Posted on 10/01/2016 11:04:05 AM PDT by Ciaphas Cain
Apple’s Phil Schiller thinks it’s sad that people use 5-year-old computers. Well, Phil, there’s an auto repair shop in Poland that’s going to send you spiraling into a long depression.
Why? Because one of the computers they’re using on a day-to-day basis is a Commodore 64, and I don’t mean one of the slick nostalgic remakes. I’m talking about a classically beautiful beige C64 and its whirring, clunking 5.25″ floppy disk drive.
It’s been there for more than 25 years. See, not everyone finds the idea of using an old computer sad. Some, like the mechanics at this shop in Gdansk, treat their hardware like a trusted member of their team. Clearly this Commodore 64 has been pulling its weight for the past 25 years, or the shop would’ve found a different system to help them balance driveshafts.
As the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it — and this C64 seems determined to not break. According to the woman who originally posted this photo to a retro computing group, the computer has shrugged off plenty of abuse over the years. It’s been soaked by rain coming in a nearby open window and “most likely shat on by birds.”
(Excerpt) Read more at geek.com ...
Nope, my hubby is a mechanic and his keyboard looks exactly the same. Auto shops produce a unique grime that gets on everything and is super damn hard to clean off.
It does what they need it to do. Think of the money they've saved on upgrades and the time they've saved on the learning curve for new systems.
I too bought a TI-994a back when they cut the price to $100. I also began to learn programming and think I actually would eventually have become proficient as it seemed pretty simple.
My Daughter wanted it so I let her have it then it tore up. TI replaced it with a reconditioned unit which also tore up.
Did not have another computer until around 1996 or so. I bought a current model which Wal-Mart had reduced to $90, from $795 because it did not work and the packaging was gone. I later saw it for $45 as-is and decided the monitor was worth more than that.
When I got it home, I could get it to turn on but not really work. I did find the name of the kid who had first purchased it. I phoned him and he had installed a newer and better processor but it would not work. I have a cousin who is a computer expert and he came by one day and fixed it with no problem.
I used it for years. It probably would still work OK but it has just sat in storage for years.
Commodores 1982-1994
This one towards the end
Spock, Star Trek.
I like Belhaven Scottish Ale. ;-)
Yeah, I learned BASIC and LOGO on the TI-99/A too. Also used the daisy wheel printer and the word processor on that to print out my own character sheets and stuff for tabletop role playing games. Good times :)
We moved here in 1987. One of the bedrooms is “the computer room”. In that “computer room” is a U.S. Logic 486SX/25 with Windows 3.0 (IIRC), and it’s hooked to a Panasonic Dot Matrix printer circa 1991. They all work. Haven’t used them in years as their purpose expired in 1999, but periodically we test the unit, and it works just fine.
The good “Old Days”. My next one, was an Apple IIe, with floppies and a dot matrix printer. How, times have changed!
Load “*”,8,1
A C-64 that I programmed in the mid-80’s while at JSC-Houston, had a major ground support function right up until the last shuttle landed.
I put the program on an EPROM cartridge so that it booted right into the program on startup.
The only problem along the way was with the power supply bricks. They would overheat and burn out. Finally built one up from scratch that lasted until the end.
They will never know the TRUE thrill and horror of hunting the Wumpus.
Capacitors are usually the problem after sitting for years. Never know, could be fine.
Im sure a Raspberry could do it now. Pretty cool. I’d like to look at the code they are running.
They could send it to the bodyshop where they have a TRS80.
Wonder if they’re playing Bards Tale on it?
I provided some of the equipment used in the “War Games” set, toured the studio, etc, it was a hoot. The director was intent on making it as realistic as feasible but had to fight others who thought computers should chatter like teletype machines and spit out slips of paper.
Congrats to that shop! Surprising it works, because floppy discs do not like a dusty environment, particularly an auto shop that might have abrasive particles in the air from machining metal parts or brakes. Not good for the read/write heads.
That’s probably grease/grime from the mechanics using it.
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