The Impractical but Indisputable Rise of Retrocomputing Prices for vintage PCs in need of repairs and hard-to-find parts have shot up on resale sites. A Commodore computer being used in 1983.Credit...John Nobley/Fairfax Media, via Getty Images By Kim Key Jan. 8, 2021 For all the personal technology introduced and popularized in 2020 — upscale fitness bikes, at-home Covid tests, game consoles new and old — the personal computer lands on the list with a bit of a thud. PCs lack the novelty of other gadgets, but they’re practical, essential even, in a year when work, school and social life have come to rely heavily upon them.