#vintage computer

Interesting blog on the Univac 1004, a computer from the mid 1960s that was still using plug boards to program it, like the older electromechanical accounting machines from a decade or more earlier.

Competing systems of the time were using stored memory programs loaded from magnetic tape, paper tape or magnetic disk, making this machine somewhat obsolete for its time.

Collosal Cave Adventure running on my PDP-11/23. This is running on Unix v6. The game is playable on the Hazeltine 1500 to the right.

My first minicomputer! A DEC MicroVAX 3100 with 8MB RAM. I have it running ULTRIX 4.5 Unix. I exhibited this machine at VCF PNW 2026, where I had it hosting 4 seats of CircleMUD for people to walk up and play.

The event stressed the original capacitors in the power supply, requiring replacement when I got home.

My most recent project: a 1969 Data General Nova Minicomputer. This particular unit was manufactured sometime in 1970. I received this unit without a power supply so I've been working on building up a modern replacement. I replaced all the bulbs with modern automotive bulbs. I have some custom PCBs on order to generate power good signals and a 60Hz clock signal. Very excited to get the lamps actually blinking.

1983, the year when "72K" of memory was enough to make you the coolest kid on the block. For under $200 (that asterisk is doing heavy lifting), you too could own a computer that makes your smartwatch look like the Death Star. The ad promises "color" in rainbow letters, because nothing says "serious computing" like a palette that clashes harder than your aunt's Christmas sweater. And let's not forget the "one-touch keyboard means you don't have to know typing", because the future of computing is clearly for people who don't want to learn how to use it.