I'm researching the history of the "tower" heatsink/fan in consumer desktops. Cooling fads have come and gone, but air tower coolers have stuck with us for about two decades. 😎

Created a Win98SE and a Win 2k VM (with all the updates and blackwingcat's kernel extension). Tried numerous browsers. Eventually gave up on Win98. Focused on Win 2k, finally got the KEx to work and installed Firefox 52.x ESR, Pale Moon 28.x, then changed desktop color and icons to look like Win 98. Youtube works now. I feel at home now. I wasted a whole weekend for that... the only thing that annoys me is the font quality in my browsers, they are not smooth.

But I feel at home. Dunno why.

Went back to the year 2000...

To do a set of comparisons between my Pismo G4 Powerbook and my Thinkpad T21...

Details to come, but they are fairly evenly matched.

ragefury32 wrote:

Went back to the year 2000... […]
Show full quote

Went back to the year 2000...

24wffk.jpg

To do a set of comparisons between my Pismo G4 Powerbook and my Thinkpad T21...

UT1999 CTF-Face3.png

Quake 3 Arena.png

WOXL versus WO2097.png

Pismo Monkey Island.png

Details to come, but they are fairly evenly matched.

Happy New Year 2000!!!

ragefury32 wrote:

Went back to the year 2000... […]
Show full quote

Went back to the year 2000...

24wffk.jpg

To do a set of comparisons between my Pismo G4 Powerbook and my Thinkpad T21...

UT1999 CTF-Face3.png

Quake 3 Arena.png

WOXL versus WO2097.png

Pismo Monkey Island.png

Details to come, but they are fairly evenly matched.

Isnt the Pismo a G3 PowerBook not a G4?

On my own activities, I diassembled (and ultimatily reduced to parts) BOTH of my 2nd gen I3 powered Toshiba Laptops. One had an unobtainium keyoard that was totally fucked and a non-functional trackpad and numerous other chassis issues, and the other just didn't boot. I pulled the CPUs (both i3 2330's), RAM (all 2GB modules, 4 total 2 per laptop), Optical Drives, Hard Drives, Mounting Hardware, and the keyboard that was good and burned the chassis parts and screens (both of which had scratches). I also kept the batteries one of which is an extended 8800MaH battery. I plan to order a Toshiba of similar age since I have 2 extra batteries, and the experience with the one that worked showed it to perform half-way decently aside from the user interface devices all being FUBAR'd.

Right now I'm using the X200 Tablet as my main laptop and I LOVE this thing. It is everything a laptop should be and more. I think I might also need to pickup a Thinkpad X220 (i3 version of the X200). I love this full size 12.1 laptop/Tablet form factor. Why did this laptop form factor disappear for the stupid ultrabook 2-in-1 form factor anyways?

---

pan069 wrote:

Was playing around with my 286 today. Not having touched QuickBasic for close to 30 years, I wondered how long it would take me […]
Show full quote

Was playing around with my 286 today. Not having touched QuickBasic for close to 30 years, I wondered how long it would take me to make analogue clock. Turns out, about an hour or so, had to look up a bunch of stuff I'd forgotten about. Still heaps of room for improvement. 😀

Copy code to clipboard

1DECLARE SUB drawClock ()
2DECLARE SUB drawHour (t$, c%)
3DECLARE SUB drawSecond (t$, c%)
4
5CONST PI = 3.141592654#
6
7CONST ORG.X = 640 / 2
8CONST ORG.Y = 480 / 2
9
10LET prevTime$ = TIME$
11
12SCREEN 12
13CLS
14
15drawClock
16
17ON TIMER(1) GOSUB displayTime
18
19TIMER ON
20DO
21LOOP UNTIL INKEY$ = CHR$(27)
22TIMER OFF
23END
24
25displayTime:
26  LET currTime$ = TIME$
27
28  drawHour prevTime$, 0
29  drawSecond prevTime$, 0
30
31  drawHour currTime$, 7
32  drawSecond currTime$, 15
33
34  prevTime$ = currTime$
35
36  RETURN
37
38SUB drawClock
39  LET a = 200
40
41  ' Draw seconds dots
42  FOR i = 0 TO PI * 2 - (PI * 2 / 60) STEP (PI * 2 / 60)
43    LET s = SIN(i)
44    LET c = COS(i)
45    LET x = ORG.X + (s * a)
46    LET y = ORG.Y + (c * a)
47 
48    LET sd% = s * (180 / PI)
49    LET cd% = c * (180 / PI)
50
51    IF sd% <> 0 AND cd% <> 0 THEN
52      PSET (x, y), 15
53    END IF
54  NEXT i
55
56  ' Draw hourly dots
57  FOR i = 0 TO PI * 2 - (PI * 2 / 12) STEP (PI * 2 / 12)
58    LET s = SIN(i)
59    LET c = COS(i)
60    LET x = ORG.X + (s * a)

…Show last 43 lines

61    LET y = ORG.Y + (c * a)
62
63    LET r = 1.5
64    LET k = 7
65
66    LET sd% = s * (180 / PI)
67    LET cd% = c * (180 / PI)
68
69    IF sd% = 0 OR cd% = 0 THEN
70      r = 3
71      k = 15
72    END IF
73
74    CIRCLE (x, y), r, k
75    PAINT (x, y), k
76  NEXT i
77END SUB
78
79SUB drawHour (t$, c%)
80  LET hh% = VAL(MID$(t$, 1, 2))
81  LET mm% = VAL(MID$(t$, 4, 2))
82 
83  LET a = 120
84  LET f = PI * 2
85  LET x = ORG.X + SIN(-(f / (12 * 60)) * (hh% * 60 + mm%) + PI) * a
86  LET y = ORG.Y + COS(-(f / (12 * 60)) * (hh% * 60 + mm%) + PI) * a
87
88  LINE (ORG.X, ORG.Y)-(x, y), c%
89END SUB
90
91SUB drawSecond (t$, c%)
92  LET ss% = VAL(MID$(t$, 7, 2))
93
94  LET a = 190
95  LET f = PI * 2
96  LET x = ORG.X + SIN(-(f / 60) * ss% + PI) * a
97  LET y = ORG.Y + COS(-(f / 60) * ss% + PI) * a
98
99  LINE (ORG.X, ORG.Y)-(x, y), c%
100END SUB
101
102

Impressive, however you forgot the minute hand! 🤣 Add this to your drawHour procedure:

1
2  LET a = 180
3  LET x = ORG.X + SIN(-(f / 60) * mm% + PI) * a
4  LET y = ORG.Y + COS(-(f / 60) * mm% + PI) * a
5
6  LINE (ORG.X, ORG.Y)-(x, y), c%

Here's a digital clock I wrote:

1DEFINT A-Z
2DECLARE FUNCTION GetHours (Seconds#)
3DECLARE FUNCTION GetMinutes (Seconds#)
4DECLARE FUNCTION GetTime$ ()
5DECLARE FUNCTION IIF (Condition, Result1, Result2)
6DECLARE FUNCTION TranslateDigit (Digit$)
7DECLARE FUNCTION Trim$ (Text$)
8DECLARE SUB DisplayTime (x, y, Size, ColorV, Angled)
9DECLARE SUB DrawColon (x, y, Size, ColorV, Angled)
10DECLARE SUB DrawSegment (x, y, Size, Angle, ColorV)
11DECLARE SUB DrawSegments (x, y, Segments, Size, ColorV, Angled)
12
13CONST FALSE = 0
14CONST NONE = 0
15CONST TRUE = -1
16
17CONST H1 = &H1
18CONST H2 = &H2
19CONST H3 = &H4
20CONST L1 = &H8
21CONST L2 = &H10
22CONST R1 = &H20
23CONST R2 = &H40
24
25CONST C0 = H1 OR H3 OR L1 OR L2 OR R1 OR R2
26CONST C1 = R1 OR R2
27CONST C2 = H1 OR H2 OR H3 OR L2 OR R1
28CONST C3 = H1 OR H2 OR H3 OR R1 OR R2
29CONST C4 = H2 OR L1 OR R1 OR R2
30CONST C5 = H1 OR H2 OR H3 OR L1 OR R2
31CONST C6 = H1 OR H2 OR H3 OR L1 OR L2 OR R2
32CONST C7 = H1 OR R1 OR R2
33CONST C8 = H1 OR H2 OR H3 OR L1 OR L2 OR R1 OR R2
34CONST C9 = H1 OR H2 OR H3 OR L1 OR R1 OR R2
35
36CONST SECONDSPERHOUR = 3600
37CONST SECONDSPERMINUTE = 60
38
39SCREEN 7: CLS
40ON TIMER(1) GOSUB Tick
41TIMER ON
42DO UNTIL INKEY$ = CHR$(27)
43LOOP
44TIMER OFF
45END
46
47Tick:
48CLS
49SCREEN , , 1, 0
50DisplayTime 50, 50, 15, 11, TRUE
51PCOPY 1, 0
52RETURN
53
54SUB DisplayTime (x, y, Size, ColorV, Angled)
55STATIC Blink
56
57   DisplayedTime$ = GetTime$
58
59   CurrentX = x
60   FOR Index = 1 TO LEN(DisplayedTime$)

61      Digit$ = MID$(DisplayedTime$, Index, 1)
62      IF Digit$ = ":" THEN
63         IF Blink THEN DrawColon CurrentX, y, Size, ColorV, Angled
64         CurrentX = CurrentX + (Size * 2)
65      ELSE
66         DrawSegments CurrentX, y, TranslateDigit(Digit$), Size, ColorV, Angled
67         CurrentX = CurrentX + (Size * 3)
68      END IF
69   NEXT Index
70
71   Blink = NOT Blink
72END SUB
73
74SUB DrawColon (x, y, Size, ColorV, Angled)
75   Angle = IIF(Angled, -5, 0)
76   DRAW "C" + STR$(ColorV)
77   DRAW "BM" + STR$(x) + "," + STR$(y + Size)
78   DRAW "S" + STR$(Size) + "TA" + STR$(Angle)
79   DRAW "BU1 F1 G1 H1 E1 BD1 P" + STR$(ColorV) + "," + STR$(ColorV)
80   DRAW "BD" + STR$(CINT(Size / 2))
81   DRAW "BU1 F1 G1 H1 E1 BD1 P" + STR$(ColorV) + "," + STR$(ColorV)
82END SUB
83
84SUB DrawSegment (x, y, Size, Angle, ColorV)
85   DRAW "C" + STR$(ColorV)
86   DRAW "BM" + STR$(x) + "," + STR$(y)
87   DRAW "S" + STR$(Size) + "TA" + STR$(Angle)
88   DRAW "BL1 BM-1,-1 R4 F1 G1 L4 H1 E1"
89   PAINT (x, y), ColorV
90END SUB
91
92SUB DrawSegments (x, y, Segments, Size, ColorV, Angled)
93   Angle = IIF(Angled, -5, 0)
94
95   DrawSegment x, y, Size, 0, IIF((Segments AND H1) = H1, ColorV, 0)
96   DrawSegment x, y + (Size * 2), Size, 0, IIF((Segments AND H2) = H2, ColorV, 0)
97   DrawSegment x, y + (Size * 4), Size, 0, IIF((Segments AND H3) = H3, ColorV, 0)
98   DrawSegment x - Size, y + Size, Size, Angle + 90, IIF((Segments AND L1) = L1, ColorV, 0)
99   DrawSegment x - Size, y + (Size * 3), Size, Angle + 90, IIF((Segments AND L2) = L2, ColorV, 0)
100   DrawSegment x + Size, y + Size, Size, Angle + 90, IIF((Segments AND R1) = R1, ColorV, 0)
101   DrawSegment x + Size, y + (Size * 3), Size, Angle + 90, IIF((Segments AND R2) = R2, ColorV, 0)
102END SUB
103
104FUNCTION GetHours (Seconds#)
105   GetHours = INT(Seconds# / SECONDSPERHOUR)
106END FUNCTION
107
108FUNCTION GetMinutes (Seconds#)
109   GetMinutes = INT((Seconds# - (GetHours(Seconds#) * CDBL(SECONDSPERHOUR))) / SECONDSPERMINUTE)
110END FUNCTION
111
112FUNCTION GetTime$
113   Hours$ = Trim$(STR$(GetHours(TIMER)))
114   Minutes$ = Trim$(STR$(GetMinutes(TIMER)))
115   IF LEN(Hours$) = 1 THEN Hours$ = " " + Hours$
116   IF LEN(Minutes$) = 1 THEN Minutes$ = "0" + Minutes$
117
118   GetTime$ = Hours$ + ":" + Minutes$
119END FUNCTION
120
121FUNCTION IIF (Condition, Result1, Result2)
122   IIF = Result2
123   IF Condition THEN IIF = Result1
124END FUNCTION
125
126FUNCTION TranslateDigit (Digit$)
127   Translation = NONE
128
129   SELECT CASE Digit$
130      CASE "0": Translation = C0
131      CASE "1": Translation = C1
132      CASE "2": Translation = C2
133      CASE "3": Translation = C3
134      CASE "4": Translation = C4
135      CASE "5": Translation = C5
136      CASE "6": Translation = C6
137      CASE "7": Translation = C7
138      CASE "8": Translation = C8
139      CASE "9": Translation = C9
140   END SELECT
141
142   TranslateDigit = Translation
143END FUNCTION
144
145FUNCTION Trim$ (Text$)
146   Trim$ = LTRIM$(RTRIM$(Text$))
147END FUNCTION

And an analog clock:

1DEFINT A-Z
2
3DECLARE FUNCTION CurrentTime# (Advance, NewHour, NewMinute, NewSecond)
4DECLARE FUNCTION GetHours (Seconds#)
5DECLARE FUNCTION GetMinutes (Seconds#)
6DECLARE FUNCTION GetSeconds (Seconds#)
7DECLARE SUB DrawClock (DisplayedTime#)
8DECLARE SUB Main ()
9
10CONST FALSE = 0
11CONST NONE = -1
12CONST TRUE = -1
13
14CONST BACKGROUND = 0
15CONST CLOCKSIZE = 190
16CONST HANDNUTSIZE = 3
17CONST HOURSTODEGREES = 30
18CONST LARGEMARKINTERVAL = 3
19CONST MINUTESTODEGREES = 6
20CONST MINUTESTOFRACTION# = 1 / 60
21CONST PI# = 3.14159265358979#
22CONST SECONDSPERHOUR = 3600
23CONST SECONDSPERMINUTE = 60
24CONST SECONDSTODEGREES = 6
25CONST TWELVEHOURANGLE = -90
26
27CONST CLOCKX = CLOCKSIZE * 1.5
28CONST CLOCKY = CLOCKSIZE * 1.1
29CONST HOURHANDLENGTH = CLOCKSIZE / 1.6
30CONST LARGEMARKLENGTH = HOURHANDLENGTH / 2.5
31CONST MINUTEHANDLENGTH = HOURHANDLENGTH * 1.5
32CONST SECONDHANDLENGTH = HOURHANDLENGTH * 1.5
33CONST SMALLMARKLENGTH = LARGEMARKLENGTH / 2
34CONST TORADIANS# = 180 / PI#
35
36ON TIMER(1) GOSUB ClockTick
37CALL Main
38END
39
40ClockTick:
41DrawClock CurrentTime(TRUE, NONE, NONE, NONE)
42RETURN
43
44FUNCTION CurrentTime# (Advance, NewHour, NewMinute, NewSecond)
45STATIC Seconds#
46
47IF Advance THEN
48   IF GetSeconds(Seconds#) = 59 THEN
49      Seconds# = (GetHours(Seconds#) * CLNG(SECONDSPERHOUR)) + (GetMinutes(Seconds#) * SECONDSPERMINUTE)
50      IF GetMinutes(Seconds#) = 59 THEN
51         Seconds# = GetHours(Seconds#) * SECONDSPERHOUR
52         IF GetHours(Seconds#) = 11 THEN
53            Seconds# = 0
54         ELSE
55            Seconds# = Seconds# + SECONDSPERHOUR
56         END IF
57      ELSE
58         Seconds# = Seconds# + SECONDSPERMINUTE
59      END IF
60   ELSE

61      Seconds# = Seconds# + 1
62   END IF
63ELSE
64   IF NOT NewHour = NONE THEN Seconds# = GetSeconds(Seconds#) + (GetMinutes(Seconds#) * SECONDSPERMINUTE) + (NewHour * CLNG(SECONDSPERHOUR))
65   IF NOT NewMinute = NONE THEN Seconds# = GetSeconds(Seconds#) + (NewMinute * SECONDSPERMINUTE) + (GetHours(Seconds#) * CLNG(SECONDSPERHOUR))
66   IF NOT NewSecond = NONE THEN Seconds# = NewSecond + (GetMinutes(Seconds#) * SECONDSPERMINUTE) + (GetHours(Seconds#) * CLNG(SECONDSPERHOUR))
67END IF
68
69CurrentTime = Seconds#
70END FUNCTION
71
72SUB DrawClock (DisplayedTime#)
73DIM HourAsRadians#
74DIM HourOnFace
75DIM MarkLength
76DIM MinuteAsRadians#
77DIM SecondAsRadians#
78
79STATIC HourHandX
80STATIC HourHandY
81STATIC MinuteHandX
82STATIC MinuteHandY
83STATIC SecondHandX
84STATIC SecondHandY
85
86LINE (CLOCKX, CLOCKY)-(HourHandX, HourHandY), BACKGROUND
87LINE (CLOCKX, CLOCKY)-(MinuteHandX, MinuteHandY), BACKGROUND
88LINE (CLOCKX, CLOCKY)-(SecondHandX, SecondHandY), BACKGROUND
89
90FOR HourOnFace = 0 TO 11
91   HourAsRadians# = ((HourOnFace * HOURSTODEGREES) + TWELVEHOURANGLE) / TORADIANS#
92   IF HourOnFace MOD LARGEMARKINTERVAL = 0 THEN MarkLength = LARGEMARKLENGTH ELSE MarkLength = SMALLMARKLENGTH
93   LINE ((COS(HourAsRadians#) * CLOCKSIZE) + CLOCKX, (SIN(HourAsRadians#) * CLOCKSIZE) + CLOCKY)-((COS(HourAsRadians#) * (CLOCKSIZE - MarkLength)) + CLOCKX, (SIN(HourAsRadians#) * (CLOCKSIZE - MarkLength)) + CLOCKY), 14
94NEXT HourOnFace
95CIRCLE (CLOCKX, CLOCKY), CLOCKSIZE, 1
96
97HourAsRadians# = (((GetHours(DisplayedTime#) + GetMinutes(DisplayedTime#) * MINUTESTOFRACTION#) * HOURSTODEGREES) + TWELVEHOURANGLE) / TORADIANS#
98SecondAsRadians# = ((GetSeconds(DisplayedTime#) * SECONDSTODEGREES) + TWELVEHOURANGLE) / TORADIANS#
99MinuteAsRadians# = ((GetMinutes(DisplayedTime#) * MINUTESTODEGREES) + TWELVEHOURANGLE) / TORADIANS#
100
101HourHandX = (COS(HourAsRadians#) * HOURHANDLENGTH) + CLOCKX
102HourHandY = (SIN(HourAsRadians#) * HOURHANDLENGTH) + CLOCKY
103MinuteHandX = (COS(MinuteAsRadians#) * MINUTEHANDLENGTH) + CLOCKX
104MinuteHandY = (SIN(MinuteAsRadians#) * MINUTEHANDLENGTH) + CLOCKY
105SecondHandX = (COS(SecondAsRadians#) * SECONDHANDLENGTH) + CLOCKX
106SecondHandY = (SIN(SecondAsRadians#) * SECONDHANDLENGTH) + CLOCKY
107
108LINE (CLOCKX, CLOCKY)-(HourHandX, HourHandY), 2
109LINE (CLOCKX, CLOCKY)-(MinuteHandX, MinuteHandY), 2
110LINE (CLOCKX, CLOCKY)-(SecondHandX, SecondHandY), 4
111CIRCLE (CLOCKX, CLOCKY), HANDNUTSIZE, 15
112END SUB
113
114FUNCTION GetHours (Seconds#)
115GetHours = INT(Seconds# / SECONDSPERHOUR)
116END FUNCTION
117
118FUNCTION GetMinutes (Seconds#)
119GetMinutes = INT((Seconds# - (GetHours(Seconds#) * CDBL(SECONDSPERHOUR))) / SECONDSPERMINUTE)
120END FUNCTION
121
122FUNCTION GetSeconds (Seconds#)
123GetSeconds = INT(Seconds# - (GetHours(Seconds#) * CDBL(SECONDSPERHOUR)) - (GetMinutes(Seconds#) * CDBL(SECONDSPERMINUTE)))
124END FUNCTION
125
126SUB Main
127DIM KeyCode$
128DIM Seconds#
129
130SCREEN 12: CLS : COLOR 3
131
132Seconds# = CurrentTime(FALSE, GetHours(TIMER), GetMinutes(TIMER), GetSeconds(TIMER))
133DrawClock CurrentTime(FALSE, NONE, NONE, NONE)
134
135LOCATE (CLOCKSIZE / 8) + 3, 1
136PRINT "   QBClock v1.00 - by: Peter Swinkels, ***2019***"
137PRINT "   Press the a or A keys to quickly advance the time. Escape = quit"
138
139TIMER ON
140
141DO
142   DO
143      KeyCode$ = INKEY$
144   LOOP WHILE KeyCode$ = ""
145   IF KeyCode$ = "a" OR KeyCode$ = "A" THEN
146      Seconds# = CurrentTime(FALSE, NONE, NONE, NONE)
147      IF KeyCode$ = "A" THEN
148         IF GetHours(Seconds#) = 11 THEN Seconds# = 0 ELSE Seconds# = Seconds# + SECONDSPERHOUR
149      ELSE
150         IF GetMinutes(Seconds#) = 59 THEN
151            Seconds# = GetHours(Seconds#) * CLNG(SECONDSPERHOUR)
152            IF GetHours(Seconds#) = 11 THEN Seconds# = 0 ELSE Seconds# = Seconds# + SECONDSPERHOUR
153         ELSE
154            Seconds# = Seconds# + SECONDSPERMINUTE
155         END IF
156      END IF
157      DrawClock CurrentTime#(FALSE, GetHours(Seconds#), GetMinutes(Seconds#), NONE)
158   ELSEIF KeyCode$ = CHR$(27) THEN
159      EXIT DO
160   END IF
161LOOP
162
163TIMER OFF
164END SUB

Started backing up the hard disks of my Apple Powerbooks in case they fail or get damaged by a software crash. Did the 190cs yesterday, now the 540c is running its backup.

TheAbandonwareGuy wrote:

Isnt the Pismo a G3 PowerBook not a G4?

Right now I'm using the X200 Tablet as my main laptop and I LOVE this thing. It is everything a laptop should be and more. I think I might also need to pickup a Thinkpad X220 (i3 version of the X200). I love this full size 12.1 laptop/Tablet form factor. Why did this laptop form factor disappear for the stupid ultrabook 2-in-1 form factor anyways?

It's usually a G3, but I got the Wegener G4 upgrade card, so the machine ran like a Mercury (Titanium PowerBook Rev. A) but minus that liability-of-a-chassis (the TiBooks are notorious for being fragile as they age). I kinda wished that I kept the PowerPC 750e/400MHz Processor card so I can do a comparison between the G3 and the G4, and an out-of-box, as-is comparison between the Pismo and the ThinkPad.

Oh yeah, I had an X41 Tablet - I hear ya. The twist-and-flop form factor is more comfortable to work with. That being said, that hinge is expensive to manufacture and the machine doesn't fold as thinly as the 2-in-one.

derSammler wrote:

Started backing up the hard disks of my Apple Powerbooks in case they fail or get damaged by a software crash. Did the 190cs yesterday, now the 540c is running its backup.

I'd love to get these wallpapers. I have been using some retro mac wallpapers with my macbooks recently.

I ran Zandronum (Doom mod) on P233MMX, W98 with Yamaha pcc10xg (PCMCIA) as MIDI device. The card sounds awesome. It also makes a huge difference in terms of performance. If I switch to software Roland MIDI synth the game runs signufucantly slower, becomes unplayable. And with the Yamaha it runs smoothly, yet only in 320x200 mode.

So, delivery driver offloaded a whole pallet at my house today, the box was big enough to fit me... and inside of it were even more boxes, and inside the larger boxes were even more smaller boxes 🤣

anyways, started to get my stuff a bit organized before I drown in random hardware ^^

Peter Swinkels wrote:

Impressive, however you forgot the minute hand! 🤣 Add this to your drawHour procedure:

Yeah, I caught that after posting the code here. But cool that someone actually took the time to run the code. 😊

I was going to have stab at adding a digital clock this weekend (if I could find the time), switching between analogue and digital with F1 or something. Your clock looks great! I wasn't yet sure on how I was going to formulate the digital number segments. Maybe your code might give me an idea or two... 😀

pan069 wrote:

Yeah, I caught that after posting the code here. But cool that someone actually took the time to run the code. 😊

I was going to have stab at adding a digital clock this weekend (if I could find the time), switching between analogue and digital with F1 or something. Your clock looks great! I wasn't yet sure on how I was going to formulate the digital number segments. Maybe your code might give me an idea or two... 😀

Glad you like my work. Love to see your digital clock.

Last night I had a go at getting GP4 to run on Windows 2000 SP4. No luck... black screen with music. Got a headache from that so I am resting for some time now.

ragefury32 wrote:

(the TiBooks are notorious for being fragile as they age)

The Pismo is even worse. I've got three and gave up trying to fix them. They have flimsy parts everywhere. The "thickness" of the plastic holding the hinges must be a bad joke by whoever designed that thing... Also what breaks easily is the part below the mouse button - and actually that whole case part, the bezel of the display, and so on.

During resurrecting a k6II-450 I suspected immediately that the PSU has not to be trusted. The voltage was ok @ empty or in mild loads, there was indeed a fault lurking. Used my "Chinezium" electronic load to test the 5V rail, and for my amusement @10A I was getting a severe undervoltage.

The psu was supposed to supply at least 20A. The undervoltage may not be a cause of catastrophic failure but in time it will degrade the dc-dc converters. So, as precaution we should always suspect this generic Chinese psu bricks, that is if we value the parts that they supply.

Xicor wrote:

The psu was supposed to supply at least 20A.

Yes, combined on all 5V rails. You are not supposed to draw 10A from a single 5V rail.

This psu only has 1 rail of 5V, as its common on all Chinese AT style PSU. Usually they tend to use a pair of fast recovery diodes to form a rail. The concept of multi-rail per voltage is a tad new in cheap PSU's.

At 5A I could see a 0.5v drop, from the nominal 5V, and I suspect that the ripple would be high though I haven't tested it.

derSammler wrote:

ragefury32 wrote:

(the TiBooks are notorious for being fragile as they age)

The Pismo is even worse. I've got three and gave up trying to fix them. They have flimsy parts everywhere. The "thickness" of the plastic holding the hinges must be a bad joke by whoever designed that thing... Also what breaks easily is the part below the mouse button - and actually that whole case part, the bezel of the display, and so on.

Well, it's at least plastic, so the old superglue-and-baking soda trick still works reinforcing them. What I tend to see is the screw capstans fracturing, but it's fairly rare to have to strip the Pismo down that much (short of swapping out the logic board, since almost all of the field replaceable components are easily accessible once you take the keyboard out). The TiBooks on the other hand? The titanium frame distorts until it fractures, and whatever Apple used to coat them flakes off and they look rather terrible afterwards.

Of course when it came to durability, nothing beats a clamshell/Toilet cover iBook. Those things are made with PVC...