusing the state’s E-Cycle Washington locations, I quickly settled on RE-PC. They graciously took all of it.

I was told they might not be able to put it in the store. But they might be able to put some of it in their computer museum.

Frank Catalano is an author and advisor on marketing and business strategy for technology and education companies. He blogs at Intrinsic Strategy. Opinions expressed in guest posts are those of their authors, and don't necessarily reflect the views of TechFlash or its staff.