Do you still use obsolete hardware?

[styckx]

So, I'm curious. Anyone still use hardware deemed obsolete?

Examples

Tape Drives, Zip Drives, Floppy disks, serial port items etc?

[Suspect Chin]

I had a customer call me today that is still using one of our systems from 2000 that requires 100 MB Zip Disks. Of course, my company made them obsolete a few years ago so I couldn't sell her any directly. I called everywhere in town but no one carries them locally either. Ended up telling her just to format and keep using the same ones.

[Fez4PrezN2008]

I still have obsolete tech - palm III, old pentium cpu's, 2 old Toshiba lappys. I just can't bear to get rid of something that still works... It must be a sickness. I would give my left nut for my dad's original TRS-80 though.

That reminds me, I have a shit load of old family pics on 3.5" floppys in the garage. I may have to install a drive in an empty port and copy them.

[Sinestro]

Wrist watch

[Space Edge]

I work as a Lighting Designer / Programer / roadie and the one lighting console I use the most to program cues, scenes and stacks and all sorts of lighting crap saves via Floppy. They do have USB capabilities to save but it's very unreliable. It crashes constantly and I have learned the hard way a few times by loosing days and days worth of work. The console also has serial ports

http://www.actlighting.com/MAlighting/Images/grandMA-full-size_sm.jpg
You can see the floppy drive on the left side of the board.

I have a stack of floppy disks and external floppy drive so I can program on my laptop using a emulator save it and transfer it over to the console.

[biggirl]

When we bought a computer awhile ago, I was devastated that there was not a floppy disk drive, I made my husband buy an external one.

[Sinestro]

Turntable for my mixer

[Suspect Chin]

Turntable for my mixer

I wouldn't consider a turntable obsolete. In fact, they seem to be making a resurgence. I saw recent release albums on record for sell at Best Buy today.

[boosterp]

I have boxes of computer parts dating back to 1995 in storage that I need to go though some day and make old computers.

I may sell them to senior citizens who want to surf the net.

[Devo37]

i still have a VCR connected to my tv, though i haven't used it in quite a long time.

i also found my original Palm Pilot in a junk drawer a few months ago. i was playing around with it for a while.

[PapaBear]

i still have a VCR connected to my tv, though i haven't used it in quite a long time.

i also found my original Palm Pilot in a junk drawer a few months ago. i was playing around with it for a while.


I use my VCR almost every day. I'm not paying for Tivo as long as this sucker works.

[TooLowBrow]

I use my VCR almost every day. I'm not paying for Tivo as long as this sucker works.

i miss my vcr

it had a 30 second fast forward button that was perfect for commercials
5 or 6 pushes would get me back into my show


i never get the fast forward on the dvr correct

i always zoom right into the show about a minute in

[PapaBear]

I'm going to be sad when mine dies. It's almost impossible to get a new one that has a TV tuner built in. And tapes are almost impossible to get, too.

[Devo37]

I use my VCR almost every day. I'm not paying for Tivo as long as this sucker works.

yeah, that's one of the reasons i kept mine. now i just watch stuff online if i can't watch it live. F you, DVR!

[Judge Smails]

About two months ago I hooked up my old Colecovision ADAM Computer from 1983 in my son's room. He gets a kick out of playing the old games and just for the hell of it typed up one of his school assignments on it. Let's see one of you guys beat 1983 for old hardware.

http://www.digibarn.com/collections/systems/coleco-adam/CIMG3282.JPG

[TooLowBrow]

About two months ago I hooked up my old Colecovision ADAM Computer from 1983 in my son's room. He gets a kick out of playing the old games and just for the hell of it typed up one of his school assignments on it. Let's see one of you guys beat 1983 for old hardware.

http://www.digibarn.com/collections/systems/coleco-adam/CIMG3282.JPG

the teacher mustve loved the dot matrix printing

[Judge Smails]

the teacher mustve loved the dot matrix printing

Nope. It's got a Daisy Wheel printer. Little 1983 Judge Smails was on the cutting edge of technology.

http://oldcomputers.net/pics/daisy2.jpg

[boosterp]

About two months ago I hooked up my old Colecovision ADAM Computer from 1983 in my son's room. He gets a kick out of playing the old games and just for the hell of it typed up one of his school assignments on it. Let's see one of you guys beat 1983 for old hardware.

http://www.digibarn.com/collections/systems/coleco-adam/CIMG3282.JPG

Nope. It's got a Daisy Wheel printer. Little 1983 Judge Smails was on the cutting edge of technology.

http://oldcomputers.net/pics/daisy2.jpg

Wow and double wow! In 1983 I still did not know what jerking off was.

[tanless1]

I work as a Lighting Designer / Programer / roadie and the one lighting console I use the most to program cues, scenes and stacks and all sorts of lighting crap saves via Floppy. They do have USB capabilities to save but it's very unreliable. It crashes constantly and I have learned the hard way a few times by loosing days and days worth of work. The console also has serial ports

You can see the floppy drive on the left side of the board.

I have a stack of floppy disks and external floppy drive so I can program on my laptop using a emulator save it and transfer it over to the console.

thats high tech compared to the ole color trac we were using back in '85

[tanless1]

I'm going to be sad when mine dies. It's almost impossible to get a new one that has a TV tuner built in. And tapes are almost impossible to get, too.

dont you worry none. you can still buy 8track players new; if you look.

[silks]

Posting with this thing is a bitch...

http://potatoeskillme.com/comphistory/imgs/1944_harvard_markI_large.jpg

[instrument]

i miss my vcr

it had a 30 second fast forward button that was perfect for commercials
5 or 6 pushes would get me back into my show


i never get the fast forward on the dvr correct

i always zoom right into the show about a minute in

direct tv's dvr's have 30 second ff's my friend, its great finding what number a show is, and instinctively hitting it 3 or 4 times to miss each commercial.

[instrument]

I have boxes of computer parts dating back to 1995 in storage that I need to go though some day and make old computers.

I may sell them to senior citizens who want to surf the net.

computer parts from 1995 are pretty much unusable for the net, and don't donate that shit to a school, its just giving them garbage to recycle.

[Melk]

I have a Packard Bell 486SX with a Reveal Voicemail System attachment that I use in lieu of an answer machine and it is fantastic for doing wav editing, playback and real-time voice manipulation (robot voice). It is like having one of Opie and Anthony's "Instant Replay" machines when making a phone call. Sure, the sound is only 16-bit, but when talking on the phone, nobody notices the quality loss.

I have an Epson ActionLaser 1400 Laser Printer that I keep because the cartridges last an insane amount of time. I have been able to print over 5,000 pages without replacing the toner (I have an Inkjet printer for photos and color layouts).

I use my Palm TX (according to Palm it is obsolete) for studying Japanese and Korean and for accessing Ronfez.net or XM-online when I am to impatient to turn on my PC.

[Kublakhan61]

I wouldn't consider a turntable obsolete. In fact, they seem to be making a resurgence. I saw recent release albums on record for sell at Best Buy today.

Yikes - I'm replacing my MK2 next week. Nothing outdated about turntables. The digital revolution has highlighted the superior sound quality and longevity of the LP. CDs rot, mp3s corrupt, tapes wear, and 8-tracks were rubbish. LP's live forever!

[drjoek]

I still use a zip drive to do tape backup of my office software to shuttle between offices its the simplest foolproof method

[Caseyelan]

Yikes - I'm replacing my MK2 next week. Nothing outdated about turntables. The digital revolution has highlighted the superior sound quality and longevity of the LP. CDs rot, mp3s corrupt, tapes wear, and 8-tracks were rubbish. LP's live forever!

AMEN!

[silks]

The sound quality you get from vinyl is unmatched. It has a richness, warmth, and depth that cannot seem to be duplicated by any other format.

Not to mention, the album cover art was so much a part of the experience. What is cooler than a nice big gatefold cover? Nowadays, in most cases, the artwork is just an afterthought.

[TooLowBrow]

direct tv's dvr's have 30 second ff's my friend, its great finding what number a show is, and instinctively hitting it 3 or 4 times to miss each commercial.

i want that!

i hate cablevision

[boosterp]

The sound quality you get from vinyl is unmatched. It has a richness, warmth, and depth that cannot seem to be duplicated by any other format.

Not to mention, the album cover art was so much a part of the experience. What is cooler than a nice big gatefold cover? Nowadays, in most cases, the artwork is just an afterthought.

And the smell, I miss my albums.

[underdog]

direct tv's dvr's have 30 second ff's my friend, its great finding what number a show is, and instinctively hitting it 3 or 4 times to miss each commercial.

tivo has that, too, but its not setup right away. You have to put a code in to get it.