Is anyone into "retro-computing"?

[IndyColtsFan]

Wow! I don't remember those at all.

The late 70s and early 80s were amazing for the sheer number of companies who tried to cash in on the video game/PC market. Who here knew, for example, that Quaker Oats even got into the video game market?

For a trip down memory lane, take a look here. The late 70s and early 80s were the best time in computer history, IMO. Some things were silly (see the "practical" expansion possibilities of the TI-99/4A below), but most of it was awesome! These days, everything is so similar and sterile, with no personality.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

"Hey baby, wanna see my BIG computer?"

"Ahhh, yeeeaaaaah, I'm going to need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday too. Yeah...."

"Why yes, flight attendant, this is my portable computer!"

 

[erikistired]

The late 70s and early 80s were amazing for the sheer number of companies who tried to cash in on the video game/PC market. Who here knew, for example, that Quaker Oats even got into the video game market?

For a trip down memory lane, take a look here. The late 70s and early 80s were the best time in computer history, IMO. Some things were silly (see the "practical" expansion possibilities of the TI-99/4A below), but most of it was awesome! These days, everything is so similar and sterile, with no personality.

i remember a neighbor kid trying to convince me i needed a tape deck for my ti99/4a so he could "swap" programs with me on cassette. i always considered it more of a game console than a computer because that's all i ever did with it. munch man was the bomb!

we also had one of these at one point (played hitchhiker's on it!) but i would be hard pressed to remember which model.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

i remember a neighbor kid trying to convince me i needed a tape deck for my ti99/4a so he could "swap" programs with me on cassette. i always considered it more of a game console than a computer because that's all i ever did with it. munch man was the bomb!

we also had one of these at one point (played hitchhiker's on it!) but i would be hard pressed to remember which model.

I always kind of wanted a TI-99/4A model. I remember looking at all the different computers and ended up with a Vic. When I moved on from the Vic, it was between an Atari 800XL or the Commodore 64. I got the C64 and therefore, I chose wisely.

 

[zzuupp]

I had friends whose dad had an Osbourne. It was probably just as compact as the compaq.

 

[gophins72]

only around $1000 bucks (according to list). but high tech in the early 80s!

What cost $1000 in 1982 would cost $2229.06 in 2010.

I do remember around the early 90s it seemed that the cost of a good computer was around $2000. Anything more or less and you sort of were outside the sweet spot of value.

on a side note, did anyone ever see one of these:

man, i was so jealous of a friend of mine who had one of those, lol.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

What cost $1000 in 1982 would cost $2229.06 in 2010.

I do remember around the early 90s it seemed that the cost of a good computer was around $2000. Anything more or less and you sort of were outside the sweet spot of value.

on a side note, did anyone ever see one of these:

man, i was so jealous of a friend of mine who had one of those, lol.

That is an SX-64. I saw them several times and really wanted one myself, but never got it. Honestly, there was no reason for me to get one but I thought it was so cool that I had to have one.

If I had to pick a computer that I really had to have, it was the original Amiga 1000. I was so blown away by it in 1985 and it was literally years ahead of anything else. I am seriously considering buying one now to go with my Amiga 2000.

Check out the "Secret Weapons of Commodore" site. I'm not sure if it is mentioned on that site, but Commodore's engineers actually had plans for machines that were far more powerful than the PCs of the early/mid 90s but Commodore management scrapped the programs due to the perceived expense. Who was right? I don't know, but if a machine like the Amiga 3000+ would've seen the light of day rather than the disappointing Amiga 4000, maybe it would've helped them hang on.

 

[gophins72]

i think if they weren't plagued with the piracy problems of the time, they'd probably have been successful. I had a 2000 which i later upgraded with a 68030, but by then the writing was on the wall and i switched to a 486sx. nice website, i'll have to read it more in depth. :thumbsup:

 

[erikistired]

I always kind of wanted a TI-99/4A model. I remember looking at all the different computers and ended up with a Vic. When I moved on from the Vic, it was between an Atari 800XL or the Commodore 64. I got the C64 and therefore, I chose wisely.

that's one i wish i still had. it was a nice little setup for its time.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Dave Haynie (former Commodore chief engineer and designer of machines such as the Amiga 2000) put up a bunch of protoype boards on eBay from his days at Commodore. Some of it is fascinating stuff.

WOAH: He just put up the prototype of the legendary AAA chipset board. Already at $255! That was the chipset that would've pushed the Amiga way ahead of the other PCs of the time but was shelved because Commodore thought it was too expensive.

 

[paulney]

This is what I started with:

It's a ZX Spectrum +
Sometimes I still miss rewinding cassette tape and looking at the funky rainbows around the screen while the game was loading:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW2oAaU6YwY&feature=related

 

[ElFenix]

The late 70s and early 80s were amazing for the sheer number of companies who tried to cash in on the video game/PC market. Who here knew, for example, that Quaker Oats even got into the video game market?

For a trip down memory lane, take a look here. The late 70s and early 80s were the best time in computer history, IMO. Some things were silly (see the "practical" expansion possibilities of the TI-99/4A below), but most of it was awesome! These days, everything is so similar and sterile, with no personality.

the cell phone market looks a lot like the computer market in the mid 80s. who is going to come out with the 386/cdrom/windows3.1 combo and knock everyone else out?

 

[ultimatebob]

the cell phone market looks a lot like the computer market in the mid 80s. who is going to come out with the 386/cdrom/windows3.1 combo and knock everyone else out?

Eh... every smart phone looks practically the same now. Take a look at all of Motorola and HTC's latest generation Android phones... they're all indistinguishable from each other at first glance.

The iPhone might have revolutionized the business, but everyone has caught up now.

 

[ElFenix]

Eh... every smart phone looks practically the same now. Take a look at all of Motorola and HTC's latest generation Android phones... they're all indistinguishable from each other at first glance.

The iPhone might have revolutionized the business, but everyone has caught up now.

i guess it's different in that nearly everyone is using ARM (is anyone using any other architecture? MIPS?) and but the OS market is still fairly fragmented with apple, android, and rim. don't forget HP just spent a boatload to get webOS.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

i guess it's different in that nearly everyone is using ARM (is anyone using any other architecture? MIPS?) and but the OS market is still fairly fragmented with apple, android, and rim. don't forget HP just spent a boatload to get webOS.

Also don't forget Windows Mobile, though it is obviously not a threat to the big 3 at this stage.

Back in the early 80s, the major players were Commodore, Apple, Atari, TI, Tandy/Radio Shack, IBM (and the burgeoning clone market), and of course, CP/M running on a few different machines. CP/M was quickly overtaken and TI dropped out pretty quickly because of the major ass kicking the VIC 20 gave it (an irony, considering it was TI that defeated Commodore in the calculator/adding machine wars in the 70s and drove Commodore into the computer industry) and the rest of the players lasted well into the 90s, when Tandy, Atari and Commodore finally succumbed. I know standardization is a good thing for consumers, but damn, I still miss those days. I wonder what would've happened had the Amiga gained more traction and Commodore would've released their super-advanced chipsets. I've also got a place in my heart for Atari because of their impact on the video game industry and the 2600.

 

[zzuupp]

I think that I'd add Radio Shack / Tandy to that list too. If only because darn near any town over 10K has one.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I think that I'd add Radio Shack / Tandy to that list too. If only because darn near any town over 10K has one.

Crap, I forgot about them -- I'll edit my post. I don't know how I forgot about them. We always made fun of the TRaSh-80, but they were always interesting machines.

 

[zzuupp]

Crap, I forgot about them -- I'll edit my post. I don't know how I forgot about them. We always made fun of the TRaSh-80, but they were always interesting machines.

yup, that's what everyone called 'em. I haven't heard it in awhile, though.

Probably not since the "& Computer Center" went off the signs.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

It's ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!

It isn't powered on in this picture, but I also bought a flickerfixer board and it is now cabled to my U2410 monitor. I got the accelerator and everything working in it!

 

[erikistired]

It's ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!

It isn't powered on in this picture, but I also bought a flickerfixer board and it is now cabled to my U2410 monitor. I got the accelerator and everything working in it!

that's pretty pimp dude. time to bust out some maniac mansion!

 

[IndyColtsFan]

that's pretty pimp dude. time to bust out some maniac mansion!

Newly enhanced with my eBay additions: GVP 40 Mhz 68030 accelerator and the Microway flickerfixer. I am seriously considering buying an IDE controller for it and using a Compact Flash card as the "hard drive."

I tried Faery Tale Adventure (an awesome game, BTW) and you could definitely notice the speed increase.

 

[ScoobMaster]

Geez - How did I miss this thread and get here so late to the party.

My first computer was a C-64. I went from the tape drive to the clattering 1541 drive as well (never forget the sound that thing made!). I had ZILLIONS of games for it... EPYX classics like Pit Stop, Pit Stop II, Summer Games, Winter Games, Jumpman. Other favorites I remember offhand are Raid on Bungeling Bay, Beach Head, Raid for Moscow, M.U.L.E., Pinball Construction Set, Racing Destruction Set, etc...

I eventually "upgraded" to an IBM PCjr when big blue dumped the marketing failure on their employees (one of which was my father) for CHEAP.

I was also big into the dial-up BBS scene in the late 80s/early 90s (that picture of the VICmodem takes me back). Remember MANUALLY dialing, waiting for the carrier signel to squeal in your ear, then quickly unplugging the modular jack from the handset and jamming it in the VICmodem and hitting enter rapidly to connect?

How many of you remember these designations and what they mean??:

300-E-7-1 1200-N-8-1

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Geez - How did I miss this thread and get here so late to the party.

My first computer was a C-64. I went from the tape drive to the clattering 1541 drive as well (never forget the sound that thing made!). I had ZILLIONS of games for it... EPYX classics like Pit Stop, Pit Stop II, Summer Games, Winter Games, Jumpman. Other favorites I remember offhand are Raid on Bungeling Bay, Beach Head, Raid for Moscow, M.U.L.E., Pinball Construction Set, Racing Destruction Set, etc...

Lots of excellent games in that list. I've got my C128 hooked up and played Bungeling Bay recently (love that game!). I'd have to say that Adventure Construction Set was awesome too -- a really cool game with some awesome stories. That was back in the day when EA was the underdog and made great games!

I eventually "upgraded" to an IBM PCjr when big blue dumped the marketing failure on their employees (one of which was my father) for CHEAP.

I was also big into the dial-up BBS scene in the late 80s/early 90s (that picture of the VICmodem takes me back). Remember MANUALLY dialing, waiting for the carrier signel to squeal in your ear, then quickly unplugging the modular jack from the handset and jamming it in the VICmodem and hitting enter rapidly to connect?

I remember that well! The VICmodem, IIRC, had no speaker so you HAD to do that. The later modems, such as the 1660, did have speaker provisions so you wouldn't need to do that anymore.

I'll never forget waking up one Sunday morning and looking through the sales flyers and seeing the VICmodem on sale for some ridiculously low price (at the time). I convinced my dad to take me to buy it and then signed up for CompuServe.

How many of you remember these designations and what they mean??:

300-E-7-1 1200-N-8-1

I know what they mean:

baud rate -- parity -- data bits -- stop bits

I used to frequent lots of boards in the C64 and Amiga days. I kind of miss it and I used to be a frequent poster on Fido.net's Amiga boards (eventually archived by Google, IIRC).

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Great stories guys -- let's keep this thread going.

 

[Joseph F]

I've been into retro computing for a long time. I still occasionally play Doom and Duke Nukem in DOSbox sometimes.