Old computers and laptops

[hotpoint95622]

Hotpoint95622

I have an Amstrad 1640 from around 1981 or 2 same age as my Hotpoint 18680, the washer is faster.

The Amstrad has a 20MB hard drive, think that’s one JPEG photo.
640K memory, that won’t even process an icon in window 1.1.
The original 5” floppy drive was replaced with 3” one in about 1990.
Black and white monitor. Was available with a colour CGA monitor of EGA colour, money must have been tight so had to have cheep one.
Still used occasionally for word processing and it has a very basic DTP.

Also have the original dot matrix printer which was with the 1640.
Makes a lovely sound when printing.

 

[davek]

I've got an Apple IIGS, and I have an all-in-one Power Mac that I sometimes use for a TV. I bought both from surplus auctions. I intended to use the Mac for an mp3 jukebox on the stereo, but I found that it doesn't have 16-bit sound. That surprised me. I also have a 486 Gateway HandBook. My normal use computer is a Compaq Presario M2000 Turion from 2005.

 

[retroguy]

Old Computer Still In Use.....

This is not the oldest computer that I have, but it is my favorite, because it's the first brand new computer I ever bought for myself. Previously I had only purchased off lease machines. So this is a Compaq Presario 5798. I bought it in May of 2000, if memory serves. It's got a P3 600 MHz, and 256MB of memory. Runs Windows 98, and probably runs it as fast as a new computer runs Vista. My only beef is that I can't use it so often since no one seems to make AV software for Windows 98 anymore.

 

[retroguy]

My Daily Driver....

I didn't "build" this one-I'll give Dell the credit for that. I did however empty out the box and replace EVERYTHING inside. Its got an Athlon Dual Core @ 3.0GHz with 8GB Ram. It is extremely fast. The downside to it is that every other computer I use anywhere seems to crawl in comparison. Not good if patience is already something you lack a little

 

[cadman]

Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't post a shot of the ol' "computer museum" I use to have downstairs.... : )

The table on the right has an original ][, ][+, Apple III, IIe with Apple tablet and duodisk, etc. SE/30 with phonenet setup in the middle, ]{C, ][C+, ][GS and ][GS Woz edition on far table. Original IBM PC, Zenith Data System, TRS-80 Mod 3 on the LH side. And a whole lot more stuck under the tables. Commodore PET on the end (tough to see). Most of this stuff is in storage now but I wasn't crazy enough to get rid of anything! I use to spend hours

 

[retroguy]

Ticket to the museum....

WooHoo! Now THAT is awesome!

 

[hooverkeymatic]

I have a Compaq Presario 500 series.It has a 600 MHZ CPU and a 15GB hard disk.It has 256 MB of RAM.We are selling the screen for it as i have a laptop and i use a wireless network from our wireless router.If we get rid of the Presario,we will have no internet.We are keeping it,but you cant use it.(DAMN!) lol

 

[whirlcool]

We've always had computers around since 1977 or so. Our first was an Apple II. Then a few years later we picked up a Apple //c, that set up cost us $3,600! But I liked the Imagewriter Printer. You could program it to return to top of page and start printing again. I used that feature to make inserts for my cassette tape boxes which had the song list on it.
Then we ended up with a Zenith Data Systems PC compatible. It came with two floppy disks, but I added a 20MB hard disk to it. Had that thing for about 5 years.
At this point I started building my own computers. I opened an account at a local PC part wholesaler and got the parts pretty cheap. I built a 386-40 (AMD CPU), 486DX-66, Pentium 100 and finally a Intel Pentium D 3.2Ghz machine with 2GB RAM.
I used to have an IBM Thinkpad as my "on the road" machine, it lasted forever! Super reliable, and later super slow. About 3 months ago I bought a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop. Another great machine. It is really a rugged laptop.

 

[58limited]

My dad worked for Texas Instruments, so I had computers at a young age. My first was a TI-99, followed shortly by a TI-99A. I remember the video game graphics far outclassed Atari at the time. We had a memory expansion module, 5 1/4" floppy drive, experimental Intelli-Voice module (also had a three ring binder with all of the design specs - I was told to NEVER show that to anyone), and a video graphics module. To add peripherals, you plugged them into the side, in sequence: the memory module plugged into the computer, then the video module plugged into the memory module, then the voice module plugged into the video module, etc. This thing would stretch all the way across the table if you kept adding peripherals. We sold it at a garage sale in the mid-90s.

Next, we got a TI laptop in the late 80s, at the time this was one of the smallest and most advanced. We gave it to my cousin about 8 years ago.

My dad moved on to Compaq in the early 90s when they were at the top of their game. He informed me of various business decisions that management began making which I predicted would sink the company (and they did). My dad always said the Dilbert cartoon was exactly right, the managers there were idiots. My last Compaq was a 1999 desktop that was a POS, sad considering that five years prior Compaq was the best computer you could get.

I still have a Compaq LTE Elite prototype laptop from the mid-90s. This thing was awesome and I would still use it if the screen wasn't cracked - the bottom third doesn't work and there is no replacement since it is a prototype.

 

[whirlcool]

Some of our friends had TI-99/a computers. I thought they were a wonderful system, but as most people found out they should have made it more convenient to upgrade rather than having to use an external upgrade box.

 

[j2400]

I just added another obsolete computer to my unofficial museum: an Apple Newton 300. The Newton line was a PDA line, ancestor I guess to the iPhone/iPod Touch, which got killed off soon after Steve Jobs returned to Apple. The Newton 300 was one of the last Newtons, more a small laptop than a PDA. Some still like these as portable word processors, although I have to think I'd probably be better off with an old Mac PowerBook, since I can run the same word processing program on it that I run on my old Mac. (Keep things simple, and make moving files about easier.) Still, I couldn't resist this Newton, particularly since it was next to nothing.

A link about the Newton:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMate_300

 

[hooverkeymatic]

Im glad that others share my intrest in computer (as well as washers!)Keep them coming!