Re: 8-bit guy gets ultra-rare NOS IBM (prototype?) from Computer Reset then proceeds to obliterate it

Posted on Yesterday, 19:21

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by Big Pink

in Milliways

in Milliways

I was wondering how long it would be before a thread appeared. As soon as I saw the paperclip it was like watching a car crash unfold in front of me. This was the complete opposite of the filthy Commodore 64 he restored - I vicariously enjoyed that being restored to working condition. I did not …

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Re: Which browser do you use?

Posted on 2020-09-25, 20:11

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by Big Pink

in Milliways

in Milliways

Been using Firefox since 1.0 was released. Unfortunately, Mozilla continues down a path that will eventually force me to abandon Firefox for one of its forks. What's the version number up to this week - v573.0? URL bar autocomplete. When I type 'g' in Chrome it immediately completes it to gmail.com. …

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Re: I recently found this hardware, AKA the Dumpster find thread.

Posted on 2020-09-23, 16:47

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by Big Pink

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

The business opposite my workplace has gone bust and there's a large skip sitting in the car park so I had a look. Some local miscreants had smashed the glass on a 19" rack cabinet full of switch gear but I grabbed enough ethernet cables to ensure I never have to buy any ever again. And cage nuts …

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Re: Collecting rants

Posted on 2020-09-19, 22:44

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by Big Pink

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

People are too uptight when it comes to their responsibility and it won't ever change. A responsibility to keep prices low? I thought this was a hobby, not a cartel. I don't wish to be rude, but there's a streak of entitlement running through this thread hiding behind the language of egalitarianism …

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Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

Posted on 2020-09-04, 18:04

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by Big Pink

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Royal Mail charge £8 to collect import taxes. I had a $20 package that I got charged VAT and duty on - I thought before that that you didn't pat taxes on imports under £30. VAT, duty and the £8 more than double my cost for a cheap graphics card that was woth the purchase price, but not worth the …

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Re: Collecting rants

Posted on 2020-08-28, 19:40

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by Big Pink

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Another collecting rant that comes to mind - when sellers aren't happy that a low bid wins an unpopular auction where they didn't set a reserve price for something they believe to have double the value. Then after the auction they try and get you to pay extra for "postage" which conveniently …

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Re: Today is Windows 95 25th Birrthday. Share your memories

Posted on 2020-08-26, 00:30

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by Big Pink

in Milliways

in Milliways

To my memory I only ever used 95 once, in 1996 or 97 when my primary school took delivery of a handful of new IBM PCs. For whatever reason a few of us got a shot at them, but rather than follow the lesson plan I decided to dig around the Start menu until I was told off. There was this desktop …

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Re: Can I recycle the case of a Compaq Deskpro EXD to build a 2004-era machine?

Posted on 2020-08-14, 23:17

by

by Big Pink

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Larger OEM machines of the time tend to be more standards-conforming, whereas small form factor units destined for offices used proprietary design to reduce size. A quick image search indicates the Deskpro EXD houses a microATX board (4 full height slots) with a standard I/O shield. Not so sure …

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Re: Kids destroying computer hardware

Posted on 2020-08-05, 15:28

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by Big Pink

in Milliways

in Milliways

RacoonRider wrote on 2020-08-05, 07:13: I though I would free the colors from the TV into the room. That's actually quite endearing. You've made a child-hating cynic smile 😁

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Re: Technological critique

Posted on 2020-07-31, 16:31

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by Big Pink

in Milliways

in Milliways

I think it was healthier when anybody could post a website describing their own view, and people would see it and read it. Of course the quality varied, but readers had the opportunity to judge that for themselves instead of letting somebody else judge it for them. No particular website or …

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Re: How can you obtain 100% legal copies of DOS and older versions of Windows?

Posted on 2020-07-28, 15:51

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by Big Pink

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

However, the result of Sun v. Microsoft barrs them from doing distributing pre-XP Windows - hence, the only action they've taken against an easily searchable abandonware site I must not mention here is over hosting copies of XP. Isn't that just a matter of Java? I would think Win 3.x and the oldest …

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Re: How can you obtain 100% legal copies of DOS and older versions of Windows?

Posted on 2020-07-28, 14:43

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by Big Pink

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

I'm sure MS doesn't care about these old systems, but its the principal of the thing. No doubt, in spite of obsolescence, Microsoft would be quite happy to make a buck off this hobby by selling new copies of old Windows (the long tail + long copyright). However, the result of Sun v. Microsoft barrs …

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Re: Collecting rants

Posted on 2020-07-27, 21:21

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by Big Pink

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

On this subject, I really believe a time will come were 60 years old folks won't hunt for XT-286-386-486s any more, our modern equivalent won't give a damn about them and collections will be liquefied for peanuts. I mean I don't see ISA sound of VGA cards going for that much in 10-20 years, once …

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Re: Collecting rants

Posted on 2020-07-26, 19:30

by

by Big Pink

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Sometimes a seller would put in "rare" even if it's blatantly untrue lol. It's such a commonly abused word I makes me laugh rather than have a look at the item. Like a PlayStation listing with 'rare' in the description. Over 100 million were manufactured, and it's not even one of those audiophile- …

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Re: Collecting rants

Posted on 2020-07-24, 18:51

by

by Big Pink

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Speaking about the search engine pollution, GPU hunting is the worst. Try searching GeForce 256 in eBay. All you get are cruddy 8800GTs and low end nvidia trash with 256MB VRAM. Coupled with the distinct lack of PCI video cards, it makes looking for new parts very annoying. My search string on eBay …

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Re: Collecting rants

Posted on 2020-07-24, 18:05

by

by Big Pink

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

and also screw the search engines and their algorithms that are ultra fast when it comes to removing stuff due to DMCA but fail miserably when it comes to detecting all these scummy sites. I've given up on search engines. They all seem to be over-engineered toward figuring out what you want, …

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Re: Bought this (Modern) hardware today

Posted on 2020-07-09, 20:07

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by Big Pink

in Milliways

in Milliways

Yea, the prices of those Iram drives are almost more than what they cost new... I wasn't aware there was such interest in it (I was just looking for something to do with all the RAM I have lying around). Especially since I was the sole bid for days. That is, until multiple bidders piled in at the …

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Re: Bought this (Modern) hardware today

Posted on 2020-07-09, 18:07

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by Big Pink

in Milliways

in Milliways

At the risk of some punk telling me to get to back to the 1950s with my DDR3 slots, this isn't old enough for the vintage hardware thread. x2 Viking Technology 100GB SATADIMMs, first released in 2010. Picked them up for the novelty more than anything else... also as consolation for not winning the …

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Re: Story behind your avatar?

Posted on 2020-06-08, 16:33

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by Big Pink

in Milliways

in Milliways

For some unfathomable reason IBM paid a fortune to use the Pink Panther character to promote their PC line in the early 90s. The sight of IBM lorries branded with the character driving past my house on the way to the local factory is etched into my childhood memory. Very odd. Apparently that …

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Re: Monitor alignment

Posted on 2020-06-06, 23:07

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by Big Pink

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Do you know if it can display DOS correctly? My ASUS screen cuts off the left edge of the prompt too (although the manual claims to support DOS modes) and I'm sure I've seen a PhilsComputerLab video showing the same problem with whatever screen he was using.

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