Old PC Technology

[a9127]

How many of you owned one of these? Although we had Macs like the one above in school, my “first” Mac was this one. A “Biondi Blue” model purchased in 1999. If I remember right you could get them in at least 5 colors.

I also opted for the 3 ½” external floppy drive which connected through a USB interface. Steve Jobs did not want anyone to use “floppies” as he envisioned an interconnected world via the “Internet” (quotes because back then it was a still a “thing”… ). But as you can see, there still are wires! And a small CRT display. Wonder what was up with that? Just a few years later that would all change.

It came with a “Jurassic Park” style game. I also had Microsoft Office for it so I could use Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. “Nanosaur” was released April 6, 1998. And an update was offered in 2002 (Nanosaur Extreme). My nieces would probably like Nanosaur. Too bad my iMac ended up in a landfill many years ago.

I still have the 3 ½” floppy in my office… just in case. It has come in handy. My current students have never even used one.

[a9127]

How many of these can you guess? This appeared in one of my "clickbait" ads this morning. Many people still have "vintage porn" in some of these formats.

(The only one I'm not 100% sure of is the small black cartridge with the red stripe in the center. If it's what I think it is, they were used for digital recording and computer backup. Showing my age on the others I guess. Either that or I'm a "student of technology." Hey it's my job... )

[ila]

Originally Posted by a9127

How many of these can you guess? This appeared in one of my "clickbait" ads this morning. Many people still have "vintage porn" in some of these formats.

(The only one I'm not 100% sure of is the small black cartridge with the red stripe in the center. If it's what I think it is, they were used for digital recording and computer backup. Showing my age on the others I guess. Either that or I'm a "student of technology." Hey it's my job... )

I know, had, or have seen all of them except for the black cartridge with the red stripe.

[paladin68]

That small black w/ red stripe looks like an old DAT cartridge. I still have a Panther mini 2000 DAT drive (SCSI) and a few cartridges but I haven't used it in years.

While i never owned a name brand desktop PC I've used the original compaq portable (with the little built in 9" green screen), IBM XT & AT, compaq 386, Apple IIe (with a microsoft softcard to make it a CPM machine), commodore 64 with tape and diskette drives, and still have a couple old ST412/MFM hard drives. I still have original IBM DOS 2.1 and 3.1 manuals & IBM Basic 3.0 manuals, and lots more.

When I switched to IBM ThinkPads over 20 years ago I always kept the old ones and have them rtom the 600 and 760 series (late 90s) and T series from T21 through T (&W) 530.

Anyone remember ARCnet, or Corvus Omninet?

Token ring - it wasn't even a ring configuration. It was really laid out just like star Ethernet (which we all use now).

Never used the original "thick" Ethernet - that was for very large installations. I did use and run lots of thin or "cheaper"net BNC connected coax Ethernet before the star configuration took over.

[ila]

Originally Posted by paladin68

That small black w/ red stripe looks like an old DAT cartridge...

I, too, initially thought it was a DAT cartridge so I looked for a matching image, but I couldn't find anything that resembled the exact shape and size. It could be that there were different sizes made. It's quite awhile since I've even seen anything DAT so I don't remember all the different tapes and equipment.

[franalexes]

My first computer had no program. I had to type in all commands. The first one( for training I guess) took over 300 keys ( letters, numbers, and symbols) and then hit "enter". result: the screen went red for one second. I then waited ten years for a Gateway computer.

[a9127]

As I began my new position as Executive in Residence at my university last week, I started cleaning out my home office as well. This is the program I wrote way back in grade school with one of my teachers. It was called “Chart Analyst for Windows.” My dad got his attorney to write up a license agreement and also to keep the teacher from taking advantage. As he always said "trust nobody." The program was written in C++. I did most of the coding.

Thought this might be of interest here as it’s all pretty obsolete now. Especially the “modem settings” routine. 1994? 1994??? Christ! I guess it was what it was. I still have an external 3½ USB drive. May try “installing” it later tonight to see what happens?

Anyway it didn’t make me the next “Bill Gates” but I made enough money to buy a Corvette for my 16th birthday some years later. Invested the rest.

Eventually this venture became the basis for the market research consulting firm I now own.

Last picture. Black of course. Six speed manual. Z51 suspension. HUD. At my parent’s home in Michigan. Spring Break 2000. Would’ve taken Dove Cameron out but she was only 4.