creepingnet
Veteran Member
So, while the M/75's case is crumbling like Feta Cheese to the point I can't use it anymore (that's why I said it "died") - at least not in it's current state.....I got a crazy idea......old computers don't come to the Creeping Network to die, thjey come to the Creeping Network to be reborn as something better than they could have been in their time.
The #1 problem with all these vintage laptop computers is the darn cases. I've owned about 10 of them, and they would make good viable, portable, space-saving retro-gaming solutions if it were not for the fact they were designed in a time when things were not as well figured out as they are now.....
So consider this, what if we stopped junking the guts from these things, and started, as hobbyists, making new cases for these, and using our redesigns to bump up the power and capabilities of these older laptops - I don't just mean the NEC Versa, but ANY of them.....AT&T, NCR, Dell, IBM, NanTan, Compaq......casings might be hard to come by, but maybe this is an opportunity.
My vision for the M/75 is this....
- Brand new case design that makes a more effective use on space and uses more solid materials like aluminum, wood, and acrylic.
- REuse major assemblies from the M/75 such as the motherboards, Versa Trac, and the screen connector, keyboard, and major slots
- Handle the lack of OPL audio (it has WSS Crystal CS4231-KQ chipset audio) by grafting in a LPT audio card into an empty spot in the case
- Permanently install a Cisco LMC-352 WiFi Card with the proper DESKTOP Antenna integrated into the screen
- Possibly implement touch and use a different integrated digitizer with gorilla glass or plexiglass to prevent cracking w/ Stylus
- Rig up BOTH VersaBay connectors for batteries so they both share the same spot in the case (where the one battery went) and upgrade the technology to LIthium Ion by converting the Versa Bay ports into USB ports - test their voltages and current first and adapt - then run that power into a pair of standard issue Lithium Ion battery packs used to recharge cell phones. I could possibly have this thing running up to 14 hours off a single charge that way. This is the big one.
These are not all nor are all these going to be used, but there's a candy-store of options now for what this laptop could be and could be made into.
What's also cool is if I keep the platform universal enough, I could build a second one using the E-series platform (just need a CPU Board, Keyboard, and a screen connector).
Who knows, maybe I could start buying up more broken and messed up cheap DOS era laptops on E-bay and make them into killer Retro-DOS portables running FreeDOS. Might be a good side hustle for fun and a small profit - already network ready - with gobs of space and the fastest data storage possible.
The #1 problem with all these vintage laptop computers is the darn cases. I've owned about 10 of them, and they would make good viable, portable, space-saving retro-gaming solutions if it were not for the fact they were designed in a time when things were not as well figured out as they are now.....
So consider this, what if we stopped junking the guts from these things, and started, as hobbyists, making new cases for these, and using our redesigns to bump up the power and capabilities of these older laptops - I don't just mean the NEC Versa, but ANY of them.....AT&T, NCR, Dell, IBM, NanTan, Compaq......casings might be hard to come by, but maybe this is an opportunity.
My vision for the M/75 is this....
- Brand new case design that makes a more effective use on space and uses more solid materials like aluminum, wood, and acrylic.
- REuse major assemblies from the M/75 such as the motherboards, Versa Trac, and the screen connector, keyboard, and major slots
- Handle the lack of OPL audio (it has WSS Crystal CS4231-KQ chipset audio) by grafting in a LPT audio card into an empty spot in the case
- Permanently install a Cisco LMC-352 WiFi Card with the proper DESKTOP Antenna integrated into the screen
- Possibly implement touch and use a different integrated digitizer with gorilla glass or plexiglass to prevent cracking w/ Stylus
- Rig up BOTH VersaBay connectors for batteries so they both share the same spot in the case (where the one battery went) and upgrade the technology to LIthium Ion by converting the Versa Bay ports into USB ports - test their voltages and current first and adapt - then run that power into a pair of standard issue Lithium Ion battery packs used to recharge cell phones. I could possibly have this thing running up to 14 hours off a single charge that way. This is the big one.
These are not all nor are all these going to be used, but there's a candy-store of options now for what this laptop could be and could be made into.
What's also cool is if I keep the platform universal enough, I could build a second one using the E-series platform (just need a CPU Board, Keyboard, and a screen connector).
Who knows, maybe I could start buying up more broken and messed up cheap DOS era laptops on E-bay and make them into killer Retro-DOS portables running FreeDOS. Might be a good side hustle for fun and a small profit - already network ready - with gobs of space and the fastest data storage possible.