Re: "It almost looks as though it was made of Lego"
I'm using an IBM 5150 to make music - the Cakewalk sequencer on DOS, with a clone of Roland's MPU 401 interface. Not using it every day, but whenever I make music which is a couple of times a week.
I find a lot of old machines and software allow me to get on with what I want to do, without overly complex and poorly thought out UI. Reliability isn't a major issue either - recapping and replacing hard drives with solid state upgrades.
Thanks to the hobbyist scene mentioned in the article, there are some amazing forums and products our there.