Home Computer - Use in The 21st Century

Use in The 21st Century

As older computer hardware ages and the supply of replacement parts dwindles, it has become popular among enthusiasts to emulate these machines, recreating their environments on modern hardware. One of the more well-known emulators is the Multiple Emulator Super System which can emulate most of the better known home computers. A more or less complete list of home computer emulators can be found in the List of computer system emulators article. Games for many 8 and 16 bit home computers are becoming available for the Wii Virtual Console.

Retrocomputing is the use of real hardware to perform modern tasks such as surfing the web and email. Throughout the 1990s and 1st decade of the 21st century, many home computer systems were available inexpensively at garage sales and on eBay. Many enthusiasts have started to collect home computers, with older and rarer systems being much sought after. Sometimes the collections turn into a virtual museum presented on web sites. The Commodore 64 has been repackaged as the C-One and C64 Direct-to-TV, both designed by Jeri Ellsworth with modern enhancements.