"donut" wrote in message:
> I'm not sure there will ever be the kind of
> interest in vintage computers that there is
> in, say antique radios. Why? Because they
> became obsolete. My antique radios are
> still just as usable today as when they were
> built. What can you do with an XT, for
> example, except run the priimitive
> applicatiions that it was designed to run?
Okay, well let me put it to you this way:
I'm not sure there will ever be the kind of
interest in antique radios that there is in,
say vintage computers. Why? Because they
became obsolete. My vintage computer are
just as usable today as when they were built.
What can you do with an antique raio, for
example, except listen to static when there
are no AM stations around.
This may not apply now, but how about 10-20
years or 50 years from now. The antique
radio will be useless when the AM station
pulls the plug!
For us vintage computers lovers there is what
exists in the past, but also in the future
people could be writing programs for their own
computers. We also have the tools for writing
programs & through a little invension called
the internet, we can interact with others from
a community of computer users (regardless
of machine).
Obsolete is such a standard term when it
comes to your average IBM bozo who
believes that a machine will never be fast
enough for their needs. The XT can be a
nice simple machine (which is fair enough),
but the community it's outlasted it's
usefulliness. The problem there lies in that
are no groups of people dedicating their
programming to the XT. If there were, then
perhaps we could see what it's capable of
doing. You must remember that ideas for
programs back to 1990 were pretty
standard.
> I think our feeling for these old machines
> is more tied up with our feeling for what
> we were doing when they were all we
> had to use. The early computer era was
> a wonderful time for the do it yourselfer.
> Writing your own programs, exchanging
> ideas via BBS's, getting online for the
> first time. What a thrill it was to watch a
> 300 baud modem actually connect with
> and exchange information with someone
> else's computer. This is all stuff we take
> for granted now. It was like the very
> early days of radio, with amateurs using
> primitive spark gap transmitters and
> calling "CQ" never knowing just who
> might hear and respond.
I look at my vintage computer an Amstrad
CPC6128 & think, why hasn't anyone really
done something impressive for it in CP/M.
I mean I haven't seen anyone converted
any BASIC type-ins to Turbo Pascal under
CP/M. When the machine was in full swing
with commercial games & software, some
really good Word processors & languages
made their way to CP/M, but CP/M was
critised mainly due to the way they used
it (not in the approate manner). Most
people complained that BASIC was slow
& that they wished a compiled language
(or a compiled BASIC). Turbo Pascal was
not once mentioned as an alternative to
it's BASIC (in ROM). It was either
Assembly or stick with what you have.
Naturally, information relating to
improving Turbo Pascal in CP/M (so that
it's more BASIC like), is something of an
amazement. The magazines clearly had
no knowledge about it. For the first time
I have demonstrated the use of
Firmware instructions under CP/Ms Turbo
Pascal.
> The fact that computers become obsolete
> so quickly keeps people from hanging on
> to them, like they did Grandma's radio.
Not me. Though machines like the Jupiter
Ace are in a sense in danger of extinction
because dominance of other machines
running BASIC. What is you views of this?
For just about every person who
remembers this machine in the newsgroups
I've posted, they have expressed some
interest towards it.
It's the interest groups which have made
me kept my machine, but I'm sure I would
have still had an Amstrad even if I was
on my own. Some of the games I have for
it have given me hours of pleasure & are
still great to play.
> Thrift and second hand stores won't take
> them any more. Locally, all the
> commercial repairers and builders have
> discarded all their old stuff. If it doesn't
> fit a Pentium or later, forget it.
Even if a Thrift or second hand stores don't
want them, you could also turn to the
internet. You'd probably find plenty of
interest there.
> I rescued a Compaq 286 last summer. This
> machine is built like a tank. It must have
> been a $1000 machine in it's day, which
> was all too short. I installed Windows 3.0
> on it, and use it to play all my old DOS
> games that run way too fast on the Pentium.
> However, that's about all it can do.
What? Get rid of Windows 3.0, I've only seen
it run like an absolute joke on a 286. GEM
is far better. You should also check out:
http://members.cox.net/dos/index.htm
http://www.fdisk.com/
Ol' DOS games is GameHippo:
http://gamehippo.com/
For programming moonrock is interesting
BASIC type compiled language:
http://www.rowan.sensation.net.au/moonrock.html
Don't know if this page is still active, but it did have
some interesting programming stuff in there as
well:
http://www.azillionmonkeys.com/qed/dos.html
> I saw a novel use for an old XT case recently -
> someone had built a homebrew shortwave radio in
> it. The dial and controls were in the floppy drive
> bay. It even still had the IBM medal on it.
I did something interesting with my XT a couple of
years ago, I hooked up my 386 laptop to my
XT (desktop) & made a small serial cable network.
Unfortunately the baud speed rate couldn't quite
match the speed of the XTs, but since the HD was
doggy it's a good solution. When I get enough
room, I'll connect it to my other 386 which has a
proper serial connector on it (my laptop only has
a 9 pin)! ;-)
Cheers.