Old computer technology

[ZXT 2,401]

I just pulled out my old Windows 98 laptop that I play around with, for the first time in about a year. Surprisingly enough, the 20 year old battery wasn't dead!

 

 

 

 

 

I was curious how well it might display web pages today, given that things have advanced a lot online, even in the last year or two.

 

 

 

 

 

I pulled up RS to see how it displayed it. All seems fairly well, except for certain elements that it doesn't know how to process, which display as a rectangle. I'm writing this post with it now. We'll see how RS's emoticons display with this post. 

 

 

 

 

It just got me wondering, are there any other nerds on here that toy with old computer technology for fun? I figure probably not but you never know! I've a few desktops that have software as old as Windows 3.1, and a virtual-PC on one of my computers that runs Windows 1.01. I'd like to play with Dos some day. My dad supposedly still has his Tandy TRS-80 (that he bought new) around somewhere, though he hasn't seen it in 25+ years.

 

 

 

I did use this computer throughout my first two years of college. You'd be surprised at the looks you get from other millennials!

 

 

 

I like most everything old; cars, tractors, computers, music, etc.. I'm a bit of a nut, I know. 
 

[troutbum70 857]

Still have a commodore 40 that's uses dos some where stuffed away and some floppy disc that ran in it. Had a 40 meg hard drive whoo hoo.

[oliver2-44 9,689]

I;ve got a Mac, 1st year they came out my wife was in grad school and Apple was offering deals to students. It has an internal and external floppy drive, no hard drive.

[ZXT 2,401]

22 minutes ago, troutbum63 said:

Still have a commodore 40 that's uses dos some where stuffed away and some floppy disc that ran in it. Had a 40 meg hard drive whoo hoo.

Very cool! I'd love to play around with a Commodore, not that I'd have any clue what I was doing with it!
 

8 minutes ago, oliver2-44 said:

I;ve got a Mac, 1st year they came out my wife was in grad school and Apple was offering deals to students. It has an internal and external floppy drive, no hard drive.

That's great, Jim! I'm guessing that was around 1984? I believe my dad bought his TRS-80 in 1981, which would've been his second year of college. 
 

[ACman 7,618]

This is where @stevasaurus comes in  and I believe there’s still a complete Commodore 64 all in the original boxes in my parents basement . 

[Razorback 1,035]

I don’t have any of that old junk any longer, but..... 

 

I have worked in a mainframe (giant business computers.... that have really always been HUGE, bullet-proof “servers”) since 1981. The customer I was at all the time also was an early-ship (a.k.a. “Bleeding edge”) customer for IBM’s first Personal Computers, and through the years I was there they progressed thru the PS/2 line of products in their office environment. Occasionally, I would go and service those, but their were others on the team that focused more on the PC products. Interesting days back then. I remember when a 20MB hard drive was a real monster! Since 1995, I have been pretty much dedicated to the world’s largest retailer, in their mainframe world. As a matter of fact, I am at work now on a service call, typing this out while in a “hurry-up-and-wait” mode.

I have tried to NOT accumulate a lot of PC gear, but have acquired a tower-type server and several Lenovo laptops. For personal use, I use the Ubuntu OS..... I have learned to like it a lot, but purposely have NOT gotten into the nuts and bolts of that OS. Over the years, I have gotten more and more low-tech, for the most part. After being in the complicated world I live in for a living, I tend to look for things to do outside...... like play with my C160!!!!

Edited December 13, 2019 by Razorback

[ebinmaine 67,277]

6 hours ago, ZXT said:

 

I like most everything old; cars, tractors, computers, music, etc.. I'm a bit of a nut, I know

Trina and I are both the same way.

 

No old computers around here but I do have 2 late 90s hi powered stereo systems.

 

 

[bc.gold 3,403]

5 hours ago, Razorback said:

I don’t have any of that old junk any longer, but..... 

 

I have worked in a mainframe (giant business computers.... that have really always been HUGE, bullet-proof “servers”) since 1981. The customer I was at all the time also was an early-ship (a.k.a. “Bleeding edge”) customer for IBM’s first Personal Computers, and through the years I was there they progressed thru the PS/2 line of products in their office environment. Occasionally, I would go and service those, but their were others on the team that focused more on the PC products. Interesting days back then. I remember when a 20MB hard drive was a real monster! Since 1995, I have been pretty much dedicated to the world’s largest retailer, in their mainframe world. As a matter of fact, I am at work now on a service call, typing this out while in a “hurry-up-and-wait” mode.

I have tried to NOT accumulate a lot of PC gear, but have acquired a tower-type server and several Lenovo laptops. For personal use, I use the Ubuntu OS..... I have learned to like it a lot, but purposely have NOT gotten into the nuts and bolts of that OS. Over the years, I have gotten more and more low-tech, for the most part. After being in the complicated world I live in for a living, I tend to look for things to do outside...... like play with my C160!!!!

 

Server back plains loaded with gold plated pins, gold fingered ram, keyboard mylars printed with conductive silver ink traces.

 

Gold pins and traces are plated over a protective nickle barrier to keep the gold from migrating into the copper printed circuit, both gold and silver are soft metal which will easily abrade free of its bond.

 

Keyboard mylars the plastic sheet with the printed circiut applied with a special ink jet printer using a conductive silver ink.

 

If you cut gold plated pins off then tumble these in a rock tumbler with a bit of water overnight then filter the water, the filtrate will be your gold. Melt this with a bit of borax for a beautiful gold button.

 

Cut the mylars into strips one inch wide, tumble to abrade the silver free from the plastic sheet, melt the filtrate with a bit of borax.

 

Forgot to mention, incinerate your filter papers to get that last bit of precious metals and that you do not have to add any abrasive media to the tumbler.

 

Been using Linux from day one, then became a Red Hat fan then Fedora, last six years Ubuntu and we use voip.ms as our provider.

 

Here's what we have spent on telephone number and calls from Oct 1/2019 / December 13/2019

 

 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2019 by bcgold

[tom2p 2,394]

I'm a mainframe guy 

 

many said mainframe would be gone long time ago - but does not appear to be an end in sight 

 

not just batch - but on line also ; mainframe components often used by web services 

 

at home and school we have Apple ;  my kids swear by Apple - won't use the other stuff 

 

Apple more expensive - but performs well :  boots up in seconds - great run time / battery life - continues to perform well for years and years - and no issues with viruses 

 

Apple also works well with music software 

 

the kids have partitioned the Apple hard drives to install some MS Office products 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2019 by tom2p

[953 nut 55,081]

8 hours ago, ZXT said:

I did use this computer throughout my first two years of college.

I had to use a Slate and an Abacus!           

[tom2p 2,394]

5 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

I had to use a Slate and an Abacus!           

I like !

 

some of the most simple things in life are the best ...

 

including Wheel Horse attachment system !

 

 

[JoeM 7,871]

One thing about it, wont have to worry about getting hacked, no hackers working now on windows 98 stuff!

[Alex175 784]

At our factory, we still have my father's first ever work computer, a massive old Texas Instruments machine over half the size of my desk at work.  From what I understand my grandfather wrote all the coding for the inventory management program that my dad used.  Sadly at some point someone threw away the monitor and keyboard so all we have left is the actual computer. 

 

[troutbum70 857]

Did that one do more than add and subtract? I know a lot of early machines could not do multiplication or divide. 

[Razorback 1,035]

4 hours ago, tom2p said:

I'm a mainframe guy 

 

many said mainframe would be gone long time ago - but does not appear to be an end in sight 

 

not just batch - but on line also ; mainframe components often used by web services 

 

at home and school we have Apple ;  my kids swear by Apple - won't use the other stuff 

 

Apple more expensive - but performs well :  boots up in seconds - great run time / battery life - continues to perform well for years and years - and no issues with viruses 

 

Apple also works well with music software 

 

the kids have partitioned the Apple hard drives to install some MS Office products 

 

 

I remember back in the 90’s when the mainframe bigots were saying, “The mainframe is dead.” Wishful thinking on their part. But a lot of business bought in to that thinking, bought a bunch of smaller servers thinking they were saving money, then realized that the administrative costs were exponentially higher, and trying to manage all of those distributed systems outside of a “data center” was next to impossible. Plus, they found out that they really shouldn’t bet their business on a less-bullet-proof system. So, guess what? The mainframe is still alive and VERY well in larger businesses like retail, petroleum, airlines, banks and other financial houses. And of course in the government....... what do you think the NSA uses to process all of their snooping? LOL!!!

And, although there are still a TON of servers and have their place, a lot of them have been migrated BACK into a data center environment.

 

It’s a very interesting environment.

[bc.gold 3,403]

1 hour ago, Razorback said:

I remember back in the 90’s when the mainframe bigots were saying, “The mainframe is dead.” Wishful thinking on their part. But a lot of business bought in to that thinking, bought a bunch of smaller servers thinking they were saving money, then realized that the administrative costs were exponentially higher, and trying to manage all of those distributed systems outside of a “data center” was next to impossible. Plus, they found out that they really shouldn’t bet their business on a less-bullet-proof system. So, guess what? The mainframe is still alive and VERY well in larger businesses like retail, petroleum, airlines, banks and other financial houses. And of course in the government....... what do you think the NSA uses to process all of their snooping? LOL!!!

And, although there are still a TON of servers and have their place, a lot of them have been migrated BACK into a data center environment.

 

It’s a very interesting environment.

 

Any problems with tin whiskers.

 

https://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/

 

Edited December 13, 2019 by bcgold

[Razorback 1,035]

9 minutes ago, bcgold said:

 

Any problems with tin whiskers.

 

https://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/

Yes, I have seen that many times. Usually brought up when investigating power supply failures. It’s bound to affect other things, though.

Edited December 13, 2019 by Razorback

[bc.gold 3,403]

Lead free solder used in newer electronics is a curse on humanity.

 

Unexpected vehicle acceleration, tin whisker.

 

https://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/reference/tech_papers/2011-NASA-GSFC-whisker-failure-app-sensor.pdf

 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2019 by bcgold

[stevasaurus 22,710]

Well, they don't call me Stevasaurus for nothing.  I took some DOS classes in Community College, Windows 3.1...so I am into Dos and Bat files.  I have 3 computers that I am playing with.  A 485 (is that right?)) that has Windows 97...one with Vista Home...and my Del that I just loaded Windows 10, 64 bit on.  I just bought a portable A: drive that I can use to play all of my 3.5 diskettes.  I have quite a few books for the different Windows and Dos systems...plus a Q-Basic book that is to die for.  Playing Chess in Dos is like playing the first video game...pong.  What a riot!!!  

[MikMacMike 479]

15 hours ago, ZXT said:

I just pulled out my old Windows 98 laptop that I play around with, for the first time in about a year. Surprisingly enough, the 20 year old battery wasn't dead!

 

 

 

 

 

I was curious how well it might display web pages today, given that things have advanced a lot online, even in the last year or two.

 

 

 

 

 

I pulled up RS to see how it displayed it. All seems fairly well, except for certain elements that it doesn't know how to process, which display as a rectangle. I'm writing this post with it now. We'll see how RS's emoticons display with this post. 

 

 

 

 

It just got me wondering, are there any other nerds on here that toy with old computer technology for fun? I figure probably not but you never know! I've a few desktops that have software as old as Windows 3.1, and a virtual-PC on one of my computers that runs Windows 1.01. I'd like to play with Dos some day. My dad supposedly still has his Tandy TRS-80 (that he bought new) around somewhere, though he hasn't seen it in 25+ years.

 

 

 

I did use this computer throughout my first two years of college. You'd be surprised at the looks you get from other millennials!

 

 

 

I like most everything old; cars, tractors, computers, music, etc.. I'm a bit of a nut, I know. 
 

Actually zxt, Im always building computers....I used to build them for poorer familys for free. Id always try to get them off Windows of any kind because I have not been a fan of Bill Gates for many years now, So way back when I changed almost everything i have to a much more stable, safer, and private operating system to replace Windows....and its free too., in fact the pc I am on right now is what they call a linux OS.....OS = Operating System.

Now dont get me wrong, all the operating systems have progressed from 32 bit os's to 64 bit......but there are still very light weight, very secure os's out there that will run on older equipment too, and yes 90% are all free. Some of them have as many as 45000 apps for anything you might need to use also and yes they are also most all free....most belong to FOSS which is basically a free software site. There are programs for everything you ever needed actually, and never treading or having to put money out for prepiratary software unless its like a specialized area for robotics or something like that. Let me know ok I have been building these since 1995 as a hobby.

[MikMacMike 479]

4 hours ago, Alex175 said:

At our factory, we still have my father's first ever work computer, a massive old Texas Instruments machine over half the size of my desk at work.  From what I understand my grandfather wrote all the coding for the inventory management program that my dad used.  Sadly at some point someone threw away the monitor and keyboard so all we have left is the actual computer. 

 

WOW

[Tractorhead 9,064]

9 hours ago, 953 nut said:

I had to use a Slate and an Abacus!           

 

 

Oh, hehehe

 

i guess we must have the same „Notebook“ dealer in the Past... 😎

 

 

😂

[8ntruck 6,991]

We've got a 386 computer up in the attic that was running DOS.  Last time it was booted up was probably 10 years ago - after having to replace the battery on the mother board.  We displayed the computer and the dot matrix printer at an antique show at a local school last time it was used.  The kids were intrigued with the noise that the printer made. 

[Marv 919]

Timex 16K. That is fast.

Marv

[Tractorhead 9,064]

purchased my First own Computer young, a Sinclair ZX80 in 1980,

Later a C64 what i improved with a lot of Hardwarehacks

in 1983 i bought an Osbourne 1 with CPM with my trainee cash.

 

i wrote a lot of programs with, to improve my skills.

 

i had one of the first Apple Laptops must be in Basement.