Subj : Re: 2017/2018 PC to modernize it.
To   : esc
From : poindexter FORTRAN
Date : Tue Dec 13 2022 06:47:00

-=> esc wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

 es> On the one hand I agree with you but on the other hand, having hardware
 es> Voodoo cards, hardware GUS cards, hardware MT32 (and other midi
 es> devices), etc., with a real CRT VGA monitor, is an entirely different
 es> experience.

 es> I /don't/ claim that it's worth the expense. But man, it's fun, and
 es> hobbies by nature aren't typically smart financial decisions. :)

Oh, I wholeheartedly agree. I worked in a game company back in the '90s, and 
we were all in on hardware. Luckily, the company paid for hardware and game 
playing was encouraged.  :)


 pF> I think if I went retro, I'd get an old SUN box.

 es> We used Sun boxes at the government for a bit and I never really
 es> understood why some people are interested. What would an old SUN box do
 es> for you? Serious question?

Nostalgia. The hardware is beautiful to me, the SUN type 5 keyboard is one 
of the best ever made, and my first *nix gig was supporting SUN hardware in 
my server room. I had a Sparc II at my desk at the time with a huge (at the 
time) 19" monitor. While Windows and Mac were barely multitasking, Solaris 
was able to run most of my infrastructure on a couple of boxes.

 es> It's like the nextcubes and stuff, they're so expensive, and I don't
 es> even know what they would bring to the table. I would love to better
 es> understand this.

The NeXT (hope I got the capitalization right) had display postscript when 
everyone else had jaggedy screen letters, keyboards and mice that felt 
luxurious by comparison to the cheap PC keyboards of the time, and tools to 
create apps quickly, if memory serves.

Those FM Towns systems you mention are interesting. I think I saw a table of 
those at the Vintage Computer Fair this year.


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