Anything about old PCs, their uses, related OSes and their users

rokytnji · 06-13-2015, 07:29 AM

39 bucks. Needed zif pata drive. Touchscreen. Swivels.

Code:

harry@antix1:~
$ inxi -zv7
System:    Host: antix1 Kernel: 4.0.0-antix.1-486-smp i686 (32 bit gcc: 4.9.2)
           Desktop: IceWM 1.3.8+githubmod+20150412+960629d dm: slim
           Distro: antiX-15-beta1-V_386-full Killah P 16 March 2015
Machine:   System: Intel product: Intel powered classmate PC v: 3rd Gen
           Mobo: QCI model: Intel powered classmate PC v: 3rd Gen
           Bios: Phoenix v: HP94510A.86A.0035.2009.0427.2020 date: 04/27/2009
CPU:       Single core Intel Atom N270 (-HT-) cache: 512 KB
           flags: (nx pae sse sse2 sse3 ssse3) bmips: 3192
           clock speeds: min/max: 800/1600 MHz 1: 1333 MHz 2: 1067 MHz
Memory:    Using dmidecode: you must be root to run dmidecode
Graphics:  Card: Intel Mobile 945GSE Express Integrated Graphics Controller
           bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:27ae
           Display Server: X.Org 1.16.4 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1024x600@60.00hz
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel 945GME x86/MMX/SSE2
           GLX Version: 2.1 Mesa 10.4.2 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card Intel NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:27d8
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.0.0-antix.1-486-smp
Network:   Card-1: Realtek RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller
           driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: 2000
           bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8136
           IF: eth0 state: down mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Ralink RT2870/RT3070 Wireless Adapter
           driver: rt2800usb v: 2.3.0 usb-ID: 005-004 chip-ID: 148f:3070
           IF: wlan0 state: N/A mac: N/A
           WAN IP: <filter> IF: eth0 ip: N/A ip-v6: N/A
           IF: wlan0 ip: <filter> ip-v6: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 60.0GB (21.2% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: TOSHIBA_MK6028GA size: 60.0GB serial: Y8EMW5AWW
           Optical: No optical drives detected.
Partition: ID-1: / size: 15G used: 4.1G (30%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
           label: antiX15root uuid: 66edc50e-9cb4-4d92-a5a0-0ac3c1c6a84c
           ID-2: /media/_data size: 37G used: 4.1G (12%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda5
           label: /data uuid: e3728887-6e16-4261-b727-4772665997e9
           ID-3: swap-1 size: 4.24GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda2
           label: N/A uuid: 382f5510-30a9-4453-abf2-ed218834396d
<snip>
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 48.0C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 110 Uptime: 1:05 Memory: 391.3/2010.4MB
           Init: SysVinit v: 2.88 runlevel: 5 default: 5 Gcc sys: 4.9.2
           Client: Shell (bash 4.3.331 running in roxterm) inxi: 2.2.16

I have no books in .epub or .pdf or .rar or comics in cbr on this netbook.

But I have 2 of them and the other is set up for that task.
So I guess it depends on what you can locate locally.
Intel Atom, Swivel touchscreen, 9 inch screen, keyboard,
It makes a good Ebook that was cheaper and easier to change battery
than one of those bic lighter made ebook readers.

Just my opinion though. A older eeepc 700 or 701 or a throw away
netbook of another make will fit the ebook niche just fine.

I know of one dude online that uses his eeepc for monitoring his well
pressure tank wirelessly so to know if he has enough water pressure to take a shower and do laundry at the same time. It was cheaper for him than a beagle board because he already had the eeepc.

rvijay · 06-13-2015, 07:46 AM

Know the limitations of an older PC, test it for various tasks in advance. This will save you a lot of tears in the future. Don't push it beyond its capacity.

I was DLing a 6 GB file recently also tried to unzip a large 2 Gb file. Everything hung and then got spoiled. Had to restart PC and all my efforts again. Luckily this data was easy to get, just needed some time. Otherwise, it would have been a lot worse. Still, I felt sad at my negligence.

Other issues with retro computing:
1) Security - Older Oses don't have the latest security patches etc., and hence are an issue for online banking and other accounts online where security is vital.
2) Retro computing has very limited scope in the job market. If one focuses mostly on retro computing and fails to stay updated with recent developments, then it will affect employability. More IT in the job, more sooner and deeper this effect will be. So, for the most part, it is good to keep retro computing as a hobby.
3) They are slower
4) Consume more power
4) Need more power and are harder to transport
5) Hard to find parts and support if needed
6)Sites that need modern cookies and software like facebook, linkedin, youtube etc., will not work on older PCs
7) Less desirable or even poor graphics
8) Very poor or total lack of support

rvijay · 06-15-2015, 07:40 AM

My apt. inspection and the related problem of having to get rid of most of my older laptops etc., was quite challenging. So, I am trying to learn positively from this experience and make the best of it.
It will help to keep a retro USB Key with all the retro OS emulators and software on it. This will be convenient to carry around, as small as it gets and will always be there even if the hardware is gone.

When one wishes to go really retro, then one can't ignore all the retro OSes and software out there including the free dos versions, dosbox etc., and also related games. Here are helpful links in this regard:
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos_games
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos
https://archive.org/details/historicalsoftware
https://archive.org/details/classicpcgames

I did check for collections of older games and abandonware etc., as torrents but most are not seeded. So, it will be best to download them directly from sites that still offer them.

Also, here is the retro podcast that includes some really retro IT stuff:
https://archive.org/details/retroist...t=-date&page=2

If one has a super strong retro pull, not limited to just PCs but extends to other historic stuff, then I strongly suggest taking the MBTI test, this will be for the very few though:
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp
and if you are INFJ or related personalities, then see this thread:
http://www.freedomlist.com/forum/vie...=36242&start=0

rvijay · 06-20-2015, 04:21 PM

There is one thing I will beg of the true retro IT folks. Spend atleast 10 to 25 of your time learning about new tech and keep updated, walk around local stores and see what sort of products are currently being sold. This will greatly help in the longer run from being totally isolated.
Wish I had done this before, still it is not too late.

rvijay · 06-24-2015, 10:20 AM

Interesting news about the need for support for older OS that generated business:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/micros...191937774.html

Another very good thing to do with an older PC, is to donate to someone who will really use it. This can be done after one gets a more recent older PC.

smeezekitty · 06-29-2015, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvijay

This may seem rather ironic but I had to actually give away some of my older laptops and a P3 PC(This has no hard drive and DVD drive doesn't work) for recycling. My apartment was inspected and I was strongly advised to reduce stuff ASAP. So, the older books and the older IT stuff were the first to go.

I still have a P4 server, my P2 and a regular P4 etc., Still using older PCs Happily.

Best Wishes.

Pentium 4s are mostly worthless. I have gotten to the point of not taking them even for free.
Too new and common to be retro and too old to be useful. It was also arguably the worst CPU architecture Intel ever created. The performance per clock and performance per watt ratio is abysmal. P3 were actually much faster per clock.

There is a very lively retro computing forum over at vogons.org. Also for P1 and older, vintage-computer.com

rvijay · 12-13-2015, 03:12 PM

Article on a society with demand for most basic PCs:
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...p-8512055.html

The older PC server I am using now, is slowly becoming obsolete as some sites fail to work properly on it or don't work at all. With time this issue will only get worse. So, I will have to look for a better PC.

There are two main analogy factors about using older PCs:
1. Don't drive on the wrong side of the road with it, cause issues and attract unwanted attention.
In PC terms, this basically means trying to turn the clock back by convincing others that older tech is ok to do today's work on the net.
2. Driving slowly on a highway traffic.
This is basically using older PCs for office and other vital work, where older PCs are slower, have less security and do a poor job. Thereby others are all affected.

Using them smoothly and getting others involved in a win-win way makes it fun for all. This comes with time and practice.

273 · 12-13-2015, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvijay

Article on a society with demand for most basic PCs:
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...p-8512055.html

The devices being referred to are, however, not old computers but new devices with well-thought-out design decisions. My argument would be that the cost difference between an old PC and a Raspberry Pi is such that, once things like power consumption are brought into play, the Pi costs less. I would think that shipping a Pi Zero and the relevant connectors is cheaper than buying and shipping an old PC, for example, and an old PC is going to use a heck of a lot of that solar and diesel generated power you're using for heating, lighting and refrigeration too.

Edit: I thought Ordissimo sounded interesting until I went to the site and it seemed buggy and the cheaper model was 499 for an AMD mobile processor. They've certainly seen their market coming.

rvijay · 12-13-2015, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 273

The devices being referred to are, however, not old computers but new devices with well-thought-out design decisions. My argument would be that the cost difference between an old PC and a Raspberry Pi is such that, once things like power consumption are brought into play, the Pi costs less. I would think that shipping a Pi Zero and the relevant connectors is cheaper than buying and shipping an old PC, for example, and an old PC is going to use a heck of a lot of that solar and diesel generated power you're using for heating, lighting and refrigeration too.

Edit: I thought Ordissimo sounded interesting until I went to the site and it seemed buggy and the cheaper model was 499 for an AMD mobile processor. They've certainly seen their market coming.

Electricity is included in rent in some cases here, also older PCs are inexpensive and almost free but the pi costs money. This is just a local consideration tho for a few.

PatrickMay16 · 12-20-2015, 06:41 PM

I'm glad to see this thread. I like playing with old computers, I'm actually writing this post on a pentium III laptop (IBM thinkpad T22).

Although I do like playing with old computers, there isn't really much you can do with them today. With computers older than 12/13 years (pentium 3 (PENIS) and older) the effort required to get them to work is much more than the benefits you'd get out of it, unless you actually enjoy playing around with the computers.

For most things I think it'd be more practical to buy a raspberry pi.

rokytnji · 12-21-2015, 08:48 AM

PI's are cheap and OK. The peripherals can take a chunk out of your wallet to the point you almost have spent a 100 bucks depending on what you use the PI for. . Still need a monitor and a amplifier like I will show below.

My IBM T23 with a http://www.amazon.com/3-5mm-Mini-Plu.../dp/B000LMFS7M

Hooked to a http://www.parts-express.com/kinter-...m_campaign=pla

Which can be hooked to a set of free book shelf speakers makes a hell of a internet stereo radio.
Hook a up a Vga cable to a TV. Boom. Instant theater with surround sound.

Cheaper to do than a PI. All computer parts needed are in the laptop vs the PI.
PCMCIA cards can be had for a song on these old rigs. 4 bucks here or there for usb 2 or whatever like wireless N. http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMC-SMCWCB-N...item19da95a0f2

Lots you can do with old rigs in the desert.

rokytnji · 12-21-2015, 08:53 AM

Forgot to mention. MOCP and MPV are killer applications for what I mentioned doing above. Also command line mplayer and GUI audacious.

Steven_G · 12-21-2015, 11:40 AM

I have a ton of "old" (5-20 years) junk in my apartment. I pick it up where ever I can when ever I can; at yard sales, thrift stores, pawn shops, etc. I always find new uses for it. Now sometimes something will need a little TCL when I get it. Maybe a memory upgrade or a CPU or some extra NICS or whatever. But, I can get a good chassis with a functional system that's not quite what I want for $10(US), drop another $10-$50 on parts and I've got a new gateway, etc.

I run an SMB grade network at home. An old P4 w/ 1GB RAM is way more than enough to run a gateway for less than 5 users. Heck it segregates my NT in to 3 subnets, has a transparent AV proxy and even runs a snort based NIDS.

I've got a 10 year old netbook that I turned into a combo UTM+DHCP+DNS+NIDS+ intelligent / adaptive FW that I set at the head of my LAN. All I had to add was a USB NIC for pass through and some elbow grease b/c it had been sitting in my box o' parts.

I've got a VT lab built on my home rolled *nix distro, virtualbox and three old junk XP SMB servers. On my to do / to learn list is to gut that set up and turn it in to a Xen cluster.

I've got some buttheaded neighbors doing dumb stuff and I need to catch them in the act, on film, so I can get them evicted. So, I whipped out one of my junkers and spun XP home ("free" to use now, had it forever, fine for this use) up on it and hacked it in to a video surveillance system backbone server and dropped it on my LAN. Once the mini-cams w/ USB receiver get here they're supposed to be plug and play. All I should have to do is install the recording console and wait for buttheads to be buttheads.

Old means neither useless nor irrelevant.

enine · 12-24-2015, 04:02 PM

My oldest is a 1.2GHz laptop from 2002 but it still useable with the same distro I run on all my others.

PatrickMay16 · 12-24-2015, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by enine

My oldest is a 1.2GHz laptop from 2002 but it still useable with the same distro I run on all my others.

What exact model of CPU is it? Does it have SSE2? Just wondering.