Subj : I remember when: 10MB hdd
To   : Rob Mccart
From : August Abolins
Date : Mon Mar 29 2021 17:52:00

Hello Rob Mccart!

** On Monday 29.03.21 - 00:26, Rob Mccart wrote to AUGUST ABOLINS:

 RM>> ..It also wasn't until a few years after I got here that,
 RM>> on local calls, we had to dial more than 4 digits. These
 RM>> days a local call requires 10 digits..

 AA>> Just 4 digits?  I thought it was a minimum 7 digits since the
 >> 50's everywhere in Ontario.


 RM> Likely the Bell box my phone was (and is) attached to was at least that
 RM> old but I guess the network finally outgrew the 4 digit dialing, then
 RM> later outgrew the 7 digit.

 AA>> I used an external Jumbo 250 tape system for backups.  A 100MB
 >> tape seemed to take a long time to back up a modest 30MB drive.

 RM> I never got around to trying out tape backups. The first back-ups I got
 RM> into, I paid a small fortune for a CD Burner and about $10 each for blank
 RM> disks. Recently I paid $9.99 for 50 blank DVD disks..    B)

 AA>> I think I gave up on the external unit after a while, but I
 >> still have a brand new internal model (still sealed and shrink-
 >> wrapped) and a bunch of tapes - some used, and some completely
 >> new.

 RM> It sounds like you may have the same 'problem' I have. I tend to buy
 RM> extras of a lot of hardware (and blank disks) in case I need them.

wrt the tapes, I only bought as many I needed to do 3 full  
backups up for the two pcs that I had in the house (one that my  
mom was using for biz, fidonet, internet), and my own (for the  
bbs and everything else).  I thought that the portability of the  
backup tape machine was all that I needed. Eventually, I decided  
that an internal unit for the one of pcs would be convenient -  
but that project never completed for some reason.

Whenever there was a sale on diskettes in the brand that I  
liked, I bought some more.  But eventually I stopped when I  
didn't need to copy from pc to pc as much.

Infact I went through a sort of purge many years ago of at least  
a cubic foot of diskettes:

  http://kolico.ca/fidonet/echos/win95/#diskettes

 RM> I have things like Windows 98 era motherboards that are
 RM> brand new, and cost quite a bit at the time, but will
 RM> likely never be used now.

I have a brand new mobo: GA-586T2 PCI-ISA BUS by Gigabyte. It  
was intended for a self-made upgrade.. but I never got around to  
it.  It has all the parts and ribbons, sans CPU.  Breaks my  
heart to throw that out. eventually.

 RM> New keyboards they don't even
 RM> make adapters to USB for anymore,

I think you can still find PC to USB adapters.

 RM> not to mention drawers and boxes full of modems...

I have a modest line up of modems that I stopped using. Most  
still work. But considering that a storm could easily wipe out a  
modem, I tended to buy another one as a spare, just in case.   
And now I have a mix of Winmodems, external modems, and 2400kbps  
to 55kbps.

 RM> ...and joy sticks and memory chips and old printers and
 RM> scanners and 6 or 7 old computers (i.e. a still working
 RM> Laptop running Windows 3.1 on 2 meg of Ram). It will break
 RM> my heart but, some day, I'm going to have to 'clean
 RM> house'..

Maybe there is a computer museum in your area that would be  
happy to do something with all that.

I have a Logitech Kidz Mouse that actually looks like a little  
mouse.  The last time I checked on eBay, people were asking  
$100+ for one of those.
--
  ../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.49
 * Origin: (} Pointy McPointface (618:250/1.9)

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