Month: November 2021

I made my partner use DOS!

Posted on by ajross

Call it a ‘social’ experiment, call it torture… whatever you like(!) but I often wonder what it would be like for people if they were made to go back to using a command line computer (in this case DOS, a 1980s era operating system that was the precursor to Windows). As I know DOS pretty well, I can’t un-learn what it’s like to use DOS, and I’m also a pretty tech-savvy person, but I wonder what it would be like for the average Joe (or Josephina) to learn a computer that isn’t driven by a GUI with its Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers…

The following video is the result of that social experiment. I’m sorry Kristina.. well.. half sorry!

New Zealand Lower North Island Vintage Computer Show and Tell 24th Oct, 2021

Posted on by ajross

A great day out here in the Lower North Island of New Zealand where owners of vintage computers got to show off their machines, talk about them and have fun.

On display was the following computers:

  • Atari: Atari 800, XEGS, 130XE and the 800XL
  • Apple Computers:The Apple Lisa, Apple IIGS
  • Oric:The Oric Atmos 48K, Oric One
  • IBM:The IBM PC Jx, 5155 PC Portable
  • Sinclair: Cambridge Z88, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, ZX Spectrum Plus, ZX Spectrum 128K, ZX Spectrum +2 and +3 (in box), Sinclair ZX80, another home-made ZX80 (in a calculator case!), a Sinclair ZX81, the new ZX Spectrum Next.
  • Commodore: PET 8096-SK, PET 8032, PET 4016, Commodore Amiga A1200HD
  • S100/Kit computers: The ‘Dream 6800’ S-100 kit computer, The MSI 6800 University Trainer machine, the SWTPC 6809
  • The rest: Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 4, Memotech MTX 512, MB Vectrex, Panasonic MSX CF2700, The Backplane Pro (s100 style modern machine).

Bonus content!

If you become a member of my channel by pressing Join, or by becoming a Patron, there is a full length version of this video with bonus content showing how great the Apple Lisa was to service, as well as the Lisa Operating System. All of the Sinclair stuff, including a UHF broadcast from a Raspberry Pi, as well as more detail on the MTX, Oric’s and more!