Was this in TNT magazine last week. It was about IT graduates and new computer technology. Thought it very apt for the QotW.


PS2 mouse and keyboard plugs
Coax network adapter
LPT printer cable
No USB ports
Hot to cold cable



To list a few. That computer must be about 12-15 years old. I love unexamined stock photos.
( riverghost servicing your mum since, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 11:19, 9 replies)

BNC/10baset
It's also got a 10baset connector - see the network cable exiting stage left on the same card as the BNC.

ATX was developed in 1995, so it's before ATX hit.
Which would put it probably before 97, if it's a new PC, with no legacy.

USB was around in 98, but not on most motherboards, which agrees.

There is no switch on the PSU, so it's probably after 1992ish? Which is when they went away.

The case looks cheap and lightweight, which would agree with ~96/98.

I suspect 97, so 14 years?
(speedevil, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 17:00, closed)

yup the soundcard in the bottom isa slot dates it.. above it is a parallel printer port & serial breakout, then the token ring network adapter, then a nice scsi port ooh 5mb tx, then a separate parallel port (I presume this is actually a scanner, as you'd have to allocate a separate irq channel), and then the graphics adapter.

My 386 heritage includes an ibm xt, amstrad 1640 & Olivetti 486dxi which I bought from radio rentals (remember them?) on finance that probably pisses all over the repayments of a student loan these days. The Olivetti, atypical of many items of italian origin was exceptionally produced and I can still place the exact time and place that this pc went to the great scrap dealler in the sky) maps.google.co.uk/maps?&ll=51.598482,0.042319&spn=0.00066,0.001277&t=h&z=20
( rwbthatisme is on holiday this week, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 22:51, closed)

It's almost like this board is full of nerds and geeks.

(Falstaff's Spiritual Successor, Sat 6 Nov 2010, 23:31, closed)

we're not nerds and geeks, we're the people who keep the whole shebang on the road whilst the more arty types whoopup twiiter, contemplate aristotle and back issues of the guardian. we don't get fixated by every new fad blowing through, just the good tech that was properly engineered and stands the test of time.

And heck if I'm a nerd then I'm proud of it because I'll have the upper hand when you come running asking to change a lightbulb.
( rwbthatisme is on holiday this week, Sun 7 Nov 2010, 0:09, closed)

Well said sir.
Now, back to making a roll-your-own cli debian distro on a usb key that I'll be booting on a box with sli & 2 monitors.
EDIT: I like the pic cause EVERYONE loves a geek stuck uncomfortably under a desk. Everyone.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Sun 7 Nov 2010, 6:06, closed)

Yeah...but you're also nerds and geeks.
Anyway, I'm only jealous cause I'm seeing my humble pretensions to nerdery being blown clean out the water over and over again here.
(Falstaff's Spiritual Successor, Sun 7 Nov 2010, 10:39, closed)

There's USB ports, or at least spaces for them, next to the PS/2 ports. Not sure why the serial and parallel ports are where the slots go when there are clearly spaces on the motherboard I/O shield though.
( idonthaveafunnynickname Drink-Aware? Sure. I'm aware I want another drink., Mon 8 Nov 2010, 2:05, closed)

yup I think you might be right, one might be plugged in, I have a feeling the photographer might have asked the tec before composing the shot, 'make sure its got lots of sockets and wires', and a tec being a tec bolted anything and everything he had.

Just been digging through my scrap box and turned up 2x iOmega 100mb Zip Disk drives & 20 odd discs, now all I need is a parallel port and I can upgrade my mac!
( rwbthatisme is on holiday this week, Tue 9 Nov 2010, 13:30, closed)

.
He has the requisite goatee for an IT professional, but his hair cut is too professional. I think he is a model.
( browser still relating boring anecdotes into a void on, Wed 10 Nov 2010, 13:51, closed)