I need similar but with at least 386, VGA and a soundcard. For to use this gem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FastTracker_2
I think that one ran out of stock: https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005537582724.html
A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB
121–130 of 214 posts
Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB
#1228088 chip does not include FPU, does this laptop has one, otherwise it is going to be very slow.
There is a slot for an optional one, but as others have pointed out - software for the 8088 which used FP were few and far between.
Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB
#123I just checked, and you can buy a new Intel 8086 on digikey right now: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/rochester-electro... The product is not even marked obsolete.
I’m very sure 8086s are still used in Avionics suites for most commercial planes (FMS/MCDUs) as it costs way too much to recertify constantly.
Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB
#124Earlier 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.
One thing that didn't suck that we threw away was 4:3 screens though. And chunky plastic builds with easily user-replaceable parts. And nice full 7 row keyboards that felt good to type on. And rounded laptop edges so it doesn't kill your wrists. And ports, lots of ports.
> 4:3 screens
The 16:9 craze drives me mad: it's jack of all trades master of none, compromise every other way. Maybe nice to watch TV shows, not really good to watch movies, not tall enough for a single screen, not wide enough to 50:50 split left/right (each side is too narrow). Putting two side by side makes you face the bezels, and constant-tilt your head either left or right when you focus. Three side by side is way too wide. Probably why some folks put three but have the two outmost ones be vertical. Which brings me to 9:16 which is way too thin AND tall.
A triple head 4:3 setup was terrible for movies, but reaaaally nice for a battlestation. Maybe 5:4 would have been quite something but I never experienced that.
I do like the Ultrawide things though, 2.4:1 feels like two 4:3, only continuous, no bezel in the middle. 3.5:1 is technically about two 16:9 but feels like triple head 4:3. They're especially comfortable when curved, but damn, none are HiDPI, which kind of ruins it. And of course that's kind of a no-go for laptops (or maybe not, but I bet the manufacturer attempting that would somehow botch the execution)
Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB
#125Why so small? 24cm width wtf? Why not a full sized laptop? Screen will be basically invisible, size of a typical smartphone screen. Also 16:9 screen ratio will definitely work poorly with almost all nontrivial DOS apps.
Because that's what they had on hand (at the right price) to get rid of all that old hardware, I suspect.
Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB
#126Does it run 8088 MPH?
https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=65371
Since it is presumably real hardware, it should, but it isn't a CRT, so the NTSC color bleeding trick to get extra colors may not work.
Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
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).
Yeah, using an 8088 in this thing seems dumb. My first thought when seeing this was: put a 386 or 486 with VGA in this and I would buy one. This would be instantly useful for retrogaming. 8088 with CGA, not so much (for me at least).
Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB
#128Earlier 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.
One thing that didn't suck that we threw away was 4:3 screens though. And chunky plastic builds with easily user-replaceable parts. And nice full 7 row keyboards that felt good to type on. And rounded laptop edges so it doesn't kill your wrists. And ports, lots of ports.
Agreed!
In my experience, a big enough 16:9 display also works as a 4:3 in practice – a 55” 4K OLED TV is great for this. It’s like a 2880 × 2160 4:3 display… with three little 960x720 4:3 displays next to it, heh. Window managers can enforce the split. It’s nice!
Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB
#129Re: A $200 mini-laptop with a Intel 8088 chip and 640KB
#130I would like to have a modern version of 8088 with ability to consume few μW under full load and 100% compatibility with regular version.