Tag: ebay

eBay’s Vintage Computing Category, Unending Fun and History

Lately, I have been spending my (little) free time exploring and browsing eBay’s Vintage Computing category here. Besides finding things that I would like to buy but can’t, I have been learning a lot about the early days of personal computing that I could not have done by simply reading a book. So much of this stuff is hands-on, experiential, and word-of-mouth. This is why I enjoyed browsing Computer Shopper in the early 1990s. That megalithic tome was chock full of advertising and configuration matrices. It was by decoding the possibilities of computing at that time that I learned much of my early knowledge about computers. Incidentally: does anyone know where old issues (early-mid 1990s) of Computer Shopper can be found in scanned form or for sale?

Lego Launch Command Sets For Sale

I have decided to sell some of my Lego collection sets including these two from the Launch Command series. They are awesome builds, and I hope that I can find a good home for them. Links to my ebay Buy It Now or Best Offer listings are below each photo.

Lego System 6339 Shuttle Launch Pad. This is the largest of the early Lego Space Shuttle sets. It comes with four minifigures, the Space Shuttle complete with external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters, and an assembly tower with winch. The original box and instructions are also included.

Lego System 6544 Shuttle Transcom 2. The Transcom 2 transport jet is a fun build, because you get to assemble a large jet and the Space Shuttle orbiter. It includes three minifigures, jet, shuttle, and tow vehicle. The original boxes and instructions are also included.

For Sale: Star Wars Collector’s Supreme Edition Darth Vader Costume

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While reading about virtual reality and the hyperreal, I started thinking about my beloved Darth Vader costume. Dressing up as Darth Vader, in a costume that is a fine simulation of the one we see David Prowse wear in the Star Wars films and officially licensed by Lucasfilm, is my own escape into something mythic, yet special to me in ways completely different than for anyone else–a meta-meta-signification to take Barthes one level up from his Mythologies.

What I’ve realized is that I don’t need the suit to be the evil Sith lord that everyone loves. It is something that I can integrate into my postmodern identity. Yes, a performance theorist would insist I dress and play the part to be the part, but I can satisfy myself and my own Darth Vader-ness without the aid of a suit. However, I believe I will hold on to that most powerful of all phallic symbols–my lightsaber.

So, the bottom line is that you can connect to your own Darth Vader-ness by bidding on my ebay auction for the costume here. Follow a performance praxis and become what you perform yourself to be. Give into your hatred, let it consume you, and look like a badass while you seethe with a burning desire to inflict pain on the galaxy. Yes, you may step-up and become the Sith lord–you can become the master. Use the force, and bid now.

2 Days Left on VFX1 Headgear Virtual Reality System eBay Auction

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Just wanted to let everyone know that my auction for a VFX1 VR helmet on ebay has two days left. Granted, the VR helmet doesn’t come with everything that you need to make it go, so to speak, but this is a heck of a technological artifact from the heady days of the 1990s and the beginning of widespread adoption of the Internet. And just look at my picture above–how cool is that?! I look like I should be in techno-movie like The Lawnmower Man or Strange Days. That could be you, if you win my auction, which has an opening bid of only $49.99!

You can find out more about the VFX1 VR System here, here, and here. You can download drivers for the system here.

It’s funny that I’m reading Mark Poster’s The Information Subject right now as I’m selling the Forte VFX1 VR Helmet, or perhaps it’s only coincidence. I mean, I ran across the VR Helmet just after we moved into the new place, and I saved Poster to read after working through some of the other items on my Pomo reading list. I suppose it was an unconscious motivation to sell the VR helmet as I began reading about the Internet, VR, and pomo identity formation. And the irony about the helmet and Poster’s collection of essays is how theorists unwittingly played futurists who failed to capture or realize the topology and new (old) interfaces for the Internet.

Science Fictional Stuff For Sale: DLP Projector and VR Helmet

The 2009-2010 school year is about to begin, and I’ve been posting a whole mess of things to Craigslist, ebay, and Amazon to increase the buoyancy of my personal finances. There are two SF-related items that I’ve posted on ebay that may be of interest to some of you. The first is a Toshiba TDP-S25 DLP projector [click here for the auction], and the second is a VFX1 Headgear Virtual Reality System Helmet [click here for the auction]. The projector is handy for watching Plan 9 From Outer Space against the side of a house, or playing Wii inside with a bunch of friends (among many other creative and entertaining uses). The VFX1 VR Helmet just looks dang cool. The projector is fully operational, but the VR helmet doesn’t come with the controller card or other accessories that make it run. Happy bidding, and many thanks for checking out the auctions!