Hi Everyone

Although not strictly mining we all use computers, and not just to use this website.

For some time now I have been aware of how the latest version of this requires the latest version of that, £££££££, and that the latest version is not always to my liking. Essential basic functionality remains unchanged but more cluttered up with toolbars full of pretty colours and junk that I never need hiding essentials that I do need.

Things came to head when I was trying to create graphs in Excel to represent the performance of my latest low voltage lamps and struggled for ages to do what I had easily done in the past with an earlier version. I don't want to bother having to relearn anything.

In the end in frustration I uninstalled Excel to be replaced with an old version and now enjoying a new clean look with everything tidily tucked away in menus got my job done.

Now for the fun bit.
Rummaging around I came up with a decent computer case, a good AS Rock K8NFGG motherboard, an AMD dual core CPU and 2 gigs of compatible memory, and the most recent (10 years old!) 40 gig IDE HDD. Put it all together, Killdisk the HDD back to raw state and installed Windows 2000. Rummaging about even more I came up with a load of old favorite blasts from the past like Brudabond Print Shop, old CADs which latest version would need a remortgage on the house and some other stuff.
Runs a treat, but obviously I would not even think of connecting it to the Internet!

Makes me wonder how many good computers end up on the tip just because the owners filled them up with downloaded junk, all those 'Free toolbars' fighting each other for control of the Internet browser.
:lol:
Look at the deal on the latest Office 365, and nothing in it the average user will need that there isn't in Office 2000 you can get for a pittance of eBay.

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Hi Everyone

Although not strictly mining we all use computers, and not just to use this website.

For some time now I have been aware of how the latest version of this requires the latest version of that, £££££££, and that the latest version is not always to my liking. Essential basic functionality remains unchanged but more cluttered up with toolbars full of pretty colours and junk that I never need hiding essentials that I do need.

Things came to head when I was trying to create graphs in Excel to represent the performance of my latest low voltage lamps and struggled for ages to do what I had easily done in the past with an earlier version. I don't want to bother having to relearn anything.

In the end in frustration I uninstalled Excel to be replaced with an old version and now enjoying a new clean look with everything tidily tucked away in menus got my job done.

Now for the fun bit.
Rummaging around I came up with a decent computer case, a good AS Rock K8NFGG motherboard, an AMD dual core CPU and 2 gigs of compatible memory, and the most recent (10 years old!) 40 gig IDE HDD. Put it all together, Killdisk the HDD back to raw state and installed Windows 2000. Rummaging about even more I came up with a load of old favorite blasts from the past like Brudabond Print Shop, old CADs which latest version would need a remortgage on the house and some other stuff.
Runs a treat, but obviously I would not even think of connecting it to the Internet!

Makes me wonder how many good computers end up on the tip just because the owners filled them up with downloaded junk, all those 'Free toolbars' fighting each other for control of the Internet browser.
:lol:
Look at the deal on the latest Office 365, and nothing in it the average user will need that there isn't in Office 2000 you can get for a pittance of eBay.

Ditto.

The ad men have smelt the dollars, KISS, bring back the Z80 and to hell with it.

Nostalgia ain't wot it used to be.

Lozz.

Oh good Lord no, to heck with all that.

I remember quite well having to find a CD-Rom from amongst a shoe box full of other disks to do the simplest of tasks, often quite badly. Presuming it wasn't knackered.

Onwards and upwards! :thumbsup:

Oh good Lord no, to heck with all that.

I remember quite well having to find a CD-Rom from amongst a shoe box full of other disks to do the simplest of tasks, often quite badly. Presuming it wasn't knackered.

Onwards and upwards! :thumbsup:

because you had chosen a quick 'typical install' rather than custom or 'all features' and then afterwards found that you needed the CD all the while. It was a lingering adherence to the old principle of saving disk space at all costs.

Simple golden rule with Gates
Totally ignore "Recommended"

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I think there is generally a collective amnesia when it comes to computers and the internet. As far as I recall, Aditnow has always looked pretty much exactly as it does now even though it's only been about a week since SRL did the last of many, many updates to the site.

Computers used to be awful. Really terribly awful. Websites used to look like the following not very long ago at all.
http://www.souterrains.org/ 

And it would have taken about three weeks just to load that page. Presuming nobody needed to make a phone call whilst that was happening!

FRAMES!!!!

Kill it! Kill it with fire!!!!!!

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AH, er, well yes. I thought I had seen everything.

I did say that Retro was definitely not for the Internet, although I was actually thinking of something else.
:lol:

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I always remember my dad telling me they had the internet installed at work, I asked him what was the first thing you looked at. He said we all gathered around the screen, and looked at Pamela Anderson.

Still makes me giggle and this was early 90's.

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My first experience was electric typewriter and tickatape, book yourself onto the local Uni mainframe (usually at some unearthly hour of the morning) AArgh!!.
Must admit I feel empathy with Roy, I am considering setting up a system to run all my old software on '98 or 2000, the only problem is can I be a*sed to set up the 'handshake' to share the files on the interweb?

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I havent owned a new pc or laptop in 5 years, my current connection is an old business use dell laptop about 8 years old, but I run ubuntu on my comps and its perfectly fine. I ahve umd and arrrr'd about buying new but I really dont want to.

If I could get back my old 486 with maths coprosessor I would love to have it set up in the study, but sadly that is long gone.

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When I was developing software I liked my mission critical hardware to be secular so I basically worked with two machines. Each was connected to the other on the 169.254 block address via local Ethernet but only the non critical was connected to the Internet and used two network cards.

The machine that was on the 192.168 as well would have network client and file sharing disabled on that block address.

Very, very, very simple but greatly disapproved of by those who like to put in complex servers and firewalls etc and charge imaginatively for their services.

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It's all due to the fact that Micro$hite, ithings, and the like want to convert the masses to L. Ron Hoover's, First Church of Appliantology, and sell us lots of "essential" technology that we don't really need.

Ask yourself honestly do you rheelllyyy need the latest iphoneandriodblackberry thing to be able to keep up with facewstespacebebotwatter, when a £10 nokia brick will do the essentials - ie making calls and sending texts!

Lots of "old" tech CAN be reused not only in the developed world, but also in the developing world, some of its so fricking bullet proof it belongs out there helping folk to get it and web savvy!

(AND off the soapbox!)

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Still enjoy old nokias! Bomb proof, There is a guy I heard of locally who buys old stock of nokia 3210's and sells them and makes a good profit....

i just wish I could find my old Mac (the white all in one first pcs).

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I had a Nokia brick, I put it in a bucket of water 'cos it kept ringing, my life is constantly being enlightened.

Lozz.

A lot of interest in this thread so being the kind and helpful person that makes you all like me, here is a run down of my own system.
I live in a big bungalow alone, was going to downsize when the wife died, but with the property crash I would have blown my brains out.
Just overhauled my system.

There is a nice big room at the back I use as an office, but expensive to heat in the winter as its at the end of an extension, so i use a little study where I build my lamps. The window is onto a corridor so cheap to keep warm and snug.

Anyway, Office has main computer that acts as a server, although only running ordinary Win 7. Same desk has DSL router and Ethernet hub.

Main computer built around new AS Rock 880GM-LE FX £55 NEW off eBay seller, SH AMD dual core about £18, 4 GIGs of brand name memory about £40, all eBay again. HDD is an half terra I had in stock. Two network cards, one 169.254 the other 192.168 to the DSL router.
In the study a machine built around bits and pieces, a SH Asus board of ebay again for £20, 4 gigs of DDR2 RAM off a network I updated, a 175 gig HDD I was already using. Its connected to both networks
Also in the study the Win 2K machine described, connected to the LAN only.

RJ45 patch in hall holds a £12.50 of eBay Cisco access point, so I can use my netbook (£75 off eBay, wiped and win reinstalled) on the WiFi while lying on my bed.

I have a spare Win 7 machine not in use, again an 'all spare parts'

El Cheapo sophistication

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Roy, I know of a business that still runs Windows 98 ( 😮 ) on one of their PC's, purely for the Kodak photo viewer app.
He maintains it serves his purposes better than anything else.

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Yes, I can fully understand this.

Next time in Sainsbury's, lurk around the tills until you get a peak at an machine on their own LAN, they're running Windows 2000!

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ATM's run on win2k AFAIK!

Presonally I have an old beat up macbook that must be coming up 8 years old by now (gomez) - but the powerplug has been re engineered, and it runs an external usb keyboard and mouse wireless linked to the BTrouter, and as such can't be moved easily

Whilst his step brother (Igor) is a dell vostro 1300 with win8 pro onit, also linked to BTrouter, problem is hate micro$hit to bits its so fricking clunky and takes moons to do owt!

I can't decide what to do with Igor, I have my Original OSX boot disks, and in the past have played with Ububtu, so I think Igor will undergo some radical deep thought re processing!

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My first experience was electric typewriter and tickatape, book yourself onto the local Uni mainframe (usually at some unearthly hour of the morning) AArgh!!.

Similar here. Teletype ASR33 via GPO Datel 2000 dedicated landline, to a HP2000E main frame at Stafford Uni.
The dedicated landline was a high speed data link running at 110 baud!
Programs were written in a language called C&G Mnemonic which was specifically written for the City & Guilds computer tech course.
The joys of very early 70's computing!

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I am an IT consultant, I have an old PC running an old Windows version, with shareware (openoffice) word and spreadsheet. Firefox web browser. Its all free. My first computing experience was punched cards in 1974.

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