Liam Proven wrote:
On 22/06/07, Jim Leonard <trixter at
oldskool.org> wrote:
One of the most "common" oddball
machines you can actually still pick up
in a lot of places is the PCjr.
I've always been partial to "luggables" that include more than they
should, like the Panasonic Sr. Partner which has a printer behind the
CRT. A friend told me he used to lug that thing onto planes and through
airport terminals and lost weight doing it. The printer used a roll of
fax paper, so all of your printouts looked like faxes.
I don't think that a PC in an unusual form factor counts as genuinely
weird, different or interesting!
I don't think that unusual form factor is the only issue with a PCjr.
- Plastic case instead of metal (ok, unusual form factor)
- 'Sidecar' expansion bus (ok, unusual form factor)
- Memory expansions provide their own DRAM refresh controllers
- Cartridge slots ... never to be seen again
- Onboard video that shared memory with main
memory (first use of term VGA for Video Gate Array)
- Onboard diagnostics; no need for a diskette
- Compatible, but not compatible, by design.
- Crippled enough in BIOS and hardware to require some really cool hacks
For a computer, not too weird. For a PC from Big Blue, it's like an
acid trip.
Mike