TomFeb 12
diana 🏳️‍⚧️🦋🌱

Decades ago, we had to manually assign interrupt addresses for external hardware to get internet.

#RetroComputing

Feb 11 at 10:28pmWeb
Show threadJens FinkhäuserFeb 11

@dianea this picture is totally unrealistic!

Computers are well known not to run without at least a cm of sticky fluff buildup on every surface.

Show threadLisPiFeb 13
@jens @dianea I think that only happens if you smoke indoors?

(Cooking fats/oils that aren't vented adequately also do that, yes.)
Show threadJens FinkhäuserFeb 14
@dianea @lispi314 Nicotine makes it worse, sure, but you can still see fluff without it.
Show threadLisPiFeb 14

@jens @dianea Ah yes, though thankfully it doesn't get sticky.

It makes all the difference when one can just use an electric duster to clear it out without anything more complicated (do that while wearing a respirator either outside or inside with an air purifier working, that amount of fine dust in the air is not good to breathe).

Show threadJens FinkhäuserFeb 14

@dianea @lispi314 Yeah.

I used to work in a computer shop back around the turn of the century, sadly pre-smartphone times, or I would definitely have taken pictures of the odd computer insides.

I am still impressed with one computer that came in for servicing because it "just stops working after a while". The nicotine yellow case should have warned me, but I still wasn't prepared for what I saw.

The *entire* case was full of fluff, no space left. The CPU fan couldn't turn, and even if...

Show threadJens FinkhäuserFeb 14

@dianea @lispi314 ... it could have, there wouldn't have been air to push around.

A hoover "repaired" it.

Still, I'm kind of impressed with the engineering, though. It's is a lot of abuse that this machine endured.

I'm so impressed, I still recall the company of the client. Their business was related to computers...

Show threadJens FinkhäuserFeb 14
@dianea @lispi314 Stories like this make me feel like Old Man Jens recounts stories from the dawn of the Cyber Age to the young'uns.
Show threadBrian EnigmaFeb 12
@dianea IRQ Conflict. Time to shuffle around a few jumpers.
Show threadAnkh-Morpork Parks and Rec 🌱Feb 12
@BrianEnigma @dianea IRQ 3 baby!
Show threadMichał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦Feb 12
@dianea and we had to do it against wind and uphill, both ways!
Show threadNymnympseudonymFeb 12
@dianea This was around the time I noticed that the Unix implementations were generally solid ... and winsock was a steaming broken pile of optimism-coding (closest they could come to vibecoding without genAI)
Show threadLockpick ExtremeFeb 12
@dianea
Show threadjbaggsFeb 12

@dianea "Vintage computer"

Laughs into the void

Show threadEric BrombaughFeb 12
@dianea The alt text on that image "inside of a vintage computer" has me crumbling to dust.
Show threadNuclear OatmealFeb 12

@dianea

Don't forget having to scream our own connection.

Show thread狐ヴィクシーFeb 12
@dianea This is how dial up worked.
Show threadbstowFeb 12
@dianea all of my 8250 UARTS were upgraded to 16550AFN and if you think you are going to steal their IRQs, you are going to end up on the table at the next swap meet, Mr Random POS expansion card
Show threadnotanowlFeb 12
@dianea def reminds me of the old red queen build
Show threadHarald Hannelius Feb 12
@dianea i/o, dma, irq
Show threadStéphane Charette 🇨🇦Feb 12
@dianea She was also the one who would pick if the printer and SB card would attempt to share IRQ7 and cause conflicts, or be more reasonable and kick the SB to IRQ5.
Show threadAleksandr KoltsoffFeb 12
@dianea Until ISA PNP which somehow managed to make things worse (at least I always thought so, grumble grumble).
Show thread*sigh*Ber nardFeb 12

@dianea In some way this looks like an old ATX / mATX housing... PSU top-left, 5.25" and 3.5" disk cages top-right.
And what looks like a flat (IDE) cable to boot.

edit: Because it is ​ Nice one though!

Show threadbl4z3rFeb 12
@dianea love that picture. Where did you get it?
Show threaddiana 🏳️‍⚧️🦋🌱Feb 12

@bl4z3r

Old meme archive from 15 years ago

Show threadWalrus 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿Feb 12

@dianea

Not the first time it has happened - I click to open, and the connection is refused.

Show threadCodey McCodefaceFeb 12
@dianea “IP address, puh-lee-uz”