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ORLÉANS – Every week during the summer, ONFR+ presents you with a new episode ofA Franco, a passion. Whether it’s a collection or a real craze, discover the extraordinary passion that inhabits a Franco-Ontarian or a Franco-Ontarian, from North to South and from East to West. Heading for Orléans with Youtuber Philippe Rivière.
Last week, we introduced you to Marc Bissonnette and his passion for haute couture. This week, it’s also a stylish collection…retro-computing.
Computers are real collector’s items because the rarer they are, the more valuable they become. However, not everything that has been produced on a large scale has one. Although the Apple brand has produced many of its computers in large quantities, there are still some hard-to-find antiques.
It is in a quiet suburb of Orléans that we find Philippe Rivière, who owns some mythical objects of the brand, having more than 30 years. This young 21-year-old YouTuber is followed by almost 10,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel: “AppelezMoiPhil”, but his hidden passion is computers.
Back to the past
We are like teleported in the past when we follow Philippe Rivière in the basement of his parents’ house. We discover the magic of time. Just being surrounded by old computers gives us the strange feeling of being transported back to 1980.
As we settled into the armchairs of this cinema room, our first thought turns out to have been: that even the sofas were of unequaled comfort since 1980.
Arranged in this way for us, Philippe Rivière displays some of his most beautiful pieces on a table. He promises us a demonstration at the end of our meeting.
But what can a young man of 21 be passionate about? “I’ve always had a passion for computing, it’s one of my big interests and it’s a hobby,” he says.
Philippe Rivière explains to us that there is a certain nostalgia in these objects. For the young youtuber, these computers represent a certain era and a certain creativity, both inspiring and dynamic.
“I really like the 1980s and 1990s. It fascinates me to see the society before and to see computers from that period. It’s like a part of society, a time different from mine. I find out about the computer, but also about the period in which it came out, ”he testifies.
A research work
A passion that began very young, from the age of two or three, according to his most distant memories. Philippe Rivière remembers tapping on computers with his family, then in kindergarten at his school. “I remember exactly that the computers in my class were identical to this one,” he says, showing us one of the computers in his collection. “It’s a 1984 Macintosh,” he tells us proudly.
“These relics over 35 years old are still working and I am very proud of them. – Philippe Riviere
This collection started in 2017, only five years ago. “My first computer, the one that starts my collection, is an iMac G3. »
This is also the first model of iMac marketed in 1998. It will be the computer that will allow Apple to escape bankruptcy.
This enthusiast tells us about computers, the brand, the evolution of products and the quasi-futuristic vision of Steve Jobs when he created this range of products, which today are among the classics of computing.
Electronic products of this brand have been considered the most creative in the United States for more than two decades.
For all his finds, Philippe Rivière searched the meanders of Kijiji. “I found computers from the 1970s, some of which were so rare and expensive that I couldn’t afford them,” he explains.
“When I buy old computers, I like to clean them, reinstall them and upgrade. It’s more or less the first job that I had, in any case the first remunerated activity if you will. »
sentimental items
Another piece that says a lot about the brand is the Powerbook G4 Titanium, released in 2001. “It’s 20 years different from the last MacBook I own and they’re super similar. »
Indeed, side by side, the two computers look very similar. “It looks like Apple has gone back to basics with the latest Macbooks. We have the same keyboard, the same colors and the same shape. »
Phil Rivière describes the objects to us with real ardor and very palpable excitement. “The Powerbook charger is really the coolest the brand has ever created. It’s the space ship. »
” I’m not sure there are many left in the world of these computers. » – Philippe Riviere
He then introduces us to two computers produced and marketed in the 1980s. »
This is the 1984 Macintosh 512k, the brand’s second Macintosh model. He and his predecessor are the first personal computers created by Apple. Its quadrupled memory earned it the nickname Fat Mac.
The other computer is the Macintosh SE marketed in 1987, which innovated since it was the first Macintosh to integrate space for an internal hard disk.
“These relics over 35 years old are still working and I am very proud of them. »
Listening to this young enthusiast, we feel a real admiration for computers. “I think we have access to the end of the story here and I’m a history buff. »
Since childhood, Phil Rivière has called himself “super curious”, he will even admit that this curiosity will have led him to destroy several computers, in particular by erasing the famous file system 32 Windows computers. “My parents will tell you about it with great bitterness. »
“From the age of 8, I thought of a career in IT and that until 2020. I tried to study computer systems technology, but I realized that it was not for me”, he admits, “I am unable to reproduce the same task, continuously”.
electronics too
Philippe Rivière is passionate about Apple brand computers, of course, but that’s not all.
If we feel like we’re in an old episode of quantum code, it’s simply because the youtuber collects other old machines. “Since the beginning of my collection, I have probably owned more than twenty computers. »
Windows computers belonging to his family can be found in his collection. Computers dating from 1995, but also floppy disks, very popular in the 1990s. A central unit, yellowed by time, bought in a shop that no longer even exists.
“Do you know what a pocket computer is? “, he says, while revealing an object located between the portable cellphone and a remote control. The enthusiast will also reveal game consoles, including the Playstation One, which will be 28 years old this year.
We officially made a jump in the past when Philippe Rivière invites us to turn on the computers. We are surprised, we hold our breath. “I hope they will light up, you never know,” he whispers.
Yet when his antiques light up, sound and image reveal the significance of such an experience.
“I’m not sure there are many left in the world of these computers,” he says.
“I find it really cool to make a collection on Apple products, in any case maybe cooler than other brands. Apple really takes design to heart, that’s what I really like. »