Wow! Has it been a year already? Well, as I said, this is not my day job. It's just a hobby. Guess I've been too busy with my hearth business to keep up with this Old Computers blog. But I have been working in my lab and having some fun resurrecting some old computers. My most recent project was to see if i could get Linux to run on some old Pentium 1 systems. I wanted to see how low I could go.

I will be following up with more on that project in another post. For now I'll just say that I am continuing this learning project and I am getting closer to producing some pictures and videos to help document my collection. I am not naturally comfortable with video creation so it is taking me some time to learn how this technology works. But I am now working through some you-tube tutorials and practicing so I can learn how to make decent you-tube videos.

I've started by taking pictures of my project to put Linux on an old Pentium 150 laptop. I am using that project as my learning tool and hope to have a nice video done to share here. As it turns out it is possible to put a modern Linux on that machine but it is best as a Text Only system. There are several good console programs that are useful. But for a graphical user interface it is better on Windows 98. At least it is for me, a Linux hobbyist. I'm not a Linux expert so my results with such old equipment is not really what I would call a usable system. But as an experiment it is fun. And I am multi-booting using DOS 5, Windows 98SE, and Linux (in Debian and Slackware flavors).

My goal for this blog is be able to contribute to the historical documentation of computers from my generation. I once thought I could help connect people with less means to less-expensive used computers. But computer technology has changed so much in recent years that it is no longer practical to use an old used computer for general home or small office computing. For general home use it now makes more sense to buy an inexpensive laptop and wifi printer. For small business use it makes sense to spend a little more for a current desktop computer and a shared wifi printer.

Old computers can still be useful though in some situations. My own situation is one such example. I am glad to explore the historical value and capabilities of old computers as a hobby and pass that knowledge on to the community. Other examples of situations where old computers can be useful are as as backup systems, as file servers, or job-specific devices, such as streaming music for an office. There are also several applications where old computers are still being used as controllers for old purpose-built tools and machines.

Retro gaming is also an excellent application for old computers. Many old computer games run best when running on the hardware that was current when the game was produced. Simulation or emulation is not always the best experience for certain segments of the gamer's community. To be able to get their hands on original equipment can make all the difference to their ultimate experience.

Okay, that's all for now. I'll try to catch up and post more to this blog in the coming months. Until then, remember, you will soon own an "old computer".