Computers from 2001 and before intrigue me. Vintage gaming builds with Voodoo cards are pretty neat too tbh.
When I was younger I used to wonder how games fit so much on a tiny disk. Like the Nintendo DS, I always wonderes how a huge 3d game fit there
I've always wanted a C64, but the games are sometimes hard to find. Ones which aren't online are also hard to find at a good price, for example this retro game store near me was selling one for $160. No thanks.
my pops got me a decomissioned late 80s/early 90s airport terminal computer with DOS
i am one of t3h m0st 1337 hax0rz on the planet now
i am one of t3h m0st 1337 hax0rz on the planet now
Damn, that's actually pretty cool. What brand is it and what version of DOS does it use?
IBM and i got no idea.
that thing got thrown away in like 2005. its sleeping with the PCB boards in a landfill now
Damn, RIP terminal.IBM and i got no idea.
that thing got thrown away in like 2005. its sleeping with the PCB boards in a landfill now
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I like finding cheap good value stuff from a couple of years ago
I spend most of my day on a computer so I think I am.
E
Fuck that, they're crashing all the time. Pre-Windows xp = garbage
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(2) Altair 8800
(1) Apple II
(1) Apple II J-plus
(2) Apple II-e
(1) Apple IIc
(1) Xerox Alto
(1) Commodore PET
(1) Commodore CBM-II
(1) Commodore SX-64
(1) Commodore Plus/4
(2) Commodore 128
(1) TRS-80 Model I
(1) TRS-80 Model III
(1) TRS-80 Model 16B
(1) Sinclair ZX Spectrum
(1) Sinclair ZX Spectrum+
(1) NEC PC 8801 Mk.2-SR
(1) NEC PC 88-VA
All the ones that still function.
Everything except the PC 88-VA was inherited. That was my first one.
(1) Apple II
(1) Apple II J-plus
(2) Apple II-e
(1) Apple IIc
(1) Xerox Alto
(1) Commodore PET
(1) Commodore CBM-II
(1) Commodore SX-64
(1) Commodore Plus/4
(2) Commodore 128
(1) TRS-80 Model I
(1) TRS-80 Model III
(1) TRS-80 Model 16B
(1) Sinclair ZX Spectrum
(1) Sinclair ZX Spectrum+
(1) NEC PC 8801 Mk.2-SR
(1) NEC PC 88-VA
All the ones that still function.
Everything except the PC 88-VA was inherited. That was my first one.
C128 and Amiga 500 and 1200
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Your Amigas still functioning? I've got a fried Amiga 500plus the Euro edition that I'm trying to get up and running again.
I am into C programming.
They both still work but the 500 has some issue where it randomly resets every now and then. Annoying af.
D
I like older looking mechanical keyboards
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You got the 1.2 or the 1.3 OS on your 500? 1.2 is fucking twitchy especially if your Kickstart is ROM instead of floppy.
H O L Y S H I T
TFW can't even find a 486 DOS build for under $30. I only have a HP Pavilion A520N and a PowerMac G3 for my old computers. I do have a shitton of older peripherals and DOS games though.
Also, how did you inherit all of those computers, was there someone in your family who's a computer collector? Also TWO Altair 8800s OML.
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Yeah someone gave me all this. All the pre-1985 stuff was his, started sharing ownership kinda with him of stuff after 1986. Then I started getting my own shit. But after Windows and the 90's quality went to hell. Most of my computers from 1992-present got scrapped or cannibalized. Bunch of fucking junk really.
Unclecel built one of the Altairs in 1976, the second one isn't a true Altair it uses some parts from it, some parts from PT, some IMSAI 8080 parts, it's a fucking Frankenputer he started in 1978 and kept augmenting.
He wasn't a collector, all these machines were used and worked on, he was a fucking War Games style computer nerd. Had the IMSAI modem and all that shit. Modem doesn't work anymore but I still have it.
Unclecel built one of the Altairs in 1976, the second one isn't a true Altair it uses some parts from it, some parts from PT, some IMSAI 8080 parts, it's a fucking Frankenputer he started in 1978 and kept augmenting.
He wasn't a collector, all these machines were used and worked on, he was a fucking War Games style computer nerd. Had the IMSAI modem and all that shit. Modem doesn't work anymore but I still have it.
The 1.2 IIRC but it used to work. I've been looking up whether random resets are common and some guys mentioned a possibly leaky battery in the extra RAM and clock extension. I will look into it.
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Possibly, I'm trying to remember what the deal was with the 500Plus, because it took the same kind of shit on me before it fried, resets for no fucking reason. Look man, when I'm not drunk as fuck I will go look through the notebooks of all things computer and see if I can find some ideas for you. Unclecel and I had a few Amigas over the years so there's GOT to be something in the notebooks that might help.
Did you code on your Amiga?
Back then I didn't know C but I knew 68K assembly.
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Nah the Amiga was strictly for gaming.
Most of the coding we did on the various other Commodores.
Oh I knew 6502 assembly too kek. I've never published anything though, just messed around and experimenting.
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Fucking NICE. Keep at it. If you don't already have a copy get the Leventhal book, it's priceless. Just remember, if you know 6502, when Skynet starts up you can reprogram a Terminator with it. Also cheat sheets though. Fuck memorizing hex.
Ha I know x86 and x64 as well. I'm a machinecodecel, nerd af.
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You are my people. Probably just you though. Do two people constitute "a people"? Fuckall who cares, right?
You FORTRAN too?
Nah I'm not THAT old kek. Same for COBOL btw.
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Yeah, can do both COBOL & SNOBOL. Learned a lot of shit from unclecel he was in on the ground floor of a lot of shit but most of the really old ones I have to go back to the books to make it work for me. Not solid on it.
First programming language I learned for myself was BASIC. That I can do in my sleep it kinda STUCK with me.
CBM BASIC was my first programming language too.
Is there still a reason to know COBOL today other than nostalgic value?
The reason I know x64 assembly isn't so much to code in it as it is to understand how kernel programming works and how to better debug C/C++ code.
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COBOL/SNOBOL are still sort of in use? I use them anyway. Learning them isn't necessary but it helps to know the basics of them when you get hit with something like "University X neeeeeeds these files trapped in this machine that nobody knows how to work on anymore." or "This old factory in Buttfuck, GA is using old fucking knitting machines that only talk in COBOL" Stuff like that is fading out but I still get at least three or four projects a year where I need to break out the old code books.
It must be kinda nice to earn a living from nostalgic stuff.
I
Yeah. My life is fucking hell in every other respect but my work is alright I guess.
I got lucky. Basically inherited Unclecel's network of old computer nerds and "people you know" and made a niche job for myself. Pure fucking lightning bolt of being in the right family at the right time and place is all.
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