The rededication of an old question: can the degree of civilisation of asociety be judged by the way this society deals with old computers? Now, assuming this to be so, Western European societies do not score very heavily. In these parts, old, but still functioning computers are simply scrapped, made redundant and without remorse left to corrosion and an existence without a task and no perspective. That this doesn’t need to be so, and that even computers with limited storage capacity can still take on a function in society, is illustrated by Alexei Shulgin’s outdated 386, now serving as a street musician. Performing well-known songs such as “House of the Rising Sun” or “California Dreaming”with all the charme available to a text-to-speech- programm, and asking for only small donations, it waits for the generous passer-by. The ironic comment delivered by Shulgin and his singing computer is well within the context of the performances by the 386 DX rockband, with which he “toured” Europe in 1998 and performed on nearly 60 occasions. This one-man-one-computer-show was based on a similar idea as his current installation: Shulgin presented himself as a performer carrying a keyboard, and by simply hitting a key elicited the text-to-speech singing, accompanied by very simple music and a few Seventies-style visual effects. It’s a familiar story: the Russian musician, performing on streetcorners and at parties, making more money abroad than with a steady engagement at home. And maybe it’s also true that a society’s degree of civilisation may be judged by the self-ironic attitude of its artists