Posted on 07/31/2012 8:06:06 AM PDT by CGASMIA68
If it runs, set it up as a security system. Have it guard your house.
Is this sarc?If not,how
We FReepers must be terrible boaters. So many of us have suffered tragic boating accidents along with the horrible loss of thousands of dollars worth of valuable firearms. And now it’s coming to include computers . . .
Talking about collectibles, I bought a Curta II mechanical calculator in 1970 to work on tax and estate paperwork. A year later the electronic hand held calculators began to come out at about the same price, $160.00, IIRC. I immediately knew the Curta was obsolete, so I decided to keep it in its original box with its original instructions on the hunch it would become a real collectible. Now, 42 years later, it is a collectible and is worth about $1,400. Since I don’t really need the money, I’m keeping it and my heirs will probably get it. Because it looks a bit like an exotic bomb, I’ve decided not to take it on an aircraft.
That is a great story. That’s thinking ahead.
True, but to be a bit self-deprecating, the Curta calculator was and is such a superbly made, slightly quirky, mechanical gem, that it was immediately obvious the electronics would obsolete it and that it wold become a collectible. All I had to do was sit on it for 42 years to wait for it to ripen. It’s also such a super cool little gadget that I never wanted to get rid of it.
Rifle Range = Target Practice. Even more fun if you get some Tannerite!
You have to be a little handy at this but the computer does have ports, both serial and parallel. If old enough it will also have a RS232 port. All of these can be connected to outside devices. (I once saw a fellow operate Christmas light shows and fountain water shows long ago with a PET processor on less than 1meg CPU & 16K of memory)
Also there just HAS to be software out there that would support this use in the great cyber library. I’d start at MajorGeeks.com Do a search, check into it.
I assumed that your PC has no USB. If it does.....YOUR HOME FREE !! It’s a real easy set up with CCD cameras
I have three of my own computers here in my home office (not counting the wife's machines). This one runs W7, one runs Linux Mint, and the third runs on Mepis (Mepis is good for running on older hardware).
Sometimes when I've got my work laptop fired up, I'll have all 4 machines running at once. Why do I do it? Because I can.
:)
It's fun to experiment with different operating systems and not having to worry if you trash anything and have to start over.
I've got no less than 12 tower cases around the corner in my little work shop area. All of them missing bits and pieces here and there. I've got old obsolete sticks of ram, graphics cards, fans, etc, etc.
It's kind of a hobby for me. I like tinkering with them and building machines that will run.
We currently have 10 working computers on our home network.
Maybe it's a psychological illness..
Now that’s pretty clever!
I use my old Dell xps140 to get email and listen to talk radio online.
It still purrs...a little louder now but purrs.
And the hits keep on playpen.
Hope the Weber design folk pick up on that handy dandy side draft option
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