• Re: Commodore Computers

    From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to boraxman on Fri Apr 22 07:08:00 2022
    boraxman wrote to The Millionaire <=-

    I had B and C, and my favourite was C, though I really do have a soft
    spot for the Vic 20. I still have a few C64's, with a disk drive, tape drive, games, but alas only one runs property. My Vic 20 also doesn't work, I need to fix it.

    I took up 6502 assembler last year or the year before, made a short
    "demo" for the Vic 20.

    I love those simple computers, the colours, the simplicity, the tactile sensation of using floppy disks and tapes.

    Yep.

    My senior year of high school, I took a computer class on Commodore
    CBM8032s, 80 column 32 mb "business" Pets. dual floppy drives, if I'm not mistaken, two computers were daisy chained to 1 dual floppy unit.

    We had some cool custom graphics chips added in from a local company called "Skyles Electric Works" (why do I remember that?) that when you poked the memory address of the chip, let you do high-res graphics on the screen.

    Later, I got a Commodore 64 and didn't use it for more than knocking
    together a couple of BASIC programs, playing Choplifter, and dialing into BBSes and a University computer system. 80 columns on a 13" black and white
    TV is NOT RECOMMENDED.

    That year, I sold it and picked up an XT clone, and there ends my Commodore story.


    ... Think of the radio
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  • From The Millionaire@21:1/183 to Dr. What on Sat Apr 23 13:58:50 2022


    A lot of schools had PETs. I remember my dad (a teacher) saying that Commodore had a "buy 2, get 1 free" deal for schools.

    Grade 7 for me was when the PETs really started getting into the schools in my area. I used those all through high school (hence, the warm memories).

    ... When all is said and done, more is said then done.
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    When we were in high school, we started using Decwriters. They were pretty cool too.

    $ The Millionaire $
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    * Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (21:1/183)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to Dr. What on Sun Apr 24 09:45:00 2022
    Grade 7 for me was when the PETs really started getting into the schools

    The school I had in grade 7, form 1 as well called it, had something I never saw... the form 5/6s used it, they had punch cards they handed to a man in a white coat that took them into secret room and returned the results at a
    later time.

    By the time I left 2 full years later they'd for some strange reason
    installed a single lab of C64s, 24 of them I think, that shared a pair of
    disk drives that looked like they were going to explode from overwork. The
    odd part about this was that the 64 was already on the way out when they did all this.

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
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    * Origin: The future's uncertain, the end is always near. (21:3/101)
  • From The Millionaire@21:1/183 to Spectre on Sun Apr 24 12:39:52 2022


    The school I had in grade 7, form 1 as well called it, had something I never saw... the form 5/6s used it, they had punch cards they handed to a man in a white coat that took them into secret room and returned the results at a later time.

    By the time I left 2 full years later they'd for some strange reason installed a single lab of C64s, 24 of them I think, that shared a pair of disk drives that looked like they were going to explode from overwork. The odd part about this was that the 64 was already on the way out when they did all this.

    Spec

    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: The future's uncertain, the end is always near. (21:3/101)


    Yeah I remember using punch cards in Grade 8. They were a real hassle to work with. :-(

    $ The Millionaire $
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (21:1/183)
  • From McDoob@21:4/135 to The Millionaire on Sun Apr 24 19:07:58 2022
    Yeah I remember using punch cards in Grade 8. They were a real hassle to work with. :-(

    You had to use punch cards in Grade 8? Did you also have a pet dinosaur, and a wife named Eve? (o_O)

    I guess I'm lucky to have been born into a world where home computers were becoming more and more common. The absolute earliest storage medium I've ever used (tape) was still magnetic.

    McDoob
    SysOp, PiBBS
    pibbs.sytes.net

    ... One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Raspberry Pi/32)
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  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to The Millionaire on Mon Apr 25 11:27:02 2022
    The Millionaire wrote to Spectre <=-

    Yeah I remember using punch cards in Grade 8. They were a real hassle
    to work with. :-(

    I lucked out and just missed the punch card era. When I got to college, I was in the firts class that used only terminals and they were getting rid of the card punches.


    ... I may have settled in shipping.
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  • From Dr. What@21:1/616 to Spectre on Sun Apr 24 19:27:38 2022
    Spectre wrote to Dr. What <=-

    By the time I left 2 full years later they'd for some strange reason installed a single lab of C64s, 24 of them I think, that shared a pair
    of disk drives that looked like they were going to explode from
    overwork. The odd part about this was that the 64 was already on the
    way out when they did all this.

    In my dad's school system, they had a problem where the official "technology coordinator" wasn't really keeping up on things. He was recommending equipment that was either out of date, or simply not built anymore. The excuse: Since the "technology coordinator" was also a regular teacher, he didn't have the time.

    The solution: Bring in someone to be the full time "technology coordinator". That brought up another problem: he was getting kickbacks from Apple in the form of "evaluation" items that never needed to be returned. So he would always recommend Apple - even if it didn't make sense. For example: When they went to build a new high school, he speced using AppleTalk for the network cabling for the building.

    He left one step ahead of the firing squad.

    Schools are a major bureaucracy and frequently do things that don't make sense to an outsider.


    ... A girl a day keeps the wife away.
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  • From The Millionaire@21:1/183 to McDoob on Sun Apr 24 18:28:22 2022


    You had to use punch cards in Grade 8? Did you also have a pet dinosaur, and a wife named Eve? (o_O)

    I guess I'm lucky to have been born into a world where home computers were becoming more and more common. The absolute earliest storage medium I've ever used (tape) was still magnetic.

    McDoob
    SysOp, PiBBS
    pibbs.sytes.net

    ... One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: PiBBS (21:4/135)


    Home computers in the 70s were $1000 then. Only rich people could afford them and schools.

    $ The Millionaire $
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    * Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (21:1/183)
  • From McDoob@21:4/135 to The Millionaire on Mon Apr 25 10:58:22 2022
    I guess I'm lucky to have been born into a world where home computers we becoming more and more common. The absolute earliest storage medium I've used (tape) was still magnetic.

    Home computers in the 70s were $1000 then. Only rich people could afford them and schools.

    So...you were in Grade 8 in the '70s, then? Which means you were a teen before I was even born. Technically, I'm a '70s baby, even if only by a week...

    Like I said, home computers were becoming pretty common when I started going to school. Even before I started kindergarten, my dad had a TRS-80. And by the time I was able to use one, the old man gave me a Commodore-64. Man, I spent nearly *all* my spare time goofing around with that thing...

    Ah, the good ol' days...

    McDoob
    SysOp, PiBBS
    pibbs.sytes.net

    ... A book in the hand is worth two on the shelf!

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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to McDoob on Mon Apr 25 07:09:00 2022
    McDoob wrote to The Millionaire <=-

    I guess I'm lucky to have been born into a world where home computers
    were becoming more and more common. The absolute earliest storage
    medium I've ever used (tape) was still magnetic.

    My high school computer teacher brought in a WANG data processing system,
    and told us all to trust him, we'd want to use it.

    It used a punch card entry system. So, we could all say we all started out with punch cards.

    There's a computer history museum in Mountain View, CA with a working IBM mainframe. It's been lovingly maintained by retired FSEs who're recruiting kids to come learn the trade. It's great seeing other generations learning
    how to use and maintain old hardware like that - and to understand where it all came from.

    Every once in a while, they fire it up, enter a job into punch cards, and
    run the job to show how it was done.

    My son, watching the process, was amazed at how many people it took to run
    the system.


    ... That's what we are to them -- Yesterday's JAM!
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  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to The Millionaire on Mon Apr 25 12:52:34 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: The Millionaire to McDoob on Sun Apr 24 2022 06:28 pm

    Home computers in the 70s were $1000 then. Only rich people could afford them and schools.

    Home computer prices must have gone up a bit. I remember some prices for computer parts in the 80s, and they were fairly expensive. And I've seen some old computer ads from the 80s and 90s, and from what I remember, there were times when a home PC could cost anywhere from $1000 to $5000 or so.

    And specifically regarding RAM, I rememer up until 1994, RAM could cost about $100 per megabyte. Computer prices have gone down quite a bit since then.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From vorlon@21:1/195.1 to McDoob on Tue Apr 26 09:46:06 2022
    teen before I was even born. Technically, I'm a '70s baby, even if

    only by a week...

    Kid's these days... *=/ Get off the grass. $-)





    \/orlon



    --- MagickaBBS v0.15alpha (Linux/m68k)
    * Origin: Vorlon Empire (21:1/195.1)
  • From McDoob@21:4/135 to vorlon on Mon Apr 25 22:23:24 2022
    teen before I was even born. Technically, I'm a '70s baby, even if only by a week...

    Kid's these days... *=/ Get off the grass. $-)

    Yer welcome to try an' make me, ol' man! But I ain't payin' fer yer new hip! (o_-)

    McDoob
    SysOp, PiBBS
    pibbs.sytes.net

    ... The person who snores the loudest will fall asleep first

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    * Origin: PiBBS (21:4/135)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to McDoob on Tue Apr 26 20:22:38 2022
    So...you were in Grade 8 in the '70s, then? Which means you were a teen before I was even born. Technically, I'm a '70s baby, even if only by a week...

    Like I said, home computers were becoming pretty common when I started going to school. Even before I started kindergarten, my dad had a
    TRS-80. And by the time I was able to use one, the old man gave me a Commodore-64. Man, I spent nearly *all* my spare time goofing around
    with that thing...

    Ah, the good ol' days...


    McDoob

    Ah, someone of my vintage. I didn't get a "home computer" until 1991, and then they were the machines from the early 80s. I missed out on that awesome 80's period.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
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  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to Nightfox on Tue Apr 26 20:44:14 2022

    Home computer prices must have gone up a bit. I remember some prices for computer parts in the 80s, and they were fairly expensive. And I've
    seen some old computer ads from the 80s and 90s, and from what I
    remember, there were times when a home PC could cost anywhere from $1000 to $5000 or so.

    And specifically regarding RAM, I rememer up until 1994, RAM could cost about $100 per megabyte. Computer prices have gone down quite a bit
    since then.

    Nightfox

    The Vic 20 was about $500-$700 in 1982, the Commodore 64 between $500-600 a couple of years later. By about the year 1999-2000, I had bought a C64 or two, for $2 each. A Vic 20 for $5!


    My uncle bought an Amstrad 386 in 1990 or early 1991, with 4M RAM (which was a lot at the time) for about $4,000 AUD.

    By the end of 1993, my school friends had built their own 386 machines for about $1,500. Still expensive by todays standards.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to Nightfox on Tue Apr 26 23:58:48 2022
    Nightfox wrote to The Millionaire <=-

    And specifically regarding RAM, I rememer up until 1994, RAM could cost about $100 per megabyte. Computer prices have gone down quite a bit
    since then.

    I remember specing out a system for a computer store to build for me. They told me that in order to get what I wanted, they had to use a motherboard meant for a server - so it could take plenty of RAM. I only used a small number of slots, but, according to the manual, I could fit 256MB of RAM by populating all the slots with 16MB RAM sticks.

    One day, for fun, I priced out doing that and it was more than I paid for my car.


    ... Everyone is a genius at least once a year.
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  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to boraxman on Tue Apr 26 09:20:00 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: boraxman to McDoob on Tue Apr 26 2022 08:22 pm

    Ah, someone of my vintage. I didn't get a "home computer" until 1991, and then they were the machines from the early 80s. I missed out on that awesome 80's period.

    Yeah, I got my first computer in 1992, and it was a hand-me-down 286 PC. I never had any of the computers from the 80s, though I knew someone who had a Timex Sinclair that I messed around with a bit. I've heard a lot of interesting things about the other 80s computers like the Commodore 64, Amiga, etc. but never had one myself.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From Warpslide@21:3/110 to McDoob on Tue Apr 26 17:53:02 2022
    On 25 Apr 2022, McDoob said the following...

    So...you were in Grade 8 in the '70s, then? Which means you were a teen before I was even born. Technically, I'm a '70s baby, even if only by a week...

    Sounds like we're about the same age. Do you remember these from elementary school?

    https://bbs.lc/qsuyY


    Jay

    ... TagLine support contract for renewal. Ignore this if you've already paid.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/04/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: Northern Realms (21:3/110)
  • From nugax@21:4/100 to McDoob on Tue Apr 26 16:54:32 2022
    Commodores! :)
    -Nugax

    --- CyberBBS v1.0.8 2022/04/25 [LMDE 4/x86_64]
    * Origin: CyberBBS BBS System | http://www.cyberbbs.com (21:1/167)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to Nightfox on Wed Apr 27 07:21:00 2022
    Yeah, I got my first computer in 1992, and it was a hand-me-down 286 PC.
    I never had any of the computers from the 80s, though I knew someone who had a Timex Sinclair that I messed around with a bit. I've heard a lot of interesting things about the other 80s computers like the Commodore 64, Amiga, etc. but never had one myself.

    You missed the computer evengelism wars :) Mine is better than yours... the commode64 or your ameagre... chuckle... dem was the days...


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
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    * Origin: The future's uncertain, the end is always near. (21:3/101)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to Nightfox on Wed Apr 27 23:10:46 2022
    Ah, someone of my vintage. I didn't get a "home computer" until 1991, then they were the machines from the early 80s. I missed out on that awesome 80's period.

    Yeah, I got my first computer in 1992, and it was a hand-me-down 286 PC.
    I never had any of the computers from the 80s, though I knew someone who had a Timex Sinclair that I messed around with a bit. I've heard a lot
    of interesting things about the other 80s computers like the Commodore
    64, Amiga, etc. but never had one myself.

    Nightfox

    Commodore 64's had distinctive sound and graphics, and if you had the ability (knowledge and software) you could code some interesting things and get to know the hardware well.

    I did prefer the PC myself, mainly because I did have the tools and documentation to get to know it at a more fundamental level, and it seems a more "serious" computer than the Commodore 64.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From McDoob@21:4/135 to Warpslide on Wed Apr 27 12:03:20 2022
    So...you were in Grade 8 in the '70s, then? Which means you were a te before I was even born. Technically, I'm a '70s baby, even if only by week...

    Sounds like we're about the same age. Do you remember these from elementary school?

    https://bbs.lc/qsuyY

    Uh, nope. Never seen one of them before. The first time I saw any kind of trackball input device was well into high school, but it was a separate thing, like any other mouse...

    What even are those? Are they all-in-one style, or are you hiding a box behind the table?

    McDoob
    SysOp, PiBBS
    pibbs.sytes.net

    ... I have a really good memory, except it's short.

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  • From McDoob@21:4/135 to nugax on Wed Apr 27 12:03:42 2022
    Commodores! :)

    Right?! (^_^)

    McDoob
    SysOp, PiBBS
    pibbs.sytes.net

    ... My tagline could eat your tagline for breakfast

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  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to Spectre on Wed Apr 27 09:42:18 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Spectre to Nightfox on Wed Apr 27 2022 07:21 am

    You missed the computer evengelism wars :) Mine is better than yours... the commode64 or your ameagre... chuckle... dem was the days...

    I'd heard about that.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to boraxman on Wed Apr 27 09:44:22 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: boraxman to Nightfox on Wed Apr 27 2022 11:10 pm

    Commodore 64's had distinctive sound and graphics, and if you had the ability (knowledge and software) you could code some interesting things and get to know the hardware well.

    I did prefer the PC myself, mainly because I did have the tools and documentation to get to know it at a more fundamental level, and it seems a more "serious" computer than the Commodore 64.

    I'd heard that about the Commodore 64, and that there was a "demo scene" where developers would make interesting demos of its sound and graphics.

    I agree the PC seems like a more serious computer. The Amiga seemed like a fairly decent and serious computer too. I've heard about the Amiga having advanced sound and video capabilities for its day, and there was a video editing product called Video Toaster for the Amiga that was fairly popular.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From Warpslide@21:3/110 to McDoob on Wed Apr 27 14:12:00 2022
    On 27 Apr 2022, McDoob said the following...

    Uh, nope. Never seen one of them before. The first time I saw any kind of trackball input device was well into high school, but it was a separate thing, like any other mouse...

    What even are those?

    Those are ICON computers that all elementary schools in my area had. They connected to a main server and had a bunch of pre-loaded programs like Word Perfect, Print Shop and some other programs that taught you how to type.

    If the program was loaded on the main server then each terminal could run that program.

    The fun part was if it was raining on recess we could stay in and play some of the games they had on these computers like Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?


    Jay

    ... Psychologists only do it if they feel good about it

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/04/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: Northern Realms (21:3/110)
  • From claw@21:1/210 to boraxman on Wed Apr 27 20:00:16 2022
    The Raspberry Pi is the new Commodore Computer!

    |23|04Dr|16|12Claw
    |16|14Sysop |12Noverdu |14BBS |04(|14Noverdu.com|04)
    |10Standard Ports for SSH/Telnet Web/HTTP://|14Noverdu.com:808
    |22|01fsxNet/MRC Chat/Registered Doors!/50Nodes/No Time Use! Stay On!|16|07

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Noverdu BBS (21:1/210)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to Nightfox on Thu Apr 28 23:14:32 2022
    Commodore 64's had distinctive sound and graphics, and if you had the ability (knowledge and software) you could code some interesting thin and get to know the hardware well.

    I did prefer the PC myself, mainly because I did have the tools and documentation to get to know it at a more fundamental level, and it s a more "serious" computer than the Commodore 64.

    I'd heard that about the Commodore 64, and that there was a "demo scene" where developers would make interesting demos of its sound and graphics.

    I agree the PC seems like a more serious computer. The Amiga seemed
    like a fairly decent and serious computer too. I've heard about the
    Amiga having advanced sound and video capabilities for its day, and
    there was a video editing product called Video Toaster for the Amiga
    that was fairly popular.

    Nightfox

    I never ever got to see an Amiga in action. I wish I did. There were some pretty cool demos for the Commodore 64 and the Amiga. The demo scene is still alive, new ones are created each year, and what they can do with that machine nowadays is bloody amazing. I've run new demos on an actual Commodore 64 and I was seeing that machine do things that back in the 90's I would have never thought it could do.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to claw on Fri Apr 29 00:30:40 2022
    claw wrote to boraxman <=-

    The Raspberry Pi is the new Commodore Computer!

    Yup. Bil Herd (ex-Commodore engineer) said that the TED chip (powering the Plus/4, C16) was as close to a "system on a chip" as they could get at that time.


    ... Scaldophobia: Fear the toilet will flush while showering.
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  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to Nightfox on Fri Apr 29 00:30:40 2022
    Nightfox wrote to boraxman <=-

    I agree the PC seems like a more serious computer. The Amiga seemed
    like a fairly decent and serious computer too.

    In my area, the Amiga was being sold in appliance stores and advertised as a gaming system. That doesn't match the image of a "serious computer."

    For many of us, the Amiga looked like yet another incompatible system for people who only wanted to play video games.

    But it's well documented now how bad Commodore Marketing was at this time.


    ... Rudolph changed his nose to 500 watts. Blew a fuse.
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  • From claw@21:1/210 to boraxman on Thu Apr 28 08:02:52 2022
    I never ever got to see an Amiga in action. I wish I did. There were some pretty cool demos for the Commodore 64 and the Amiga. The demo
    scene is still alive, new ones are created each year, and what they can
    do with that machine nowadays is bloody amazing. I've run new demos on
    an actual Commodore 64 and I was seeing that machine do things that back in the 90's I would have never thought it could do.

    That system was simply amazing for the time. Basically has Playstation quality graphics when Atari 7800 was still cool. The audio and video were just next level. The fact they could do this all on floppies is even that much more insane!

    Its not too late to get one still. Raymond computer might still have a few A1000's or a 500 or 2 laying around

    |23|04Dr|16|12Claw
    |16|14Sysop |12Noverdu |14BBS |04(|14Noverdu.com|04)
    |10Standard Ports for SSH/Telnet Web/HTTP://|14Noverdu.com:808
    |22|01fsxNet/MRC Chat/Registered Doors!/50Nodes/No Time Use! Stay On!|16|07

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Noverdu BBS (21:1/210)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to Dr. What on Thu Apr 28 08:37:16 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Dr. What to Nightfox on Fri Apr 29 2022 12:30 am

    I agree the PC seems like a more serious computer. The Amiga seemed
    like a fairly decent and serious computer too.

    In my area, the Amiga was being sold in appliance stores and advertised as a gaming system. That doesn't match the image of a "serious computer."

    For many of us, the Amiga looked like yet another incompatible system for people who only wanted to play video games.

    I don't remember how the Amiga was advertised where I live. But to me it looked like another computer (I always thought their beige-box appearance was fairly similar to IBM PC compatibles). Although it had good hardware for gaming, you could play games on a PC too.. As far as serious work, I'd heard
    of the Video Toaster product for the Amiga, and I'd heard the Amiga was popular for video editing due to that. I imagine the Amiga was probably used for other serious work as well.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to claw on Fri Apr 29 21:39:50 2022
    I never ever got to see an Amiga in action. I wish I did. There wer some pretty cool demos for the Commodore 64 and the Amiga. The demo scene is still alive, new ones are created each year, and what they c do with that machine nowadays is bloody amazing. I've run new demos an actual Commodore 64 and I was seeing that machine do things that b in the 90's I would have never thought it could do.

    That system was simply amazing for the time. Basically has Playstation quality graphics when Atari 7800 was still cool. The audio and video
    were just next level. The fact they could do this all on floppies is
    even that much more insane!

    Its not too late to get one still. Raymond computer might still have a few A1000's or a 500 or 2 laying around

    DrClaw

    My wife may not like my collecting yet another computer! I'd love to have one, but why stop at the Amiga?

    I'll keep an eye out for one in Australia.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to Nightfox on Sat Apr 30 00:14:10 2022
    Nightfox wrote to Dr. What <=-

    I don't remember how the Amiga was advertised where I live. But to me
    it looked like another computer (I always thought their beige-box appearance was fairly similar to IBM PC compatibles).

    I think that was just the late 80's-early 90's thing. The newer versions of the C64 came in a slim, beige case as did the C128. As well as many in the IBM-PC market.

    I think that beige was just the new standard across the industry.

    Looking at my collection, only the older machines (C64, Kaypro, TRS-80 Model I Commodore Plus/4) were non-beige. But my newer machines (Compaq Portables, TRS-80 Model 102, TRS-80 Model 4P, Sperry, C128) are all beige.

    Although it had
    good hardware for gaming, you could play games on a PC too.. As far as serious work, I'd heard of the Video Toaster product for the Amiga, and I'd heard the Amiga was popular for video editing due to that. I
    imagine the Amiga was probably used for other serious work as well.

    That's really the only market that I saw really went for the Amiga.

    The Amiga wasn't a bad machine, but it suffered from poor marketing and it was hampered by the IBM-PC taking over the market.


    ... Politicians cut red tape....LENGTHWISE
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to Dr. What on Fri Apr 29 09:26:34 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Dr. What to Nightfox on Sat Apr 30 2022 12:14 am

    I don't remember how the Amiga was advertised where I live. But to
    me it looked like another computer (I always thought their beige-box
    appearance was fairly similar to IBM PC compatibles).

    I think that was just the late 80's-early 90's thing. The newer versions of the C64 came in a slim, beige case as did the C128. As well as many in the IBM-PC market.

    I think that beige was just the new standard across the industry.

    Well there were other home computers that looked different from that, such as the Commodore 64 (all built into a keyboard, more of a brownish color), Timex Sinclair (similarly, had the keyboard built in and they were silver, black, or perhaps other colors), etc.. I've also heard about the Atari 400 home computer, which was beige, but the way it looked, I always thought it looked more like a game machine than a computer (I think it ran its software from cartridges, for instance).

    The Amiga wasn't a bad machine, but it suffered from poor marketing and it was hampered by the IBM-PC taking over the market.

    I often thought there were products that were technically superior that suffered from poor marketing. OS/2 was another - I thought OS/2 was a better OS than Windows, but IBM failed to market it well enough. Also, Microsoft had some tactics that I think were a bit shady, in pushing competetors out of the market.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to Nightfox on Sat Apr 30 07:49:00 2022
    Well there were other home computers that looked different from that, such as the Commodore 64 (all built into a keyboard, more of a brownish color),

    There was a late version of the c64 that looked remarkably similar to the
    A500 in form, I don't know that there were any other differences though.

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: The future's uncertain, the end is always near. (21:3/101)
  • From McDoob@21:4/135 to Warpslide on Fri Apr 29 21:44:16 2022
    Those are ICON computers that all elementary schools in my area had.
    They connected to a main server and had a bunch of pre-loaded programs like Word Perfect, Print Shop and some other programs that taught you
    how to type.

    I have honestly never heard of the ICON. I will definitely spend some time researching now, though!

    It is so difficult to remember, all of a sudden, which computer I first used in school...(o_o)
    I moved around a lot. Some schools were all about Crapple, and some were Intel Master Race. Guess which I prefer? (o_-)

    The fun part was if it was raining on recess we could stay in and play some of the games they had on these computers like Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

    OMG YES! That Carmen Sandiego! I never found her...but I never liked geography either...I was definitely facsinated with games, though, immediately.

    Which of these USB stix has my DOS collection, again? (o_O)

    Thanks! I'm off to play Duke and IDDQ--uhh...Wolfenstein!

    Oh, and QUAKE! (@_@)

    McDoob
    SysOp, PiBBS
    pibbs.sytes.net

    ... System halted - Press all keys at once to continue

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: PiBBS (21:4/135)
  • From McDoob@21:4/135 to McDoob on Fri Apr 29 21:51:44 2022
    Oh, and QUAKE! (@_@)

    Naw, forget that! Time for SCORCH.exe'd Earth!

    McDoob
    SysOp, PiBBS
    pibbs.sytes.net

    ... If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: PiBBS (21:4/135)
  • From Warpslide@21:3/110 to McDoob on Fri Apr 29 21:59:56 2022
    On 29 Apr 2022, McDoob said the following...

    Naw, forget that! Time for SCORCH.exe'd Earth!

    I think it was Grade 11 English class someone had a copy of scorched earth on the computers in that room. I can't remember how I found it or even why I was looking around the filesystem, but there it was. I didn't get a very good grade in that class... :/


    Jay

    ... What kind of doctor is Dr. Pepper? A fizzician!

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/04/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: Northern Realms (21:3/110)
  • From nugax@21:1/167 to Warpslide on Fri Apr 29 21:11:20 2022
    That game was awesome. We played it all night long usually.
    -Nugax

    --- CyberBBS v1.0.8 2022/04/29 [LMDE 4/x86_64]
    * Origin: CyberBBS WHQ | http://www.cyberbbs.com (21:1/167)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to McDoob on Fri Apr 29 19:29:48 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: McDoob to McDoob on Fri Apr 29 2022 09:51 pm

    Naw, forget that! Time for SCORCH.exe'd Earth!

    I used to play that, and Tank Wars. Two very similar games. They were fun.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to McDoob on Sat Apr 30 13:08:00 2022
    I have honestly never heard of the ICON. I will definitely spend some time researching now, though!

    The name seems to ring a bell, but I have no idea what it is...

    It is so difficult to remember, all of a sudden, which computer I first used in school...(o_o) I moved around a lot. Some schools were all
    about Crapple, and some were Intel Master Race. Guess which I
    prefer? (o_-)

    I was poking about with Trash80's before I got near a skool pooty. There they had some Microbes and IIes... And you prefer the dodgy ones. :P

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: The future's uncertain, the end is always near. (21:3/101)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to McDoob on Sat Apr 30 22:11:22 2022
    Naw, forget that! Time for SCORCH.exe'd Earth!

    McDoob
    SysOp, PiBBS
    pibbs.sytes.net

    ... If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

    In the late 90s and friend and I started to play a 1,000 round match of Scorched Earth. We never finished it, but I think we got 1/2 or a 1/3rd of the way through it.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to Nightfox on Sun May 1 11:41:22 2022
    Nightfox wrote to Dr. What <=-

    I think that beige was just the new standard across the industry.

    Well there were other home computers that looked different from that,
    such as the Commodore 64 (all built into a keyboard, more of a brownish color),

    But the Commodore 64C was beige. The Commodore 128s were all beige.

    Timex Sinclair (similarly, had the keyboard built in and they
    were silver, black, or perhaps other colors), etc..

    Like any industry, things didn't change across the companies all at once. Even later, there were IBM clones with non-beige cases to set themselves apart from the other clones.

    But I think that most consumers perceived beige as something positive and any other color would have meant more work for the marketing depts.

    I've also heard
    about the Atari 400 home computer, which was beige, but the way it
    looked, I always thought it looked more like a game machine than a computer (I think it ran its software from cartridges, for instance).

    Ya, and as I recall, the Atari was closer to the older C64 in color (more brown).

    I often thought there were products that were technically superior that suffered from poor marketing. OS/2 was another - I thought OS/2 was a better OS than Windows, but IBM failed to market it well enough.

    OS/2 was IBM's bungle. Not just marketing.

    An OS is useless without software to run on it. When a new OS comes out, the smart thing to do would have been to make it very cheap for developers (who commit to making an app for the OS) to get the developer tools - preferably before the OS actually makes it to the stores.

    OS/2's first issue was hardware. You needed a much beefier system than most people had. That meant a more expensive PC, or expensive upgrades. So even if you run your MS-DOS app in OS/2 "penalty box" you still need those expensive hardware upgrades.

    Side issue: When OS/2 came out, it was for the 80286, which didn't switch gracefully between real and protected modes. This meant that an OS/2 system wouldn't run MS-DOS apps very well, and made the need for OS/2 native apps even more imperative.

    There was a marketing issue too. About this time, the PS/2 hardware was released. There was a perception that you needed a PS/2 to run OS/2.

    Next, IBM wanted big bucks for development tools at the start. If you are a developer, you aren't going to pay money for developer tools unless you can get some return on that investment.

    Now we are in a chicken/egg issue. OS/2 doesn't sell well because there aren't enough apps. But because it's not selling well, developers don't want to pay to support it.

    IHMO: If IBM would have given away the developer tools in exchange for a committment of writing a (hopefully good) app for OS/2, they could have broken that chicken/egg cycle.

    But I think the bottom line is that, early on, IBM succeeded in the PC market because they **didn't** do things the "IBM way". By the time OS/2 came along, those bureaucrats wanted to do things the "IBM way" and sunk OS/2's chances. By the time OS/2 Warp came along, along with the Intel 80386 (which was much better than the 80286 for this), OS/2 had too much of a bad reputation - and Microsoft had too big a hold on the market.

    Microsoft had some tactics that I think were a bit shady, in pushing competetors out of the market.

    That certainly contributed, but I think that most of the blame sits squarely on IBM.


    ... When choosing between two evils, select the newer one.
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to Spectre on Sun May 1 11:41:22 2022
    Spectre wrote to Nightfox <=-

    Well there were other home computers that looked different from that, such as the Commodore 64 (all built into a keyboard, more of a brownish color),

    There was a late version of the c64 that looked remarkably similar to
    the A500 in form, I don't know that there were any other differences though.

    The Commodore 64C was a beige, wedge. Internally, it was the same C64, though.


    ... A short cut is the longest distance between two points.
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From The Millionaire@21:1/183 to Dr. What on Sat Apr 30 16:50:02 2022


    The Commodore 64C was a beige, wedge. Internally, it was the same C64, though.

    ... A short cut is the longest distance between two points.
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)


    But with a thinner case and bundled software. I loved GEOS. Reminded me of Windows 3.11 For Workgroups.

    $ The Millionaire $
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (21:1/183)
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to Dr. What on Sun May 1 08:28:00 2022
    Hello Dr. What!

    ** On Sunday 01.05.22 - 11:41, Dr. What wrote to Nightfox:

    But I think that most consumers perceived beige as something positive and any other color would have meant more work for the marketing depts.

    Beige was probably the choice to obfuscate dust.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to Ogg on Mon May 2 10:52:52 2022
    Ogg wrote to Dr. What <=-

    Beige was probably the choice to obfuscate dust.

    I never thought of that, but you might be on to something.

    If it's not dusty, the cleaning crews won't spray them with liquids and rough them up while running.


    ... Explosion at sperm bank. Nurses overcome.
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From StormTrooper@21:2/108 to Dr. What on Mon May 2 10:28:24 2022
    Like any industry, things didn't change across the companies all at
    once. Even later, there were IBM clones with non-beige cases to set themselves apart from the other clones.

    I seem to recall an aqua coloured system at one point, possibly late 80's
    early 90's kind of timing. Off hand no idea who's it was but it was branded...

    ST

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Storm BBS (21:2/108)
  • From StormTrooper@21:2/108 to Ogg on Mon May 2 10:33:56 2022
    Beige was probably the choice to obfuscate dust.

    Beigey, Greigey colours go all the way back to PC's as opposed to XT/AT, the Apple II and all sorts o' colours.... probably cheaper to paint too.. chosen for opacity...

    ST

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Storm BBS (21:2/108)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to StormTrooper on Tue May 3 00:15:52 2022
    StormTrooper wrote to Dr. What <=-

    I seem to recall an aqua coloured system at one point, possibly late
    80's early 90's kind of timing. Off hand no idea who's it was but it
    was branded...

    There were a few. I have a Kaypro under my desk right now that's aqua/grey.

    Keep in mind that "branding" didn't mean too much unless you knew the brand. I've seen too many clones by "Bob's Computer" that have a neat looking brand logo on the front that just means "Bob's Computer".


    ... Would it help if I got out and pushed?
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From StormTrooper@21:2/108 to Dr. What on Mon May 2 13:08:16 2022

    80's early 90's kind of timing. Off hand no idea who's it was but it was branded...

    Keep in mind that "branding" didn't mean too much unless you knew the brand. I've seen too many clones by "Bob's Computer" that have a neat looking brand logo on the front that just means "Bob's Computer".

    Hmmm no it wasn't just a buy yourself some of those sticky squares and call
    it branded jobs... its been to long now though. It's annoying me I can't
    recall what it was now.. aqua blue case, and keyboard to match.

    ST

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Storm BBS (21:2/108)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to Dr. What on Mon May 2 10:52:20 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Dr. What to Nightfox on Sun May 01 2022 11:41 am

    OS/2's first issue was hardware. You needed a much beefier system than most people had. That meant a more expensive PC, or expensive upgrades. So even if you run your MS-DOS app in OS/2 "penalty box" you still need those expensive hardware upgrades.

    It always seemed like you needed pretty good hardware to run Windows too. By the mid 90s, it seemed like OS/2 and Windows had similar hardware requirements.

    Next, IBM wanted big bucks for development tools at the start. If you are a developer, you aren't going to pay money for developer tools unless you can get some return on that investment.

    Now we are in a chicken/egg issue. OS/2 doesn't sell well because there aren't enough apps. But because it's not selling well, developers don't want to pay to support it.

    IHMO: If IBM would have given away the developer tools in exchange for a committment of writing a (hopefully good) app for OS/2, they could have broken that chicken/egg cycle.

    That makes sense. It would be a significant barrier if the development tools were expensive.

    By the time OS/2 Warp came along, along with the Intel
    80386 (which was much better than the 80286 for this), OS/2 had too much of a bad reputation - and Microsoft had too big a hold on the market.

    OS/2 Warp came out years after the 386 was released. If I remember, the 386 was released in 1985, and OS/2 Warp came out around 1994, if I recall. And before OS/2 Warp came out, I remember seeing ads and articles about OS/2 2.1 32-bit. But yes, by that time, Microsoft had too much of a hold on the market.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From vorlon@21:1/195.1 to Dr. What on Tue May 3 11:10:58 2022
    Keep in mind that "branding" didn't mean too much unless you knew
    the brand. I've seen too many clones by "Bob's Computer" that have
    a neat looking brand logo on the front that just means "Bob's
    Computer".

    I used to work for two different company's in the 1990-2009 that did
    that. The case was just a standard beige tower/desktop.

    Except for the little sticker, there was nothing to make them stand
    out.... in any way.




    \/orlon



    --- MagickaBBS v0.15alpha (Linux/m68k)
    * Origin: Vorlon Empire (21:1/195.1)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to Dr. What on Mon May 2 18:56:38 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Dr. What to Ogg on Mon May 02 2022 10:52 am

    Beige was probably the choice to obfuscate dust.

    I never thought of that, but you might be on to something.

    If that's the case (no pun intended), I'd have to wonder why the whole computer industry decided to switch to making black PC cases and devices, since black tends to show dust more than beige.
    But then, maybe that was part of the point.. Being able to see the dust better would help with wanting to clean the dust off and out of your computer.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to Nightfox on Tue May 3 13:43:00 2022
    If that's the case (no pun intended), I'd have to wonder why the whole computer industry decided to switch to making black PC cases and devices,

    Probably cost again, and the fact they were being added to "entertainment centres". There was a brief period they tended to be silver, but that disappeared pretty quickly. If you use black, you don't need any TiO2,
    Titanium Dioxide, for your white pigment.. making it cheaper, probably
    not a lot cheaper but in the scheme of things over a long run enough to make the bean counters happy.


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: The future's uncertain, the end is always near. (21:3/101)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to Nightfox on Tue May 3 21:56:04 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Dr. What to Ogg on Mon May 02 2022 10:52 am

    Beige was probably the choice to obfuscate dust.

    I never thought of that, but you might be on to something.

    If that's the case (no pun intended), I'd have to wonder why the whole computer industry decided to switch to making black PC cases and
    devices, since black tends to show dust more than beige.
    But then, maybe that was part of the point.. Being able to see the dust better would help with wanting to clean the dust off and out of your computer.

    Nightfox

    I think this was due to the rise in vanity cases, cases which were designed to look 'cool', with trim, lights and the like. People wanted something that stood out from the beige. It started with gaming PC's, and coincided with the rather silly embellishments you'd see on memory modules and graphics cards.

    Things have gotten worse with transparent panels, LED's and other visually distracting crap. Keyboards that light up underneath. All an eyesore to be honest.

    The beige cases do look dirty though after time. You get that discolouration around the buttons from your fingers, which is less evident on black cases. Black cases do seem to age better.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to StormTrooper on Tue May 3 23:58:18 2022
    StormTrooper wrote to Dr. What <=-

    Hmmm no it wasn't just a buy yourself some of those sticky squares and call it branded jobs... its been to long now though. It's annoying me I can't recall what it was now..

    I know the feeling. I spent a day a couple years back writing down my memories of BBSing because I couldn't recall some details. That act of writing things down helped me remember some more, but there are many other details I've forgotten.

    aqua blue case, and keyboard to match.

    I want to say SGI, then. But I thought their cases were more purple.


    ... You will never be younger then you are today..
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to Nightfox on Tue May 3 23:58:18 2022
    Nightfox wrote to Dr. What <=-

    It always seemed like you needed pretty good hardware to run Windows
    too. By the mid 90s, it seemed like OS/2 and Windows had similar
    hardware requirements.

    But by then, the damage to the OS/2 brand had been done.


    ... To every exception there is a rule.
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to Nightfox on Tue May 3 23:58:18 2022
    Nightfox wrote to Dr. What <=-

    If that's the case (no pun intended), I'd have to wonder why the whole computer industry decided to switch to making black PC cases and
    devices, since black tends to show dust more than beige. But then,
    maybe that was part of the point.. Being able to see the dust better would help with wanting to clean the dust off and out of your computer.

    It depends on what the customer wanted the computer for.

    If it was to be something that's a workhorse that stays pushed back into a corner, you'd want it to be something that doesn't stand out and doesn't need care.

    If it was to be something you wanted people to notice when they walked into your office, then you wanted it to be a "flashy" color and you'd spend the time keeping it clean.


    ... The most expensive component is the one that breaks.
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to boraxman on Tue May 3 08:38:00 2022
    Hello boraxman!

    ** On Tuesday 03.05.22 - 21:56, boraxman wrote to Nightfox:

    Things have gotten worse with transparent panels, LED's and
    other visually distracting crap. Keyboards that light up
    underneath. All an eyesore to be honest.

    It's like fashion now. Anything goes.


    The beige cases do look dirty though after time. You get
    that discolouration around the buttons from your fingers,
    which is less evident on black cases. Black cases do seem
    to age better.

    Depends on the quality of plastic. Some of my beige cases have
    discolored, some have not.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to boraxman on Tue May 3 08:40:00 2022
    boraxman wrote to Nightfox <=-

    I think this was due to the rise in vanity cases, cases which were designed to look 'cool', with trim, lights and the like. People wanted something that stood out from the beige. It started with gaming PC's,


    I'd claim it started in the late 90s before gaming became a marketable thing
    - weird translucent covers over optical drives, CD storage on the top, matching keyboards with lots of dedicated buttons and mice, proprietary speakers that hung on monitors like wings, flip covers over USB ports, and translucent covers reminiscent of the iMac. In fact, now that I think of it, they were probably all lame attempts at capturing some of the iMac color
    buzz.

    It all may have peaked with that weird Packard Bell "corner PC".


    ... A journey of a thousand sandwiches begins with a single cut.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to Ogg on Tue May 3 08:43:00 2022
    Ogg wrote to boraxman <=-

    It's like fashion now. Anything goes.

    It's a money maker, and kids are fished in like, well, fish.

    I saw a "Gaming Power Strip" with some LED lights on it at BestBuy, for 3 times the price of a reputable power strip.


    ... Canned Air is GLUTEN FREE.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to Spectre on Tue May 3 09:23:38 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Spectre to Nightfox on Tue May 03 2022 01:43 pm

    If that's the case (no pun intended), I'd have to wonder why the
    whole computer industry decided to switch to making black PC cases
    and devices,

    Probably cost again, and the fact they were being added to "entertainment centres". There was a brief period they tended to be silver, but that disappeared pretty quickly. If you use black, you don't need any TiO2,

    I've heard of entertainment center PCs, but I've never actually seen anyone set up a PC for use with their TV. Microsoft even stopped making their Media Center edition of Windows that they used to make long ago..

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to boraxman on Tue May 3 09:26:24 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: boraxman to Nightfox on Tue May 03 2022 09:56 pm

    If that's the case (no pun intended), I'd have to wonder why the
    whole computer industry decided to switch to making black PC cases
    and devices, since black tends to show dust more than beige.
    But then, maybe that was part of the point.. Being able to see the
    dust better would help with wanting to clean the dust off and out of
    your computer.

    I think this was due to the rise in vanity cases, cases which were designed to look 'cool', with trim, lights and the like. People wanted something that stood out from the beige. It started with gaming PC's, and coincided with the rather silly embellishments you'd see on memory modules and graphics cards.

    Things have gotten worse with transparent panels, LED's and other visually distracting crap. Keyboards that light up underneath. All an eyesore to be honest.

    I don't mind a transparent panel on one side too much (it actually makes it easier to see the dust buildup inside your PC). I don't like LEDs though.. My current motherboard and graphics card both have LEDs, and I've used their software tools to turn them off. Sometimes I leave my PC on overnight to work on a task, and I don't want a light show in the room.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to Dr. What on Tue May 3 09:27:34 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Dr. What to Nightfox on Tue May 03 2022 11:58 pm

    If that's the case (no pun intended), I'd have to wonder why the
    whole computer industry decided to switch to making black PC cases
    and devices, since black tends to show dust more than beige. But
    then, maybe that was part of the point.. Being able to see the dust
    better would help with wanting to clean the dust off and out of your
    computer.

    It depends on what the customer wanted the computer for.

    If it was to be something that's a workhorse that stays pushed back into a corner, you'd want it to be something that doesn't stand out and doesn't need care.

    If it was to be something you wanted people to notice when they walked into your office, then you wanted it to be a "flashy" color and you'd spend the time keeping it clean.

    I wouldn't consider black or beige to be flashy colors.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to Nightfox on Tue May 3 13:20:00 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Nightfox to Spectre on Tue May 03 2022 09:23 am

    I've heard of entertainment center PCs, but I've never actually seen anyone set up a PC for use with their TV. Microsoft even stopped making their Media Center edition of Windows that they used to make long ago..

    I velcroed a Raspberry Pi to the back of my TV. Does that count? :)
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)
  • From Bucko@21:4/131 to poindexter FORTRAN on Tue May 3 18:15:00 2022
    On 03 May 2022, poindexter FORTRAN said the following...


    I velcroed a Raspberry Pi to the back of my TV. Does that count? :)
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32

    LOL So have I! I used it with a wireless keyboard and mouse running Ubuntu to dial out to my BBS' and to use it as a full blown computer along with whatever else I wanted to use it for.. I used it for a few weeks then I got tired ofit.. LOL

    Al

    ... When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say?

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: The Wrong Number Family Of BBS' - Wrong Number ][ (21:4/131)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to poindexter FORTRAN on Tue May 3 15:22:10 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Tue May 03 2022 01:20 pm

    I've heard of entertainment center PCs, but I've never actually seen
    anyone set up a PC for use with their TV. Microsoft even stopped
    making their Media Center edition of Windows that they used to make
    long ago..

    I velcroed a Raspberry Pi to the back of my TV. Does that count? :)

    :) That could be interesting.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to Ogg on Wed May 4 08:24:00 2022
    Depends on the quality of plastic. Some of my beige cases have discolored, some have not.

    Sounds like you need some retro-brighting :P Depends on how much it bothers you though. The simplest is simply remove the plastics and lay them out in direct sunlight, to as mad chemist as using a brew of hydrogen peroxide with out without some kind of thickening agent.

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: The future's uncertain, the end is always near. (21:3/101)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to Nightfox on Wed May 4 08:29:00 2022
    I've heard of entertainment center PCs, but I've never actually seen anyone set up a PC for use with their TV. Microsoft even stopped making their Media Center edition of Windows that they used to make long ago..

    It was a thing here for a while, it seems to have lost out to streaming and hand held devices these days. I had one set up for a while, but I'm more the exception than the rule... I found it reasonably difficult to drive in that scenario.. The kids couldn't drive it.. it was basically always me...

    I think M$ dropped MediaCentre because no one used it.. the power house was XBMC, X-Box Media Centre, or Kodi which was a fork of the same. I didn't deal with these much though.

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: The future's uncertain, the end is always near. (21:3/101)
  • From vorlon@21:1/195.1 to Nightfox on Wed May 4 09:41:36 2022
    Hi Nightfox,

    I've heard of entertainment center PCs, but I've never actually
    seen anyone set up a PC for use with their TV. Microsoft even

    I did. It was a Antec Desktop/Entertainment case. It looked like a peice
    of audio gear in the cabinet. Has a silver front, round big silver feet
    etc... I ran two 2 chanell TV cards in it, Win7 and Mediaportal as the software. It ran up until 3 years ago when it started playing up, and got replaced with a FetchTV Box that does the same thing, but with some nice
    extra features (Streaming for one). Plus no hoops to jump through getting
    it all working.





    \/orlon



    --- MagickaBBS v0.15alpha (Linux/m68k)
    * Origin: Vorlon Empire (21:1/195.1)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to Spectre on Tue May 3 17:07:02 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Spectre to Nightfox on Wed May 04 2022 08:29 am

    It was a thing here for a while, it seems to have lost out to streaming and hand held devices these days. I had one set up for a while, but I'm more the exception than the rule... I found it reasonably difficult to drive in that scenario.. The kids couldn't drive it.. it was basically always me...

    I think M$ dropped MediaCentre because no one used it.. the power house was XBMC, X-Box Media Centre, or Kodi which was a fork of the same. I didn't deal with these much though.

    Much of the same functionality seems to have gone into media server software, such as Plex. With Plex, you can store movies, TV shows, music, and photos on your Plex server and play them on any device (with the Plex app). Also, Plex can make use of a TV tuner to stream over-the-air TV to your devices and also record over-the-air TV content (if you have a premium Plex subscription).

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From Phoobar@21:4/10 to poindexter FORTRAN on Tue May 3 18:44:00 2022
    poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Nightfox <=-

    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Nightfox to Spectre on Tue May 03 2022 09:23 am

    I've heard of entertainment center PCs, but I've never actually seen
    nyone
    set up a PC for use with their TV. Microsoft even stopped making their Media Center edition of Windows that they used to make long ago..

    Used to use an old Netbook I got many years ago to do this. Worked perfectly!


    ... The number you have dailed...Nine-one-one...has been changed.
    --- MultiMail/OS2 v0.52
    * Origin: fsxNet FTN<>QWK Gateway (21:4/10)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to Nightfox on Wed May 4 23:51:24 2022
    Nightfox wrote to Dr. What <=-

    If it was to be something you wanted people to notice when they walked into your office, then you wanted it to be a "flashy" color and you'd spend the time keeping it clean.

    I wouldn't consider black or beige to be flashy colors.

    Beige wasn't flashy. That was the "ignored box in the corner" color.

    But black was flashy. "Flashy" as in "intended to stand out and be noticed."


    ... I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to Ogg on Wed May 4 23:51:24 2022
    Ogg wrote to boraxman <=-

    Depends on the quality of plastic. Some of my beige cases have discolored, some have not.

    My understanding is that the darkening of the beige cases has to do with the amount of heat they had to put up with for a long time.

    So a PC that was kept out of the sunlight, in an air conditioned room, will have little to no darkening. While a PC that was near a window, in a room that was only semi-air conditioned will have more. And the PC that was running the machines in a hot factory will be very dark.


    ... Diplomacy: Saying "Nice doggie" until you can find a rock
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu May 5 00:06:46 2022
    I think this was due to the rise in vanity cases, cases which were designed to look 'cool', with trim, lights and the like. People want something that stood out from the beige. It started with gaming PC's


    I'd claim it started in the late 90s before gaming became a marketable thing - weird translucent covers over optical drives, CD storage on the top, matching keyboards with lots of dedicated buttons and mice, proprietary speakers that hung on monitors like wings, flip covers over USB ports, and translucent covers reminiscent of the iMac. In fact, now that I think of it, they were probably all lame attempts at capturing some of the iMac color buzz.

    It all may have peaked with that weird Packard Bell "corner PC".



    Oh yeah, I remember now. When I built my PC's, I wanted as generic and plain as possible. Nothing fancy that might cause problems. Those odd cases where pretty bad to work with.

    One which was OK was the Amstrad PC2386. It had the expansion cards towards the side, not the back, and the expansion cards could be covered by a door which slid on. Made accessing the headphone port of the Sound Blaster easier, but to open the case was hard.

    The XT was gold standard. Just press the buttons on the side and lift the hood!

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to Nightfox on Thu May 5 00:09:40 2022
    If that's the case (no pun intended), I'd have to wonder why the
    whole computer industry decided to switch to making black PC cases
    and devices, since black tends to show dust more than beige.
    But then, maybe that was part of the point.. Being able to see the
    dust better would help with wanting to clean the dust off and out of
    your computer.

    I think this was due to the rise in vanity cases, cases which were designed to look 'cool', with trim, lights and the like. People wante something that stood out from the beige. It started with gaming PC's, coincided with the rather silly embellishments you'd see on memory mo and graphics cards.

    Things have gotten worse with transparent panels, LED's and other vis distracting crap. Keyboards that light up underneath. All an eyesore honest.

    I don't mind a transparent panel on one side too much (it actually makes it easier to see the dust buildup inside your PC). I don't like LEDs though.. My current motherboard and graphics card both have LEDs, and I've used their software tools to turn them off. Sometimes I leave my
    PC on overnight to work on a task, and I don't want a light show in the room.

    Nightfox


    What, you don't like eye-piercing blue leds that will burn a hole in your retina??

    Give me the soft, dull LEDS. They don't need to be that bright.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to Nightfox on Wed May 4 08:34:00 2022
    Hello Nightfox!

    ** On Monday 02.05.22 - 18:56, Nightfox wrote to Dr. What:

    Beige was probably the choice to obfuscate dust.

    I never thought of that, but you might be on to something.

    If that's the case (no pun intended), I'd have to wonder
    why the whole computer industry decided to switch to making
    black PC cases and devices, since black tends to show dust
    more than beige. [...]

    Beige is also more neutral and can "match" into many different
    environments without looking too stand-outtish. Who really
    knows what the initial drive for beige/light colour was.
    Anyway.. the cool side-benefit of beige is that it hides dust
    really nice - especially on the horizontal surfaces.

    Suddenly switching to a different colour was probably more to
    stand out from the crowd of clones. Early on it was probably
    really important to look like the competition - later, not so
    much. Something different was "cool" again.

    [...] But then, maybe that was part of the point.. Being
    able to see the dust better would help with wanting to
    clean the dust off and out of your computer.

    Nah.. I doubt that manufactures cared about that. They would
    WANT the machines to break down so that they would be replaced
    more often.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to Ogg on Wed May 4 12:49:42 2022
    Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Ogg to Nightfox on Wed May 04 2022 08:34 am

    [...] But then, maybe that was part of the point.. Being
    able to see the dust better would help with wanting to
    clean the dust off and out of your computer.

    Nah.. I doubt that manufactures cared about that. They would
    WANT the machines to break down so that they would be replaced
    more often.

    Perhaps, but customers could easily choose different brands when buying new components. So I'm not sure that would make a lot of sense unless a manufacturer had some way to tie their customers to their products.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From ACMEBBS@21:4/10 to Dr. What on Wed May 4 14:17:00 2022
    Dr. What wrote to Nightfox <=-

    Nightfox wrote to Dr. What <=-

    If it was to be something you wanted people to notice when they walked into your office, then you wanted it to be a "flashy" color and you'd spend the time keeping it clean.

    I wouldn't consider black or beige to be flashy colors.

    Beige wasn't flashy. That was the "ignored box in the corner" color.

    But black was flashy. "Flashy" as in "intended to stand out and be noticed."

    I remember back in the early 90's where your Mom/Pop stores would paint the beige/white cases black with spray paint. Not only that...but they would charge the customer a pretty penny to do so.

    Now...the only way it seems to get a white/beige case is by buying an old PC
    nd
    reusing the case.


    ... The number you have dailed...Nine-one-one...has been changed.
    --- MultiMail/OS2 v0.52
    * Origin: fsxNet FTN<>QWK Gateway (21:4/10)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to ACMEBBS on Wed May 4 18:42:50 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: ACMEBBS to Dr. What on Wed May 04 2022 02:17 pm

    I remember back in the early 90's where your Mom/Pop stores would paint the beige/white cases black with spray paint. Not only that...but they would charge the customer a pretty penny to do so.

    I don't recall seeing any shops near me that did that.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From ACMEBBS@21:4/10 to Nightfox on Wed May 4 23:16:00 2022
    Nightfox wrote to ACMEBBS <=-

    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: ACMEBBS to Dr. What on Wed May 04 2022 02:17 pm

    I remember back in the early 90's where your Mom/Pop stores would paint the beige/white cases black with spray paint. Not only that...but they would charge the customer a pretty penny to do so.

    I don't recall seeing any shops near me that did that.

    Yep...the shop in Oklahoma City loved doing them like this. It was something they
    advertised as doing for those who were looking for this.

    On the other hand...have printed a (Amiga-like) MiSTer case with rose gold for the top & clear
    for the bottom. Just trying to refind the web page where I saw the remote
    iring
    of the buttons which I have printed in the same colors...with the same LED's I have wired up. Even have a mechanical USB keyboard for this one.
    ... Gone crazy, be back later, please leave message.
    --- MultiMail/OS2 v0.52
    * Origin: fsxNet FTN<>QWK Gateway (21:4/10)
  • From StormTrooper@21:2/108 to Dr. What on Thu May 5 07:08:52 2022
    aqua blue case, and keyboard to match.

    I want to say SGI, then. But I thought their cases were more purple.

    Definately wasn't an SGI, it was either an XT or a 286... still can't recall

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Storm BBS (21:2/108)
  • From sPINOZa aNARCHISt@21:1/116 to Nightfox on Thu May 5 10:15:54 2022
    Re: Re: Commodore Computers
    By: ACMEBBS to Dr. What on Wed May 04 2022 02:17 pm
    I remember back in the early 90's where your Mom/Pop stores would pai the beige/white cases black with spray paint.

    I don't recall seeing any shops near me that did that.

    I did this myself. Impressed by the colorfull Silicon Machines in the 90s that I saw on a fair event in Amsterdam, I decided to paint my Case, monitor and keyboard black. I finished it with a clear coat ... The keyboard is still alive, a BTC 53 series with a DIN 5 connector .... The monitor died because of a vga cable that broke down. Probably caused by extensivly disconnecting the cable to upgrade/clean the machine and moving it to all kinds of locations where it was needed. Those were the days!

    ... 14" is all you need

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/01/28 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: .+Sound&Demos+. - <sndgarden.bbsfreak.nl:*hidden*> (21:1/116)
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to ACMEBBS on Thu May 5 08:25:00 2022
    Hello ACMEBBS!

    ** On Wednesday 04.05.22 - 14:17, ACMEBBS wrote to Dr. What:

    I remember back in the early 90's where your Mom/Pop stores
    would paint the beige/white cases black with spray paint.
    Not only that...but they would charge the customer a pretty
    penny to do so.

    Now...the only way it seems to get a white/beige case is by
    buying an old PC nd reusing the case.

    Why? Isn't beige available as a spray paint?


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to boraxman on Wed May 4 07:04:00 2022
    boraxman wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    One which was OK was the Amstrad PC2386. It had the expansion cards towards the side, not the back, and the expansion cards could be
    covered by a door which slid on. Made accessing the headphone port of
    the Sound Blaster easier, but to open the case was hard.

    AT&T 6300 PC - designed by Olivetti, and a beautiful little system.



    ... Think of the radio
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to Ogg on Thu May 5 07:17:00 2022
    Ogg wrote to ACMEBBS <=-

    Why? Isn't beige available as a spray paint?

    Rustroleum makes a nice grey/beige that I used on some patio
    furniture. it'd make a nice neutral PC color, and they're pretty
    hardy paints.

    They also make a textured paint that would be kind of cool.

    Seems like painting your case was more of a thing back in the beige
    days, I kept the case beige but painted all of the drive faces
    bright green and orange.





    ... Consider different fading systems
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to Ogg on Thu May 5 09:50:08 2022
    Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Ogg to ACMEBBS on Thu May 05 2022 08:25 am

    Now...the only way it seems to get a white/beige case is by
    buying an old PC nd reusing the case.

    Why? Isn't beige available as a spray paint?

    It might be, but I have a feeling a black PC case might not take beige paint well, and some of the black might show through in spots. But I haven't tried that though..

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
    * Origin: Digital Distortion: digdist.synchro.net (21:1/137)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to poindexter FORTRAN on Fri May 6 05:06:00 2022
    Seems like painting your case was more of a thing back in the beige
    days, I kept the case beige but painted all of the drive faces bright green and orange.

    Once upon a time when I was still a wee apprentice... there was a guy that
    used to have a contract to paint cases in woodgrain effects, colours, colour vogue (speckled finish in varying colours) all sorts... seems some management models were discovering staff with a personal case tended to be more productive.

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: The future's uncertain, the end is always near. (21:3/101)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to Nightfox on Fri May 6 05:12:00 2022
    It might be, but I have a feeling a black PC case might not take beige paint well, and some of the black might show through in spots. But I haven't tried that though..

    Black is usually something that's relatively difficult to get good opacity over, at the same time most beige/greige kind of colours have pretty good opacity in themselves too. Wouldn't expect it to be a one coat wonder or
    it'll probably be a bit see through, couple of coats ought to be solid. Also when spraying it start from different locations for each coat... ergo if you started in the top left, start in the bottom right, or turn the case 90deg
    and spray across the original, helps even out thin or under-applied areas and stops them appearing in the same places.

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: The future's uncertain, the end is always near. (21:3/101)
  • From The Millionaire@21:1/183 to All on Thu May 5 14:23:16 2022

    Which Commodore Computer was your favourite?

    A - Pet 2001
    B - Vic 20
    C - 64
    D - 128
    E - Amiga

    $ The Millionaire $


    My favourite was the 64 but I had a 64C. I liked the 128 but I had a 128d which had 4 different systems in it (64, 64C, 128, ML). I thought the Amiga was pretty cool but I had a 520.

    $ The Millionaire $
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (21:1/183)
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to Nightfox on Thu May 5 18:11:00 2022
    Hello Nightfox!

    ** On Thursday 05.05.22 - 09:50, Nightfox wrote to Ogg:

    Why? Isn't beige available as a spray paint?

    It might be, but I have a feeling a black PC case might not take beige paint well, and some of the black might show through in spots. But I haven't tried that though..

    A coat of primer is a good approach.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From ACMEBBS@21:4/10 to Ogg on Thu May 5 23:54:00 2022
    Ogg wrote to ACMEBBS <=-

    Hello ACMEBBS!

    ** On Wednesday 04.05.22 - 14:17, ACMEBBS wrote to Dr. What:

    I remember back in the early 90's where your Mom/Pop stores
    would paint the beige/white cases black with spray paint.
    Not only that...but they would charge the customer a pretty
    penny to do so.

    Now...the only way it seems to get a white/beige case is by
    buying an old PC nd reusing the case.

    Why? Isn't beige available as a spray paint?

    Of course...but being lazy...the old cases might do. The only reason where they

    won't is if you need some of the newer items to fit inside. Even this route... I can usually 3D print whatever I need. For that matter...it would take some time...but I should be able to print anything my heart desires.
    ... 2 + 2 = 5 for extremely large values of 2.
    --- MultiMail/OS2 v0.52
    * Origin: fsxNet FTN<>QWK Gateway (21:4/10)
  • From ACMEBBS@21:4/10 to Nightfox on Fri May 6 00:47:00 2022
    Nightfox wrote to Ogg <=-

    Re: Commodore Computers
    By: Ogg to ACMEBBS on Thu May 05 2022 08:25 am

    Now...the only way it seems to get a white/beige case is by
    buying an old PC nd reusing the case.

    Why? Isn't beige available as a spray paint?

    It might be, but I have a feeling a black PC case might not take beige paint well, and some of the black might show through in spots. But I haven't tried that though..

    Easy way around that is to use paint remover on the case...then you just run some
    auto primer (available in a Rustoleum spray can) on the bare case. From
    here...
    just run with whatever color you want to use. Another method is to have the
    ase
    powder coated.

    Did a year in the paint department at the store...so used to tell people with dark
    walls to primer before they repaint or paint for the 1st time. Some did take
    he
    advice...but those who didn't would wonder why the old paint comes through. ... "42? 7 and a half million years and all you can come up with is 42?!"
    --- MultiMail/OS2 v0.52
    * Origin: fsxNet FTN<>QWK Gateway (21:4/10)
  • From The Millionaire@21:1/183 to All on Thu Apr 21 12:40:00 2022
    Which Commodore Computer was your favourite?

    A - Pet 2001
    B - Vic 20
    C - 64
    D - 128
    E - Amiga

    $ The Millionaire $
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    * Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (21:1/183)
  • From Nightfox@21:1/137 to The Millionaire on Thu Apr 21 13:26:54 2022
    Re: Commodore Computers
    By: The Millionaire to All on Thu Apr 21 2022 12:40 pm

    Which Commodore Computer was your favourite?

    A - Pet 2001
    B - Vic 20
    C - 64
    D - 128
    E - Amiga

    I never had a Commodore computer, but I had used an Amiga a couple times many years ago; I've also watched some interesting videos about the Amiga, and seemed like a pretty cool computer system, ahead of its time in the late 80s to early 90s. I've heard the Amigas had some advanced audio & video capabilities that made them good for things like video editing (hence the Video Toaster product), video games, etc.

    Nightfox
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32
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  • From claw@21:1/210 to The Millionaire on Thu Apr 21 17:44:36 2022
    Which Commodore Computer was your favourite?

    A - Pet 2001
    B - Vic 20
    C - 64
    D - 128
    E - Amiga

    $ The Millionaire $
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (21:1/183)

    E Specifically the A1200. The prize of my retro collection!

    DrClaw
    Sysop Noverdu BBS (Noverdu.com)
    BBS Specs 64 CORE/192G Ram/Dell Server

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Noverdu BBS (21:1/210)
  • From Exodus@21:1/176 to The Millionaire on Thu Apr 21 19:21:10 2022
    A - Pet 2001
    B - Vic 20
    C - 64
    D - 128
    E - Amiga

    None, and I still think they are stupid.

    --- Renegade vY2Ka2
    * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to The Millionaire on Fri Apr 22 12:29:00 2022
    Which Commodore Computer was your favourite?

    F - Another 6502 based system :P


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
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  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to The Millionaire on Fri Apr 22 21:20:08 2022
    Which Commodore Computer was your favourite?

    A - Pet 2001
    B - Vic 20
    C - 64
    D - 128
    E - Amiga


    I had B and C, and my favourite was C, though I really do have a soft spot for the Vic 20. I still have a few C64's, with a disk drive, tape drive, games, but alas only one runs property. My Vic 20 also doesn't work, I need to fix it.

    I took up 6502 assembler last year or the year before, made a short "demo" for the Vic 20.

    I love those simple computers, the colours, the simplicity, the tactile sensation of using floppy disks and tapes.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
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  • From Dr. What@21:1/126 to The Millionaire on Sat Apr 23 00:00:12 2022
    The Millionaire wrote to All <=-

    Which Commodore Computer was your favourite?

    A - Pet 2001
    B - Vic 20
    C - 64
    D - 128
    E - Amiga

    I have a PET 4032, C64, C128 and Plus/4.

    I have to say that I enjoy using the Plus/4 more than any of them.

    But the PET brings back so many good memories.


    ... Unsolicited advice answers unasked questions
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)
  • From The Millionaire@21:1/183 to Dr. What on Fri Apr 22 12:55:50 2022


    I have a PET 4032, C64, C128 and Plus/4.

    I have to say that I enjoy using the Plus/4 more than any of them.

    But the PET brings back so many good memories.

    ... Unsolicited advice answers unasked questions
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: bbs.alsgeeklab.com:2323 (21:1/126)


    We used the PET back in Grade 7. Was an amazing piece of technology at the time.

    $ The Millionaire $
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    * Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (21:1/183)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/616 to The Millionaire on Sat Apr 23 08:34:42 2022
    The Millionaire wrote to Dr. What <=-

    We used the PET back in Grade 7. Was an amazing piece of technology at
    the time.

    A lot of schools had PETs. I remember my dad (a teacher) saying that Commodore had a "buy 2, get 1 free" deal for schools.

    Grade 7 for me was when the PETs really started getting into the schools in my area. I used those all through high school (hence, the warm memories).


    ... When all is said and done, more is said then done.
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A48 2022/04/03 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: cold fusion - cfbbs.net - grand rapids, mi (21:1/616)