Post the very best in obsolete and failed technology

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evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Real business computers like Dell Latitudes and Lenovo Thinkpads have hardware LPT and RS-232 ports on the motherboard today. You just smack one of these in the docking station connector, to give them the actual physical ports:

# ¿ Feb 3, 2018 15:15

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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 11:27

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

KozmoNaut posted:

My mechanic is still running a bunch of old Thinkpads (T30s and T20s, I think) with Win2000, because they have serial ports and just work the best, while of course standing up to being used in a garage.

I love that you can still get most spare parts for older Thinkpads, it means I can keep my trusty X220 running for a long time. I would still be using using my old T42, if it wasn't a 32 bit CPU and painfully slow for any reasonably modern OS.

For reference, a Dell Optiplex, Latitude or Precision typically has a production run of 12-18 months. For five years after the last day of that production run, you can get any part for it anywhere on earth within 24 hours from Dell. After those five years, there's another 18 months where you can get those parts within 3-7 days. After that, you can get parts from eBay and professional refurbishers and recyclers who buy up big quantities of business computers.

A consumer computer will be produced for 6 months, and is then ignored by the manufacturer and retailer immediately. You're also unlikely to find parts in the aftermarket, since they are sold one by one to consumers, who just put them in the trash when they break.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2018 10:43

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Grand Prize Winner posted:

What's the best place to get these refurbed business class laptops?

Depending on your location, I know that dell has outlet.dell.com in the US. My mother in law in the US got an AMAZING deal on a Latitude E7240 from a refurber on eBay that had like 50 pretty much brand new ones for around $5-700 for what should be a $1500 laptop at the time.

Check your local craigslist alternative for resellers and refurbishers who might be posting single computers, but with links to their online store or inventory. In Norway we have ones like https://www.arrowdirect.no/ , and I know Kozmo got his from a similar business in Denmark.

I've also seen good deals on Latitudes quite often in the SA Mart if you're in the US.

I myself use a Latitude E6520 I pulled out of the electronics recycling as my main laptop. I want to buy something new, but it has a quad-core i7, 8 gigs of fast DDR3 and a 256GB SSD, and just keeps working and working.

e; beaten like a redheaded stepchild.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2018 12:21

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Who throws that out? Big oil businesses who are moving out of a wing they rented in the building I worked in. We had an internal trash room with electronics recycling, and I've pulled thousands of dollars worth of stuff out of there, including laptops, several hundred sticks of RAM, a Beogram 5500 with MMC4, SSD drives etc etc etc.

The Latitude E6420/6430 was our workhorse, and I can do a display in about 30 seconds, including changing the side rails. I've taken apart and put together hundreds of them and related models, and even mixed together models to make stuff Dell never sold.

I got a 13" Macbook Pro from where I am now with a dead keyboard. iFixit has a guide on how to replace it, and it's beyond hosed up. Now I've done it, and I'm never doing that again! My wife has an Acer from Elkj�p/Elgiganten, and changing the wireless card on that from whatever useless OEM thing to a decent Intel card involved splitting the base apart, with 18 screws of different length holding it together. It's dying and literally falling apart now, so I might by myself a new used Latitude and give her my old one.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2018 14:43

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

I was a huge fan of the 24 TV show, so I found the ringtone from the CTU office phones and used on my cell phone just after the end of a season.

When the show started up again 6 months later I was so used to the ringtone I went through the first few episodes like :supaburn:

thinking it was my phone every time.

And I also used the MGS codec for a while, that was pretty cool.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2018 18:27

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Krispy Wafer posted:

Touch screen car consoles suck, but they're making them 'better'. I think VW has a system now where little IR sensors detect your oncoming hand and immediately enlarge the buttons.

My wife's Buick has capacitive hazard lights which is the stupidest thing. So now when someone's hand brushes across the console my loving hazards come on. Come on, it was a simple button that gets pressed a dozen times in a car's lifetime unless you're one of those idiots who turns them on when it rains.

Jesus Christ :psyduck:

I thought hazard lights were supposed to be physically hardwired by law, in the same way that the steering wheel must be physically connected to the front wheels.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2018 22:08

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

mostlygray posted:

I'm going to go balls out on my response here. Open diffs work. If you'd like both wheels spinning while going into the ditch, be my guest. 3 gears is plenty. Seat belts are good, safety glass is good, disc brakes are good, 60mph is a perfectly fine speed.

Humans are very good at heuristics. Machines are not. I don't need my car chattering my brakes like an old lady fighting off a bee with a broom handle. I've got it. If I'm in a turn and my front wheels break free,, I can left foot brake my rear end around a turn in a front wheel drive car. The traction control cannot. I can see that, though it's slippery right now, I'll get grip in 10 feet. The computer cannot. I know that I need to power through the snow because there is a hidden rise, the computer does not and will not let me power through.

I have spent every winter for over 10 years pushing stuck people up the hill in front of my house because their traction control leaves them stuck. You need to paddle your way up the rise. This is not old guy ranting, this is simple fact. Press the traction control off button and put your back into pushing the car and you can get them up the hill.

ABS has never saved me. Traction control has only hindered me. This is not arrogance. It is simple fact. I am not an exceptional driver. I just know my car. Don't take that away from me. I want my car to be an extension of myself. Not some nonsense machine that won't even *let* me make bad decisions.

If I die, it's by my own hand. Not because some piece of poo poo AWD system feels like it should get tail happy when that should never happen in AWD. AWD should skid evenly sideways.

Somehow, I've managed to never be in an accident in 25 years of driving normal cars. The first time I was EVER afraid of driving on snow, is when I drove my wife's car with the traction control turned on. The car was completely unpredictable. Maybe traction control is great on dry pavement, but it is not on a snow/ice mixture.

You are better at making complicated decisions than a computer. I assure you. You are fast, well trained, and decisive. You are much more skilled than any computer at moving a machine through space, even if you are a first time driver.

If one needs a computer to drive a car, one shouldn't be driving a car. I'd rather drive a Model T than a car that thinks it knows better than me.

If the car that thinks it knows better than me is right, then I shouldn't be driving. Just put a bullet in my head and throw me in the trash.

You are an idiot.

# ¿ Feb 20, 2018 11:49

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

As a non-american, I use Fark and whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday to get a decent aggregation of stuff that happens in US politics.

# ¿ Feb 23, 2018 14:41

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

1: Buy a 3D printer
2: Print a 3D printer
3: Return the 3D printer

# ¿ Feb 28, 2018 11:04

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Shai-Hulud posted:

Is there anything done with Java that is worthwhile?

Universal Media Server, previously known as PS3 Media Server.

# ¿ Mar 26, 2018 11:59

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

1: Hit Windows key on keyboard
2: Type in a couple of letters of whatever you want to do
3: Hit Enter key

Who the gently caress cares about start menus any more?

# ¿ Mar 28, 2018 15:19

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Coffee And Pie posted:

I miss the nubbin/clit mouse

Business laptops are still delivered with them.

# ¿ Apr 30, 2018 19:36

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Just got my hands on a Thinkpad X220, T430s and T440s from the electronics recycling. The 220 needs a new disk, the 440 has a cracked screen, and the 430 needed a good cleaning and to have its RAM reseated. I've never had the opportunity to spend much time with Thinkpads before, and the build quality on these is insane!

# ¿ May 4, 2018 11:42

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

TotalLossBrain posted:

Were they really that bad? My parents had a bunch of Opels in the 90's and I don't remember too much trouble with them - but I was a kid so what do I know. I think they had a couple Kadetts, a Vectra, and an Omega throughout that decade.

They weren't bad, they were cheap and simple cars. Every model line usually had a fun sporty model available with a (for Europe) big engine. They had a real serious motorsport pedigree, and performance parts were easily available. They would develop huge rust holes quickly no matter what you did, and the people who bought them were mostly senior citizens who had driven Opel all their life, or young people who wanted the sporty models. Nobody aged between 28-59 drove an opel.

And then there was the Lotus Omega.

# ¿ Aug 18, 2018 22:14

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

shovelbum posted:

Do any of you guys have a HI-MD device? I am curious as to how the mass storage/data mode on it works. I see ones that do not have line in, but that do have USB, relatively cheap on eBay because they are essentially totally useless. Wondering if I could cobble an MP3 player onto it, if it actually works as mass storage like I have heard it does.

I don't have one, but I did find a pack of 5 Hi-MD discs for $18 at a Sony store a year ago. Sold it for $145 on eBay.

# ¿ Nov 13, 2018 17:39

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

flatluigi posted:

how old is your car if you still have a cassette player in it?

2010 was the last year of tape decks in cars, in the Lexus SC430.

# ¿ Mar 15, 2019 19:03

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

In Europe pretty much every TV since the 80s have had scart RGB inputs, while in the US the best input was S-video, with component inputs on very high-end models. That's why console modding, upscalers and PVMs are such a big deal over there, while here I just need a �20 scart cable, and I'm all set with something that will cost hundreds of dollars on the other side of the Atlantic.

# ¿ May 20, 2019 16:38

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Bought some shirts from a travelling Thai tailor last year, and he used an imprinter to take my credit card and signature. It was the only way he could charge me since the shirts would be made at a later date, and he wouldn't take payment until they were done.

# ¿ Jun 26, 2019 16:55

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Humphreys posted:

I have a bridge to sell

A few weeks later I got nice tailored shirts delivered and my card was charged correctly. I wish more people would fool me like this.

# ¿ Jun 27, 2019 16:21

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

I collect old hifi and stereo stuff. I've got tons of Walkman, tape decks, CD players, minidisc stuff etc etc etc.

Since I now live alone, I decided to class up the kitchen a bit.

# ¿ Aug 30, 2019 09:51

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Jerry Cotton posted:

Ah, the "before" picture. Where's the "after" pic without Jamie Oliver?

e: What's that on the microwave oven?

Handle for the microwave crisping pan.

# ¿ Aug 30, 2019 10:29

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Computer viking posted:

I've always liked the look of those B&O units - my grandfather used to have one, and it's that refined sort of 80's cool that never really looks outdated. How does it sound?

Sounds great, pretty much. Lots of power from those relatively small speakers, since each driver has its own amplifier. I've had a ton of B&O stuff, it always sounds good since the electronics inside them are typically top-shelf stuff from Philips or Panasonic. When they are new you pay a huge premium for the Danish design, but preowned you can get amazing deals. This system would probably have been $3,000 new in 90s money. I paid $50 for it since nobody plays CDs any more, and FM radio here has been replaced by DAB+.

# ¿ Aug 30, 2019 15:57

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

TraderStav posted:

Does it have an aux in? If so, put an echo dot behind it and bring it to the year 2019

It does indeed, I use a Chromecast Audio on it when I feel like mixing in a bit of the modern world.

# ¿ Sep 2, 2019 15:45

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

FilthyImp posted:

That wasn't for selfies. It was to show people the photo you just took (no crowding around the other side immediately after) and to let the subjects see what they looked like and adjust a bit.

The russians just turned the camera around.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2019 11:18

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Jaguars! posted:

Obsolete drawing tech I posted about in the traffic engineering thread

(A Planimeter is a device for measuring an area on a piece of paper, there's more about them in the thread)

I picked up this kit at a thrift store:

I put it up on eBay with a Buy it Now for $400, and it was gone in 10 minutes.

# ¿ Oct 8, 2019 12:02

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

There is always a Techmoan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnowLQBnE0I

# ¿ Nov 26, 2019 20:22

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

LifeSunDeath posted:

https://i.imgur.com/BfPHTLT.mp4

I found the biggest kit of these tools I've ever seen at a thrift store. It's probably in my post history in this thread.

Edit: Yep.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2020 15:00

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

twistedmentat posted:

Looking at wikipedia, it was due to their audio quality being pretty poor until the later part of the 70s. Once that was fixed, they were easier to use and less bulky than 8tracks.

I collect and restore old hifi, and it's amazing how good cassette tape can sound when played through a decent tape deck and good speakers, instead of through the cheap boomboxes and walkmen we had as teenagers. Even my parents' 40 year old tapes and my own teenage year tapes that were abused to hell and back sound great when played through a good tape deck. Non-hifi people get their mind blown when they hear it, because it's not the sound quality they expect to hear from tape at all. If you take a minute to set your record levels correct and record onto some good type II or IV tape with a good 3-head 2-capstan tape deck, it will sound almost indistinguishable from CD sound unless you know what differences to listen for.

# ¿ Apr 30, 2020 07:44

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

fanny packrat posted:

Are there any tape players you'd recommend in particular? I have a few tapes hanging out that I'd like to hear but no way of doing so. Anything I should look for at thrift stores (once they reopen)?

Really anything with a known brand name. Technics, Hitachi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Denon, Onkyo, Sony. Hifi separates are preferable to portables/boomboxes. Just open the tape door and check that the tape head isn't rusted. Give it a decent cleaning, new belts on eBay are usually $10-15, and a drop of sewing machine oil in the motor takes away most vibrations and noises. I've turned tons of thrift store decks into $150-200 decks with new belts and half an hour of cleaning.

# ¿ Apr 30, 2020 13:42

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Moo the cow posted:

I deleted a whole folder of them off an old HDD literally 2 months ago on the grounds of what the hell was I keeping them for?

What are you going to do with your freed up 27k?

# ¿ May 22, 2020 19:30

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Shibawanko posted:

the wii is the only console i have absolutely no interesting in owning. id pick up a wii u if i saw it in a thrift store or something but a wii? nah itd just get in the way

If you're interested in retro gaming on CRT tvs, it's an absolutely amazing device and does 240p in hardware.

# ¿ May 28, 2020 14:28

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Shibawanko posted:

im in europe so its all scart all the time, maybe thats why the wii was never on my radar since i can just make my gamecube output to scart rgb

Get a wii, a scart cable from retrogamingcables.co.uk, use modmii to softmod the wii, fill it up with emulators and roms, and enjoy never seeing sunlight again!

# ¿ May 28, 2020 16:56

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Just softmod your xbox (like you should have already done with your wii), and switching between PAL and NTSC high-res modes can be done in seconds.

# ¿ May 29, 2020 09:14

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Humphreys posted:

After-market transponder keyfobs circa early 2000s.

This is the IDEA but not what I had

They had a two-way function so when someone tried a door or the alarm went off it would send a signal back to the fob over RF if you were close enough

I remember having one similar to this installed in my kicking rad Toyota Sera:

I felt like a loving wizard when I made the central lock in my BMW E36 wireless with a $30 ebay kit. I had to dig through tons of variants of the same kit to find one where the fobs looked neutral enough to not look like the keys to a combined disco/BDSM club

# ¿ Jul 10, 2020 13:53

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Business laptops are still field serviceable by the lowest bidding computer janitor in the county. Buy those.

# ¿ Jul 11, 2020 16:24

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Wasn't that ShowView codes in Europe?

# ¿ Aug 13, 2020 17:10

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Humphreys posted:

I'm sorry that you are all wrong. Those are good movies.

But don't you see, they are having fun WRONG!

# ¿ Sep 8, 2020 20:43

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

Sweevo posted:

I wonder if in the entire life of the Zune if anyone ever used a Zune outside of a product demo or review.

I bought a Zune HD and loved it for many years, and the Zune software was my MP3 player on my PC for many years as well. Still have the HD and turn it on once in a while just to check that it still works.

# ¿ Sep 26, 2020 10:01

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

I just sold off five full-size tape decks to make some space in the apartment, but my portables aren't going anywhere!

# ¿ Nov 12, 2020 09:21

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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 11:27

evobatman: Jul 30, 2006; it means nothing, but says everything!; Pillbug

We were discussing portable audio in another thread, so I decided to show off a little of my collection:

High res: https://imgur.com/a/jaV9bkp

# ¿ Mar 17, 2021 13:11

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