Who here has the oldest working computer?

[GoneOffShore]

Bubble gum iMac running System 7.6 here.

Though I never use it except for legacy files.

[Systematic Chaos]

1. I'd sell my soul for a working Atari 800 XL with a full complement of games on floppies.

I miss those 8-bit computers so much.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

4. Ever messed around with an emulator?

http://atari800.sourceforge.net/

[Systematic Chaos]

7. I use emulators all the time, but it's just not the same somehow.

I still love listening to the beeps from the floppy drive coming over the speaker on the old 19" color tv, and the feel of those old Atari joysticks and paddle controllers.

[hunter]

9. I have one but I won't sell it.

Lots of game and programming cartridges too. Pengo and Action! are my favorites.

Sorry.

[Systematic Chaos]

10. Hey it's cool! I couldn't afford one right now anyway, not even for ultra-cheap.

And my favorite games were Spelunker, Encounter, Leader Board Golf, Buried Bucks, Rainbow Walker, Getaway!, River Raid, Pinball Construction Set, The Great American Cross-Country Road Race, Zone Ranger, Zenji, Flip & Flop, and probably another 20-30 I can't recall at the moment.

[lastlib]

18. I have one, too--but no games. Not selling it either.

Sorry to burst yer bubble.

[GreenPartyVoter]

36. We have one. Wish I had known someone else was looking for one, we got rid of the extra

XLs and STs when I cleaned out my Dad's place a couple years ago.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

2. I have an old Commodore 64 that still works

Even got a little black and white TV that I hook it to. I have it in some old static bags and only pull it out on special occasions.

[HopeHoops]

16. So does mine. As does my Amiga 500, Apple II, VIC-20, and about 20 other machines.

[GreenPartyVoter]

37. We have one of those as well.

[baldguy]

3. Does my slide rule count?

It's only about 40 yrs old.

[Ptah]

5. HP 95LX here.

[krispos42]

6. Dell Dimension, from March 2004

Still on the original install of Windows XP. And the original hard drive is still working, although now it's a tertiary drive.

[lastlib]

19. I've got socks older than that....

[TrogL]

8. 1984 Mac

[KurtNYC]

17. I have a 512k Mac

not sure of the year.

[hunter]

11. I have a ZX81 that still works.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX81

I have an older homebuilt that used an 1802 microprocessor, but the microprocessor itself has failed, probably because it was a reject part when I bought it.

Of course I have slide rules too...

[HopeHoops]

15. Looks like one of my four Timex Sinclairs. Very similar in fact.

[hunter]

21. Same machine. I ordered mine as a kit from the ad in Byte Magazine.

Sinclair contracted with Timex to manufacture the machines which were soon sold in the USA with the Timex brand.

I also have another version of this machine, a no-brand "pirate" Asian clone with an actual keyboard and 2K of memory.

[HopeHoops]

22. Holy shit - 2K? I think mine are all 1/2 K machines. That was a SHITLOAD back then... And....

One of my mentors (late, unfortunately) was in the air force and they discovered that by using a bank-switching technique (old school) they could get an entire megabyte of memory out of one of their machines. His reply was, "What the FUCK could you need an entire megabyte for?"

[GoneOffShore]

28. I remember those in the late 70's in England.

Clive Sinclair and the ZX80.

They didn't do much, but they looked very cool.

[blogslut]

12. I got a Thinkpad 560X (1998) that still works like a charm

Thinkpads are amazing.

[HopeHoops]

23. I've got one of the original ThinkPads right behind me (still works).

I always loved the keyboard nipple. It was just another keystroke. Most people hated them, but not having to move your hands from the keyboard was a godsend. I type at 80 wpm (or more) so that means a lot to me.

[blogslut]

24. I adore the nipple!

It's a bajillion times more better than a mouse!

[HopeHoops]

25. I love nipples - wait, that didnt' sound right. Okay, ALL keyboards should have a nipple.

Even if you've got a mouse or touch-pad, the keyboard should STILL have a nipple for those of us who can type faster than a clock hand can turn. It just makes sense. I think Lenova (former IBM supplier) still puts them in the keyboards, but why doesn't any other company? You don't have to use it if you don't want to. All machines, even with nipples, come with touch pads now. Shit.

Okay, okay, on a side note, I like nipples. I've also been with my lady since '84.

[blogslut]

30. I think certain Toshibas and Vaios have eraser mouses

As for the Thinkpad-Thinkpad, I'm pretty sure when Lenovo bought the rights to the model, they were bound to continue making them according to IBM specs. In other words, Thinkpad-Thinkpads will always be black bento boxes with Trackpoints, Thinklights and the best laptop keyboards evar!

Have you ever been here?

www.thinkwiki.org

It's an awesome site for peeps who love Thinkpads and love installing Linux distros on Thinkpads.

[HopeHoops]

33. The original one was really cool. It had latches so you could flip it up to access the innards.

It only took a few seconds to swap out a battery, replace a hard drive, or upgrade the memory. It was all right there and WITHOUT turning it over. The keyboard was also the quietest laptop keyboard I've ever used. I took it to meetings and could take dictation without making perceptible sounds. I type at about 80wpm, but even at that speed by barely touching the keys to stay quiet I made a lot of mistakes but they were easy to correct later.

[blogslut]

34. I've still got a 760ED that does that

Just push the buttons on the side and the top comes off to expose the hard drive, optical drive and battery. It still works too!

[hobbit709]

13. I think in the back of cabinet is an old Packard-Bell with a 386-25 in it

It was still working when I stuck it in there. A friend of mine still has a working M.I.T.S. Altair 8800 that he fires up every now and then to impress the kiddies.

And my brain still functions fairly well for being 62,

[HopeHoops]

14. VIC-20 - 5KB memory and a tape drive.

[Odin2005]

20. Does my 1989 NES count?

[ret5hd]

26. I had to enter this reply with punch cards.

[Initech]

27. I still have my parents old 1992 Mac Performa - and it still works.

[HipChick]

29. I have a Sinclair ZX-81

It's rare now...

[guardian]

31. I recently sold my old DEC Rainbow 100

Here is a good website for old computers: http://oldcomputers.net/

[hunter]

38. I wanted one of these...

http://oldcomputers.net/AIM-65.html



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-65

But I didn't have the money, so I built a variation of this:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COSMAC_ELF

But the Atari 800 will always be my favorite.

[Logical]

32. The original ENIAC in my basement

[lastlib]

35. I still have my original ten fingers......

Only one byte of RAM, but accurate to ten digits...



And the CPU/math co-processor is AWESOME!!

[Orrex]

39. I have a Remington Standard on my desk. That must count for something?

[ThoughtCriminal]

40. Still have my slide rule from 1970

If it computes, it counts.

[Ptah]

41. I have a pencil and paper from 1956.

[guardian]

42. I still have one of these

I can even remember how to use it (somewhat...it has been a loooooong time).