14 Apr
2013
14 Apr
'13
7:02 p.m.
On 04/14/2013 09:26 PM, Mouse wrote:
Yeah, that's the thing! It costs a crazy amount, but it DOES still
exist. You can't just go out to your local computer shop and pick up
something like my PII. ;) My Alphaserver ES40 is insanely well built
and would've cost a pretty penny. ;) I was discussing its original
price new with my dad and he didn't believe it! (and probably still
doesn't! He's he's not used to seeing absurdly well-built
top-of-the-line stuff!)
Possibly. ;)
I was given similar lessons from my grandfather...he's actually one of
the reasons I have an interest in some of the things I do. He worked at
Western Electric/AT&T testing equipment and doing minor repairs. He's
also where I got the ability to self-teach a lot of stuff. ;) He was
trained on the job for pretty much everything he did and he's a really
really smart guy. He grew up in a completely different world and has
had time to see times change. ;) I do occasionally have to explain to
him why I like the older equipment though! He doesn't mind when I try
and explain how stuff has changed. He remembers seeings setups similar
to my DECserver 200/MC and VT420 setup when he was working, so it's
interesting to hear what he has to say when I'm telling him about my
current project!
My exceptions to that rule ARE Pentium 3/4 and systems from that
period...I just feel dirty using them and I don't trust them as far as I
can throw them. A drunk elephant trapped in quicksand that's going
senile outperforms them (respective to what they are, not when comparing
them to modern speed expectations).
Long live the Pentium II and the 440-series chipsets! (and DEC and SGI
gear and so on)
If the hardware was made past a certain year...I
don't find it worth
saving because it won't last.
That may be true of the hardware you get, but there _is_ good-quality
hardware made even today. It's hard to find, and it costs (as quality
always does), but it exists. I once saw a machine - architecturally a
peecee - which looked as though it were intended for the sort of use
where a failure doesn't just mean a truck roll, it means chartering a
small airplane and at least two or three days of a bush pilot's time,
and that's before you even _think_ about the costs of the replacement
machine and the tech who goes along to do the swap. I hate planned obsolescence with a burning
passion...
I too, though I suspect your passion on this point burns rather hotter
than mine. I don't throw things away because I don't
have a use for it [...]
Agreed. My parents were Depression-era kids, and it shows in some of
the attitudes I got from them. "Use it up, wear it out, make it do--
or do without." I just recently (three days ago) explained to someone
that taking a computer I was offering was actually doing me a favour,
because it lets me get rid of a machine without tripping my "aak!
throwing away working hardware!" issues.
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Cory Smelosky
http://gewt.net Personal stuff
http://gimme-sympathy.org Experiments