99% of the stuff I was actually doing was collaboration and it's really difficult doing that on vintage computing platforms
Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Are we talking Zoom or IRC here?
If you need to do the sort of work where you just need to concentrate with no distractions, a "vintage" platform is a superior choice. A few prominent authors swear by their obsolete word processors for example. Many people (myself included) find it hard to focus and resist procrastination on any modern Internet-connected system. But I can get my head down in First Word Plus on my Atari ST (or Word 5.1 on a classic Mac) and upload the file later for formatting in Word and sharing by whatever means.