Old Vs. New

Manufacturer: Apple Computer
Model: Black MacBook
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo, 2.0GHz
RAM: 1GB, PC2-5300, 667MHz, Dual Channel
HDD: 120GB SATA

I know, I know. Anything but retro. I have to show it off, though. You see, this is the first NEW computer I've personally owned since buying my NEC Versa 550D back in 1995. I usually buy used computers or accept free, used, unwanted components from people who are upgrading.

Anyhow, here it sits next to its 8-year-old brother, the G3 PowerBook.

I've had this MacBook for a week now, and I must say that I'm thoroughly impressed. Apple still "has it" for sure. This machine has an excellent fit and finish. It's relatively light weight, pretty thin, but doesn't feel cheap or chinsey at all.

I still plan on using the G3 PowerBook on occation. There's a lot of things it's still useful for, including WarDriving (the MacBook doesn't have a PCMCIA slot for my 200mW card). I'll try to keep the non-retro posts to a minimum, but I had to show it off.

WinTerm 2315 thin clients

Manufacturer: WYSE
Model: WinTerm 2315SE Thin Client
CPU: AMD ELAN
RAM: Unknown
HDD: On-board Flash
Release Date: 1999

I suppose it's time for an update?

I picked up a pair of these for $10 a few weeks ago. Initially, I got them because the guy running the counter at Surplus Exchange thought that they'd probably work with Windows Terminal Server (RDP Protocol) but it turns out that they only play nice with Citrix ICA servers.

Not all hope is lost, however. There is a PCMCIA card slot, and people have reported success booting off of a PCMCIA Flash drive. There are 2 dormant projects out there, one to get NetBSD on this model of WinTerm, the other is a Linux effort. Essentially, the ELAN is a 486 clone without a math co-processor (essentially a 486SX). The board is very tiny, and has VGA, 2 PS/2, 10Base-T, audio, parallel and 2 serial ports. The power supply is 12VDC.

I'm still not sure what I'll use them for if I can get them to boot something useable.