thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

[Guest thanatoid]

thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

(As one of my good friends in news.software.readers branded me,

I am proud to be a "reverse hardware snob".)

 

***

 

Computer custom-ordered and built by some shop in some city in

some country.

 

Intel Pentium 166 MMX (original)

 

PC Chips M572 MB (I originally got the M571, two died and there

were no more in stock but the M572 had just come in so they gave

me one)

 

4 x 16MB EDO RAM DIMM's (original, changed 2 of them for one

64MB DIMM about 6 months ago, total RAM now 96 MB)

 

Matrox Mystique PCI (original)

 

Creative AWE64 Sound Blaster (original)

 

U.S. Robotics Sportster 33.6 Fax internal modem (original)

 

LG CED-8080B CD-RW (upgraded from Toshiba 12x CD-ROM player 5 or

6 years ago)

 

8.4 GB Seagate HD (upgraded a few years ago after various drives

ranging from 3GB to 40GB in size kept on dying - so far so good)

 

15" Sony Trinitron Multiscan 100sx monitor (original, image

quality is exactly the same as it was 10 years ago)

 

Dell AT-101W switch keyboard (upgraded about 7 years ago from a

pre-Win keyboard that someone gave me)

 

Logitech Track-Man Marble (Omron switches replaced a couple of

years ago)

 

APC Back-UPS Pro 280

 

HP LaserJet 6L printer (original, second cartridge installed

about a year ago - I don't print much)

 

Beyer unidirectional microphone (over 30 years old but studio

quality)

 

Realistic Optimus STS 50AV shielded 2-way speakers

 

***

 

DOS 6.22/Win95B OEM (Tweaked for several years until it finally

ran the way I wanted it to.)

 

Last system "patch" or "update" - I put in the ME versions of

scandisk and defrag a few years ago.

 

***

 

Core applications:

(N.B. - nothing by Microsoft except the OS)

 

Total Commander 6.55

OffByOne 3.5a

Opera 7.53

Xnews 5.4.25

nPop 1.01

FileHound 1.2.2

 

Adobe Pagemaker 6.52

Edxor 1.60

Micrografx Picture Publisher 7

ACDSee 2.22

STP mp3 player

 

Acronis TrueImage Deluxe

TaskInfo2000 2.2

WinRAR 3.11

CDRWin 4

 

***

 

Boot time from BIOS password entry to full Windows load: 45

seconds

Overall speed - IMO, fast as heck

Crashes or hangs - only when I do something really stupid or hit

too many wrong keys at the same time.

 

***

 

What it CAN do:

Everything I need it to except music and video editing (see

below). (It actually CAN convert - not edit - music or video,

but it takes hours and hours, which is why I got the other

machine.)

 

What it can NOT do:

Play games less than 10 years old (but I am not a gamer),

watch/edit/convert video or music (but I have a 2GHz machine for

that). (It CAN however *record* flv video - and any audio,

obviously - as well as allow me to talk online and listen to

internet radio - although the last time I bothered with either

of those was about 8 years ago.)

 

Many "new" programs or later versions of old ones don't run on

95B. I find the older versions smaller, stabler, and faster,

IOW, much better. AFAIAC, there hasn't been anything new worth

using written for years. (Not counting certain new developments

like mp3 and other audio and video compression methods, DVD-

RW's, or Skype - which won't run on 95, but I have no one to

talk to anyway.)

 

***

 

Advantages:

 

I don't have to worry about patches, updates, crashes, latest

drivers, etc. I know the machine pretty well and don't worry

about anything going wrong (it hasn't for a very long time). I

get everything done faster than I would on an XP let alone Vista

machine (except as mentioned, audio and video which are handled

on the 2GHz machine). I get to spend money on other things.

 

Disadvantages:

 

Ridicule by people who enjoy spending several hours a week

patching, updating, or reinstalling their OS's; "learning" to

use useless new features; putting the computer in the living

room as the second Idiot Box; and throwing their money away on

bloated "new" versions of software for the most part originally

conceived by someone else in the late 80's and early 90's. I

also can't DL DVD's or use torrents, but since I prefer reading

and music to movies and TV, I don't care.

 

P.S.

I realize it's almost the 28th, but while I've planned this

announcement for about 6 months, I decided yesterday that I

wasn't going to bother and then changed my mind about an hour

ago. Also, I was in a different time zone, and did not take

"delivery" of the system until the 28th or 29th, so I think it's

OK. Hope you agree.

[Guest Dan]

RE: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

Congratulations. I am glad you are happy with your older PC. Is there any

reason you stick with Windows 95B instead of 98 Second Edition?

[Guest thanatoid]

RE: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

=?Utf-8?B?RGFu?= <Dan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

news:55FE36D2-244F-46E8-896F-1A9ECC7BCCFD@microsoft.com:

> Congratulations. I am glad you are happy with your older

> PC. Is there any reason you stick with Windows 95B instead

> of 98 Second Edition?

 

Thank you. The "other machine" I mentioned runs 98SE Lite. I see

no reason to put that OS on my first machine. The OEM 95 "B"

release had almost everything worthwhile that 98 offered (like

FAT32), minus USB which I am not interested in, certainly not on

THAT machine.

 

IOW, it does all I need it to do, so why mess with it?

 

And I am NEVER going to XP or Vista. If I can't get 98 drivers

when (if...?) these 2 machines die, I am going to Linux.

[Guest Dan]

RE: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

Yeah, I am thinking of trying out Unix/Linux next year as well as

perhaps Apple. BTW, have you ever checked out secunia.com where you can

research vulnerabilities in all sorts of computer software. I also like the

us-cert site which is run by the Department of Homeland security on issues.

 

Currently, there is a Gmail issue that I am trying to research in more

depth. It helps to have a few emails over different service providers. I

currently use Google Mail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail aka Live Mail, and an APS

email for my work at the Albuquerque Public Schools. Fortunately, I am on

paid leave from APS because of recent events that I have mentioned here in

the past in too much detail but what is done is done and so I accept that as

life and will try to learn from my mistakes, although I usually do not learn,

because I have a stubborn streak, as I know many users like Gary and PCR

already know. <grin>

 

Anyway, on Windows 9x, I think it would be awesome if Microsoft would

sell their IP if they do not want to use the consumer source code anymore to

develop a new operating system because of high costs and just stick with NT

but this is just a hopeful wish that I realize will probably never happen but

I can hope at least. I have been fairly pleased with XP Professional but it

still has security issues. Windows Vista is very secure but it still annoys

me due to doing things automatically, lack of backwards compatibility and

still the occasional driver issue. I turned off user control in Vista Home

Premium since it was annoying me with constant notices when I was installing

Itunes on my fairly new toshiba laptop. I am still considering whether I

should get a program like BING and I have tried it and liked it in the past

and I think it would be very helpful for my home computer with 98SE and XP

Pro. especially with making more partitions on XP side to test Microsoft

operating systems in the future like I tested Vista for security issues in

2006. <smile>

[Guest bobster]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

thanatoid,

 

Like you, I am quite happy with my nearly 10 year old machine. It is a PII

300Mhz unit, built by Quantex (long gone), delivered Feb 1998 with Win 95,

upgraded to 98, then 98SE.

 

Other upgrades:

 

2 - 20 GHz hard drives

320Mhz memory

CD Burner

32 MHz video card

 

 

I'm still using the 1998 vintage HP DeskJet 890C printer and HP ScanJet

5100C scanner. I have had NO hardware problems with any of this gear. I

use my computer on the average of 5 hours/day. Like you, thanatoid, I am

not a gamer. I use my machine for email, still pix editing, Google

searching, and as a word processor (MS Office 97). I have 50-60 apps that

run nicely -- albeit sometimes slowly -- on this machine. Using free stuff

like Ad-Aware, SpywareBlaster, Hosts file, ZoneAlarm , and Avast!,

spyware/virus problems are non-existent. I am connected to the internet via

broadband cable (always on).

 

When WinXP came out, I considered buying a new machine but never got around

to it and now that Vista is out, I'm still having problems trying to justify

a new machine. I am so satisfied and comfortable with what I've got that I

just don't want to give it up. I rarely see a BSOD or freeze.

 

I've tried Firefox, Opera, Maxthon and several other browsers but always

return to IE6 SP1.

 

I'm sure there are millions of others like me that intend to use Win98SE as

long as it can do the things we need safely and efficiently. Leave

XP/Vista to the bells- and- whistles guys

 

Viva Windows 98SE!

[Guest Dan]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

If you want to talk about really old school, then how about my IBM PCjr from

1984 that still works or my IBM 486 with 66mhz. and Windows 3.1 and DOS 5

that I still use and it is not in storage.

[Guest thanatoid]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

"bobster" <fauxie@bogus.net> wrote in

news:#JQyADlAIHA.2004@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl:

> thanatoid,

>

> Like you, I am quite happy with my nearly 10 year old

> machine. It is a PII 300Mhz unit, built by Quantex (long

> gone), delivered Feb 1998 with Win 95, upgraded to 98, then

> 98SE.

 

<SNIP>

> When WinXP came out, I considered buying a new machine but

> never got around to it and now that Vista is out, I'm still

> having problems trying to justify a new machine.

 

Vista = Disasta. (Having read a few recent links, that seems to

be the consensus among those who are not out to buy a nice new

appliance for their living room.)

 

XP = XtraProblems

 

There is nothing I am interested in doing that I can not do with

95B or 98SE. Not to mention they are faster and have virtually

no security problems in comparison. Vista is just a big trojan.

XP was a small one.

> I am so

> satisfied and comfortable with what I've got that I just

> don't want to give it up. I rarely see a BSOD or freeze.

 

Same here. Why fix it when it ain't broke and does everything

you want?

> I've tried Firefox, Opera, Maxthon and several other

> browsers but always return to IE6 SP1.

 

I consider IE/OE just dangerous, apart from bloated. I haven't

used it since version 3, BION. IE and Office is where 99% of

trouble gets into your machine. Try an older version of Opera

(http://www.oldversion.com). They are fast and once you get used to

them, VERY nice. And just look at the DL sizes!

 

IIRC, Maxthon uses the IE components, as do about 30 "other"

browsers out there, they just add a "better" interface, but it's

still the same old hog with some more stuff on top. The only

REALLY different ones are Firefox and Opera. I tried Firefox a

little while ago and thought it really sucked.

 

I use OffByOne 99% of the time. It does not do Java, swf, or the

ftp protocol (I use FileHound or WS-FTP for that) but it is 10

times faster than anything else and completely safe. Give it a

try. New version added tabs, but I used to open up to 10

separate windows on my 166 with 64MB of RAM!

 

http://www.offbyone.com

> I'm sure there are millions of others like me that intend

> to use Win98SE as long as it can do the things we need

> safely and efficiently. Leave XP/Vista to the bells- and-

> whistles guys

>

> Viva Windows 98SE!

 

Amen.

[Guest thanatoid]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

=?Utf-8?B?RGFu?= <Dan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

news:6AC507D0-ED59-4538-8C76-96A49A05C399@microsoft.com:

> If you want to talk about really old school, then how about

> my IBM PCjr from 1984 that still works or my IBM 486 with

> 66mhz. and Windows 3.1 and DOS 5 that I still use and it is

> not in storage.

 

Oh, I know there are older computers still working (I myself

have an HP Vectra 486/66 which I never use, but it works just

fine and it's built like a tank), but I have been using this one

5-10 hours a day for 10 years for internet access, DTP, writing,

etc. And I enjoy proving that "it'll last 4-5 years if you're

lucky" is just NOT true. (Not to mention I have a PC Chips

motherboard!!!)

[Guest PCR]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

thanatoid wrote:

| thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

|

| (As one of my good friends in news.software.readers branded me,

| I am proud to be a "reverse hardware snob".)

|

| ***

|

| Computer custom-ordered and built by some shop in some city in

| some country.

|

| Intel Pentium 166 MMX (original)

|

| PC Chips M572 MB (I originally got the M571, two died and there

| were no more in stock but the M572 had just come in so they gave

| me one)

|

| 4 x 16MB EDO RAM DIMM's (original, changed 2 of them for one

| 64MB DIMM about 6 months ago, total RAM now 96 MB)

|

| Matrox Mystique PCI (original)

|

| Creative AWE64 Sound Blaster (original)

|

| U.S. Robotics Sportster 33.6 Fax internal modem (original)

|

| LG CED-8080B CD-RW (upgraded from Toshiba 12x CD-ROM player 5 or

| 6 years ago)

|

| 8.4 GB Seagate HD (upgraded a few years ago after various drives

| ranging from 3GB to 40GB in size kept on dying - so far so good)

|

| 15" Sony Trinitron Multiscan 100sx monitor (original, image

| quality is exactly the same as it was 10 years ago)

|

| Dell AT-101W switch keyboard (upgraded about 7 years ago from a

| pre-Win keyboard that someone gave me)

|

| Logitech Track-Man Marble (Omron switches replaced a couple of

| years ago)

|

| APC Back-UPS Pro 280

|

| HP LaserJet 6L printer (original, second cartridge installed

| about a year ago - I don't print much)

|

| Beyer unidirectional microphone (over 30 years old but studio

| quality)

|

| Realistic Optimus STS 50AV shielded 2-way speakers

|

| ***

|

| DOS 6.22/Win95B OEM (Tweaked for several years until it finally

| ran the way I wanted it to.)

|

| Last system "patch" or "update" - I put in the ME versions of

| scandisk and defrag a few years ago.

|

| ***

|

| Core applications:

| (N.B. - nothing by Microsoft except the OS)

|

| Total Commander 6.55

| OffByOne 3.5a

| Opera 7.53

| Xnews 5.4.25

| nPop 1.01

| FileHound 1.2.2

|

| Adobe Pagemaker 6.52

| Edxor 1.60

| Micrografx Picture Publisher 7

| ACDSee 2.22

| STP mp3 player

|

| Acronis TrueImage Deluxe

| TaskInfo2000 2.2

| WinRAR 3.11

| CDRWin 4

|

| ***

|

| Boot time from BIOS password entry to full Windows load: 45

| seconds

| Overall speed - IMO, fast as heck

| Crashes or hangs - only when I do something really stupid or hit

| too many wrong keys at the same time.

|

| ***

|

| What it CAN do:

| Everything I need it to except music and video editing (see

| below). (It actually CAN convert - not edit - music or video,

| but it takes hours and hours, which is why I got the other

| machine.)

|

| What it can NOT do:

| Play games less than 10 years old (but I am not a gamer),

| watch/edit/convert video or music (but I have a 2GHz machine for

| that). (It CAN however *record* flv video - and any audio,

| obviously - as well as allow me to talk online and listen to

| internet radio - although the last time I bothered with either

| of those was about 8 years ago.)

|

| Many "new" programs or later versions of old ones don't run on

| 95B. I find the older versions smaller, stabler, and faster,

| IOW, much better. AFAIAC, there hasn't been anything new worth

| using written for years. (Not counting certain new developments

| like mp3 and other audio and video compression methods, DVD-

| RW's, or Skype - which won't run on 95, but I have no one to

| talk to anyway.)

|

| ***

|

| Advantages:

|

| I don't have to worry about patches, updates, crashes, latest

| drivers, etc. I know the machine pretty well and don't worry

| about anything going wrong (it hasn't for a very long time). I

| get everything done faster than I would on an XP let alone Vista

| machine (except as mentioned, audio and video which are handled

| on the 2GHz machine). I get to spend money on other things.

|

| Disadvantages:

|

| Ridicule by people who enjoy spending several hours a week

| patching, updating, or reinstalling their OS's; "learning" to

| use useless new features; putting the computer in the living

| room as the second Idiot Box; and throwing their money away on

| bloated "new" versions of software for the most part originally

| conceived by someone else in the late 80's and early 90's. I

| also can't DL DVD's or use torrents, but since I prefer reading

| and music to movies and TV, I don't care.

|

| P.S.

| I realize it's almost the 28th, but while I've planned this

| announcement for about 6 months, I decided yesterday that I

| wasn't going to bother and then changed my mind about an hour

| ago. Also, I was in a different time zone, and did not take

| "delivery" of the system until the 28th or 29th, so I think it's

| OK. Hope you agree.

 

I don't know if I can agree with that, but congratulations on lasting 10

years anyhow. Very impressive. I see on my sales ticket that I purchased

this Compaq 7470 on 1/14/00-- but I never plugged it in for maybe 3

months!

 

--

Thanks or Good Luck,

There may be humor in this post, and,

Naturally, you will not sue,

Should things get worse after this,

PCR

pcrrcp@netzero.net

[Guest Dan]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

<snipped for length concerns>

 

I like Mozilla Firefox and I tried Opera 9 but did not like the

features of it. I know the latest Opera does not have any known security

vulnerabilities according to secunia.com but I just found the browser to be

annoying. Internet Explorer is okay and I like some features of it better

than Mozilla Firefox. I like Mozilla Firefox and the 256 cipher strength and

not having Active X vulnerabiliites. I like Internet Explorer in how you can

choose not to display non secure items on encrypted pages.

 

This really bugs me and why would companies like Verizon Wireless and

Google on their Gmail site do this. My thought is to save money and if that

is the case then that is really annoying because as a consumer with such a

page I do not know if my information has been encrypted or not. I think this

is another problem with companies that could potentially lead to identity

theft. Anyway, I am just venting about problems with the industry again and

now back to Windows 98/98SE.

[Guest Dan]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

I see that you have been using your computer over 7 years and that is also

impressive PCR. <grin>

[Guest Ingeborg]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

Congratulations! I hope this machine will last another 10 years.

 

I have a computer which according to it's BIOS is 15 years old. It's used

often, though not daily, as a printerserver. It contains an 486SX/25 16MB

(4*4MB)(which could be expanded to 32(!)MB if I could find 4MB simms. Alas

I can't add smaller ones), and a 700MB harddisk (from which only 528MB is

recognized by the BIOS). It's running W95 OSR2. There's a Brother

laserprinter connected, which driver default tries to let the host

processor do a lot of the rendering, because the driver programmer assumed

that it would have more muscles than the printer processor. Fortunately

this option could be disabled, since the printer processor is much faster.

[Guest Galen Somerville]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

 

"Ingeborg" <a@b.invalid> wrote in message news:op.tzgwyyg4kpmw55@siemens...

> Congratulations! I hope this machine will last another 10 years.

>

> I have a computer which according to it's BIOS is 15 years old. It's used

> often, though not daily, as a printerserver. It contains an 486SX/25 16MB

> (4*4MB)(which could be expanded to 32(!)MB if I could find 4MB simms. Alas

> I can't add smaller ones), and a 700MB harddisk (from which only 528MB is

> recognized by the BIOS). It's running W95 OSR2. There's a Brother

> laserprinter connected, which driver default tries to let the host

> processor do a lot of the rendering, because the driver programmer assumed

> that it would have more muscles than the printer processor. Fortunately

> this option could be disabled, since the printer processor is much faster.

 

I have some 4 MB (1Mx36) 80 ns ones like NEC MC-421000A36BE-80 which you can have if you want them.

 

Galen

[Guest Ingeborg]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

Galen Somerville wrote:

>

> Ingeborg wrote:

>

>> Congratulations! I hope this machine will last another 10 years.

>>

>> I have a computer which according to it's BIOS is 15 years old. It's

>> used often, though not daily, as a printerserver. It contains an

>> 486SX/25 16MB (4*4MB)(which could be expanded to 32(!)MB if I could

>> find 4MB simms. Alas I can't add smaller ones), and a 700MB harddisk

>> (from which only 528MB is recognized by the BIOS). It's running W95

>> OSR2. There's a Brother laserprinter connected, which driver default

>> tries to let the host processor do a lot of the rendering, because

>> the driver programmer assumed that it would have more muscles than

>> the printer processor. Fortunately this option could be disabled,

>> since the printer processor is much faster.

>

> I have some 4 MB (1Mx36) 80 ns ones like NEC MC-421000A36BE-80 which

> you can have if you want them.

>

 

I've send a mail to you.

BTW, you have 'botcrypted' your reply-to: address, but forgot your from:

address.

[Guest thanatoid]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

Ingeborg <a@b.invalid> wrote in

news:op.tzgwyyg4kpmw55@siemens:

> Congratulations! I hope this machine will last another 10

> years.

 

Thank you...

> I have a computer which according to it's BIOS is 15 years

> old. It's used often, though not daily, as a

> printerserver. It contains an 486SX/25 16MB (4*4MB)(which

> could be expanded to 32(!)MB if I could find 4MB simms.

> Alas I can't add smaller ones), and a 700MB harddisk (from

> which only 528MB is recognized by the BIOS). It's running

> W95 OSR2. There's a Brother laserprinter connected, which

> driver default tries to let the host processor do a lot of

> the rendering, because the driver programmer assumed that

> it would have more muscles than the printer processor.

> Fortunately this option could be disabled, since the

> printer processor is much faster.

 

....and likewise.

[Guest PCR]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

Dan wrote:

| I see that you have been using your computer over 7 years and that is

| also impressive PCR. <grin>

 

Thanks. But there was an HDD crash that did put my head through the

ceiling. Also, there were horrible sounds one day with the CD-ROM, & I

couldn't get the CD out of it for three days-- however, that has worked

well ever since. On that 3rd day, the sliding door would pop in/out real

quick at each boot-- until finally I was a tad quicker! This is my 3rd

monitor & 2nd mouse. Finally, my left speaker conked out, but has

revived. I have added a 2nd HDD, additional RAM & briefly had a

Promise/Maxtor Ultra100 PCI IDE Adapter card in there. (That isn't the

actual order it all happened, though, & bits/pieces of plaster still

occasionally do fall on my head.)

 

SO, yea, I'm not all that far behind thanatoid in longevity! And I have

reason to believe he will be assassinated before me!

 

 

--

Thanks or Good Luck,

There may be humor in this post, and,

Naturally, you will not sue,

Should things get worse after this,

PCR

pcrrcp@netzero.net

[Guest thanatoid]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

"PCR" <pcrrcp@netzero.net> wrote in

news:uGELWK6AIHA.4444@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl:

> Dan wrote:

>| I see that you have been using your computer over 7 years

>| and that is also impressive PCR. <grin>

>

> Thanks. But there was an HDD crash that did put my head

> through the ceiling. Also, there were horrible sounds one

> day with the CD-ROM, & I couldn't get the CD out of it for

> three days-- however, that has worked well ever since. On

> that 3rd day, the sliding door would pop in/out real quick

> at each boot-- until finally I was a tad quicker! This is

> my 3rd monitor & 2nd mouse. Finally, my left speaker conked

> out, but has revived. I have added a 2nd HDD, additional

> RAM & briefly had a Promise/Maxtor Ultra100 PCI IDE Adapter

> card in there. (That isn't the actual order it all

> happened, though, & bits/pieces of plaster still

> occasionally do fall on my head.)

>

> SO, yea, I'm not all that far behind thanatoid in

> longevity! And I have reason to believe he will be

> assassinated before me!

 

Thnaks for the laugh. Yes, I think my computers will outlive me.

[Guest Dan]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

I wonder if my dual-boot 98 Second Edition on C:\ drive in Fat32 and XP

Professional on D:\ drive will outlast me. <?!?>

[Guest Dan]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

Thanks so much for the great thread and discussion, thanatoid. I think many

of us and I know I really appreciate you for going the distance to post your

information about your cool computer.

[Guest thanatoid]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

=?Utf-8?B?RGFu?= <Dan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

news:86689535-FA74-4FDC-8EF2-0C0E31F9F892@microsoft.com:

> Thanks so much for the great thread and discussion,

> thanatoid. I think many of us and I know I really

> appreciate you for going the distance to post your

> information about your cool computer.

 

Are you being sarcastic? I was actually REALLY surprised how few

people flamed me and how quite a few shared their "I also have

an old machine that I use and love" stories.

 

Maybe almost everyone just has me killfiled!

[Guest MEB]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

 

 

"thanatoid" <waiting@the.exit.invalid> wrote in message

news:Xns99BCF42A4760thanexit@66.250.146.158...

| =?Utf-8?B?RGFu?= <Dan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

| news:86689535-FA74-4FDC-8EF2-0C0E31F9F892@microsoft.com:

|

| > Thanks so much for the great thread and discussion,

| > thanatoid. I think many of us and I know I really

| > appreciate you for going the distance to post your

| > information about your cool computer.

|

| Are you being sarcastic? I was actually REALLY surprised how few

| people flamed me and how quite a few shared their "I also have

| an old machine that I use and love" stories.

|

| Maybe almost everyone just has me killfiled!

 

 

Nah, I just can't remember how old my computers are.... most have been torn

down, rebuilt, updated, parts swapped with others, used as test beds, ah,

ah, what was I saying? Oh yeah, then every once in awhile I get out the old

parts boxes and put another one together,,, had an old V20 setup two or so

months ago for awhile just to play around..

 

--

MEB

http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com

________

[Guest Dan]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

Nope, remember I still have my old IBM PCjr in storage which I learned BASIC

Programming on and had great joy in making different colors flash on the

screen. I addition, I still have a 486 with Windows 3.1 and DOS 5 that plays

my old DOS games like Zeliard, Sorcerion, King's Quest series, Quest for

Glory series, Thexder, etc. I have a Roland MT-32 which my grandmother saved

up for and bought me as a combined birthday and Christmas present. It is now

my favorite computer with the dual-boot 98SE and XP Pro. biting the dust for

now so it takes over first place. I still like rocking back and forth to

music from Codename: Iceman and what sounds like digital (is really analog I

think) clicks from the game in the Introduction.

 

"thanatoid" wrote:

> =?Utf-8?B?RGFu?= <Dan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

> news:86689535-FA74-4FDC-8EF2-0C0E31F9F892@microsoft.com:

>

> > Thanks so much for the great thread and discussion,

> > thanatoid. I think many of us and I know I really

> > appreciate you for going the distance to post your

> > information about your cool computer.

>

> Are you being sarcastic? I was actually REALLY surprised how few

> people flamed me and how quite a few shared their "I also have

> an old machine that I use and love" stories.

>

> Maybe almost everyone just has me killfiled!

>

[Guest Dan]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

Wow, I never heard of a V20. I guess Google to the rescue. <laughs>

 

"MEB" wrote:

>

>

> "thanatoid" <waiting@the.exit.invalid> wrote in message

> news:Xns99BCF42A4760thanexit@66.250.146.158...

> | =?Utf-8?B?RGFu?= <Dan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

> | news:86689535-FA74-4FDC-8EF2-0C0E31F9F892@microsoft.com:

> |

> | > Thanks so much for the great thread and discussion,

> | > thanatoid. I think many of us and I know I really

> | > appreciate you for going the distance to post your

> | > information about your cool computer.

> |

> | Are you being sarcastic? I was actually REALLY surprised how few

> | people flamed me and how quite a few shared their "I also have

> | an old machine that I use and love" stories.

> |

> | Maybe almost everyone just has me killfiled!

>

>

> Nah, I just can't remember how old my computers are.... most have been torn

> down, rebuilt, updated, parts swapped with others, used as test beds, ah,

> ah, what was I saying? Oh yeah, then every once in awhile I get out the old

> parts boxes and put another one together,,, had an old V20 setup two or so

> months ago for awhile just to play around..

>

> --

> MEB

> http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com

> ________

>

>

>

>

[Guest Franc Zabkar]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

On 28 Sep 2007 04:51:21 GMT, thanatoid <waiting@the.exit.invalid> put

finger to keyboard and composed:

>thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

I don't know when mine was born, but it's probably of similar vintage.

 

It's a PC Chips M571 with 128MB RAM, AMD K6-2 450MHz CPU, 13GB Seagate

HD (currently with 120 reallocated sectors !!!), 48x CDROM, 2x Ricoh

CD-RW, Realtek 8139 NIC, Mouse Systems serial optical mouse, and

Dynalink 56K ISA modem. I use it for everything except serious

multimedia work. The only thing I really miss is Google Earth. One

other annoyance is that Youtube videos are somewhat choppy.

 

My machine is assembled from bits and pieces. The case is an

attractive and robust Aridyne server enclosure. I've done a lot of

work getting it to look and perform as it does, so I'll be devastated

when the time comes to retire it. One small thing my box has that I

almost never see on others is a communication LED on the front panel.

I have diverted the LED on my NIC to this more logical position.

 

- Franc Zabkar

--

Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

[Guest PCR]

Re: thanatoid's computer is 10 years old today, Sept. 27, 2007!

 

thanatoid wrote:

| "PCR" <pcrrcp@netzero.net> wrote in

| news:uGELWK6AIHA.4444@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl:

|

|> Dan wrote:

|>| I see that you have been using your computer over 7 years

|>| and that is also impressive PCR. <grin>

|>

|> Thanks. But there was an HDD crash that did put my head

|> through the ceiling. Also, there were horrible sounds one

|> day with the CD-ROM, & I couldn't get the CD out of it for

|> three days-- however, that has worked well ever since. On

|> that 3rd day, the sliding door would pop in/out real quick

|> at each boot-- until finally I was a tad quicker! This is

|> my 3rd monitor & 2nd mouse. Finally, my left speaker conked

|> out, but has revived. I have added a 2nd HDD, additional

|> RAM & briefly had a Promise/Maxtor Ultra100 PCI IDE Adapter

|> card in there. (That isn't the actual order it all

|> happened, though, & bits/pieces of plaster still

|> occasionally do fall on my head.)

|>

|> SO, yea, I'm not all that far behind thanatoid in

|> longevity! And I have reason to believe he will be

|> assassinated before me!

|

| Thnaks for the laugh. Yes, I think my computers will outlive me.

 

You are welcome. Naturally, if you are sitting on your computer at the

appropriate time, it may go too!

 

 

--

Thanks or Good Luck,

There may be humor in this post, and,

Naturally, you will not sue,

Should things get worse after this,

PCR

pcrrcp@netzero.net