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A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB

liliputing.com

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Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB

#51

Post by chihuahua »

inconceivable wrote: post #32
wang_li wrote: post #7

As a nerd of a certain age I’ve been deeply attracted to retro computing. Even going so far as to place bids on 30 year old Atari STs on eBay since that was a computer I had in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. But in recent days, through the use of modern emulators I’ve dabbled in these retro systems and I’ve come to the conclusion that they’re just bad. They are fine for the enjoyment of certain games and reliving or just…

nearly all of the old stuff just sucked. there's a reason we threw it all away (for the most part) and have turned to emulation. the new low power SoC systems with actual connectivity are much more interesting... probably why they can barely keep the stuff in stock. as a bonus, they can run emulation just fine. old, and new, in one package.

I feel the same way about computers of the 70s, 80s, and early 90s. I owned several of them, used them a lot (mostly programming for fun), and much of the experience just sucked. I do not understand the appeal of retrocomputing. But I'm happy that there are a lot of options for people who like that sort of thing.

Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB

#53

Post by jazzyjackson »

Hextinium wrote: post #44
jazzyjackson wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

lol, not a bad price, what excites you about it tho?

Altoids tins are pretty strong, small enough to be handy and cheap. This makes them the ideal container for a lot of small electronics projects, but a pi doesn't quite fit. I see it as a perfect small electronics container which you can pull out and use on the go.

hmmm gives me an idea, thanks

back in high schools I had a zen micro mp3 player that fit snugly inside an altoids tin, drilled a hole for the headphone jack and felt pretty stylish.

Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB

#56

Post by adamquek »

codpiece wrote: post #4

I really hate Liliputing. After browsing, I somehow have several tiny laptops that I don't need but truly love like the Magic Ben MAG1 and the Pomera DM30. And Jetpens. I hate Jetpens too. I can't believe how many...

I would love to see a list of all the websites you hate.

Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB

#57

Post by hilbert42 »

chihuahua wrote: post #51
inconceivable wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

nearly all of the old stuff just sucked. there's a reason we threw it all away (for the most part) and have turned to emulation. the new low power SoC systems with actual connectivity are much more interesting... probably why they can barely keep the stuff in stock. as a bonus, they can run emulation just fine. old, and new, in one package.

I feel the same way about computers of the 70s, 80s, and early 90s. I owned several of them, used them a lot (mostly programming for fun), and much of the experience just sucked. I do not understand the appeal of retrocomputing. But I'm happy that there are a lot of options for people who like that sort of thing.

"I do not understand the appeal of retrocomputing."

But at least one knew what was going on. If one didn't then one could probe the hardware with a logic analyzer and an oscilloscope. Try that today and see how far you get.

Mind you, the 8088 was a dog of a processor, too little too late and far tooooo slow (nobbling the 8086 was a dumb retrograde idea).

Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB

#58

Post by userbinator »

jazzyjackson wrote: post #37

Do they still manufacture 8088 ? Or perhaps someone found some new old stock and got entrepreneurial; I'd love to know the story behind this

Yes, at least the military version appears to still be in active production, but not cheap: https://www.rocelec.com/part/HARMD80C88-2-883

The 8087 too: https://www.rocelec.com/part/REILD8087

I suspect the ones in this laptop are either NOS or recycled, however.

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