Olds go nostalgic for the good old days of tech

[AndyHilmer]

Trash Eighty with a cassette drive. Swanky.

[ChickieD]

And that’s what we did for fun with computers in the 80’s, children. We didn’t have no Internet.

[Lucy_Gothro1]

I remember playing “Star Trek” on the computer with the daisy-wheel printer w/the modem on which one had to place a telephone receiver to communicate with the other party.

This was 1978 or '79, Computer Science class that I took when I started high school. I dropped it, as at 14, I just wasn’t dedicated enough to care.

[DaakSyde]

If you’d like to try the Star Trek game again, The Classic Super Star Trek Game has the latest version, last updated in 2019(!) Still the same text interface, but no teletype or printer needed now.

[Lucy_Gothro1]

Thank you! Also, for the word “teletype”, which escaped me.

But I fibbed - I didn’t personally actually play it - I watched someone else play it. I wasn’t up to handling it then, and I’m probably not now, lol.

[RAvery]

It is a good day to type.

This old KLINGON Keyboard Holder for CRTs

[MarjaE]

I’m getting increasingly painful rsi.

I think it’s from writing an an e-ink tablet. I had set up a usb keyboard and a stand, but I still had to reach for the @#%%^ touchscreen to add footnotes, add and edit tables, save, etc.

I am still trying to figure out my options.

Anyway, there’s a series of fancy writing devices called the “Freewrite,” but they’re oriented around the designers’ ideal of “distraction-free writing,” and positively hostile to note-taking and revision. The original version doesn’t let people go back to add or edit anything. The next version has a deliberately difficult 2-handed workaround.

So a lot of reviewers are recommending the AlphaSmart series from the 1990s as a better alternative for note-taking. Or even Tandy and TRS devices.

[ChickieD]

https://imgur.com/gallery/k4zvjge

[Lucy_Gothro1]

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/fisher-price-toy-telephone-calls-36993295?fbclid=IwAR027vREP0KXqI_7A-H38QwL_Pql2gfXFzRCqFKMODcb1bKhALoEK9WPSGg

[RAvery]

The Bear-A-Byte PC: Pentium III Teddy Bear Computer

[Lucy_Gothro1]

Oh. my. sheesh. My son shared this very thing w/me earlier this afternoon.

It’s like a heavy-metal Teddy Ruxpin, IMNSHO.

[smulder]

[Nonentity]

No, Google, my mistake… I meant edlin.

[MarjaE]

I’ve tried installing current versions of MacOS on my computer. All of them trigger my migraines. It’s hard to pin down, but they’re optimized for ultra-high-resolution monitors, and they make text unreadably faint on standard-high-resolution monitors. The recurring advice is to get a “modern” monitor with “better” resolution.

I’d been looking for a new monitor, actually, with a lower minimum brightness. E-ink devices don’t usually trigger my migraines, but expensive, and only grayscale, and not the ultra-high-resolution Apple wants. Rlcd might not, but again, expensive, and not the ulra-high-resolution. I went with an lcd monitor with a lower minimum brightness for cost reasons, and it does feel much easier to write on and doesn’t usually trigger my migraines until animation hits, and again, not the ultra-high-resolution.

to be continued.

[MarjaE]

I’ve tried again with the current versions of MacOS, but no luck.

I’ve started trying out Linux again. Accessible Coconut is oriented toards screen readers. Linux Mint Cinnamon looks to be customizable, but the installer doesn’t handle dual boot at all well. Ubuntu is supposed to be easier to dual-boot, but it still has the scrollbar issues that drove me away years ago. It’s currently optimized for scrollwheels and swipe gestures, which tear up my tendons. Ubuntu Cinnamon might work, haven’t tried it yet.

Meanwhile neither MacOS nor Linux can use the other’s preferred file systems without expensive 3rd-party apps, I’ve got fragments of failed systems, and I get compatibility warnings each time I boot this thing.

At this point, newer manuals advise against dual-booting, and it’s hard to find up-to-date instructions for it. I’m supposed to use Parallels, or other Virtual Machines. I tried VirtualBox for testing, but most full-featured versions didn’t work in it, and anyway, that doesn’t address any issues with using an older unsupported system. I can’t use Parallels because it requires a newer system which isn’t compatible with either the old or new monitor.

[Nonentity]

Ethernet just turned half a century old

[Lucy_Gothro1]

Old Liverpudlian weighs in on AI:

Paul McCartney Clarifies Use of AI in Upcoming Beatles Song: “Nothing Has...

[CleverEmi]

So, I’m looking for a stock photo, golden sunrise which will allow me to overlay copy, and use the search term “wheat field sunrise”

In the old days, someone would have said “isn’t that an accidental goatse?” without having to explain what that was and thereby do a harassment.

[MarjaE]

I wonder how much confusion, etc. are because it’s harder to read on computer screens than on paper, and easier to skip over sections.