Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mindmetoo]

SGI Work stations:

I loved most of the computers Silicon Graphics turned out during the latter part of 1990s. Back when Wintel machines were beige boxes you tucked under your desk, SGI was making things like the Indigo and Octane.

http://www.graphix.de/images/octane2_1.jpg
http://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/vr/vrscos/workspace/o2/o2.jpg


Apple IIc

The first and maybe only computer ever to be put on display as art in the Whitney:

http://www.retrobeep.com/computers/apple/appleIIc.htm


The DEC Rainbow

It doesn't look like much now but this came out during the days of the C64.

http://www.retrobeep.com/computers/dec/decRainbow100Plus.htm

The Apple Lisa

The grandmother of the Mac. It was named after Steve Jobs illegitimate daughter.

http://www.retrobeep.com/computers/apple/appleLisa.htm


The Osborne I

How could a sewing sized "portable" computer with a 5" computer monitor not be cool looking.

http://www.retrobeep.com/computers/osborne/osborne_1.htm


TRS-80 Model 100

I'm never sure why someone can't make something like this today. Small, a full sized, full travel keyboard, great for just getting your words in and doing basic text editing. Because they had a built in 300 baud modem, they were very popular with reporters. They were kicking around for decades in news rooms all over North America. You could run the things for a solid day on 4 AA batteries too.

http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org/model100/

Dig this 3D java-powered view:

http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org/3d/model100.shtml


The NeXT Work Station

After Apple, Jobs tried to recreate the magic with NeXT. It was a kind of high end graphics work station. Every thing was black plastic, including the laser printer. I think it was the first computer to not come with a floppy drive, under the assumption none of these suckers would be used stand alone. The computer failed although everyone loved the O/S. Only about 400 seemed to be made. They're as rare and geek-valued as "Revenge of the Jedi" coming-soon lobby posters. (One cool innovation of the o/s was to allow you to tear off an app's drop-down menu and stick it on the desktop to be used like a toolbar.) When Jobs returned to Apple he got them to buy NeXT. The much loved O/S (based on Unix) became, I think, Apple OS X.

http://www.blackholeinc.com/images/set1/cubeebay.jpg

The most beautiful of all The Cray YMP Super Computer

There's just something about this computer, the design, that still takes my breath away. If you're going to pay $3 million for a computer, it should not only look like you spent $3 million but it should look like it might actually require veneration.

http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/~lsmarr/photos/family%20on%20xmp.jpg
http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/~lsmarr/photos/kids%20in%20cray.jpg
http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/~lsmarr/photos/ymp.jpg

I love how in the last picture it shows the funky bench wasn't just for show but held ugly wires. Who would have thought in, like, 1983 to bury wires under a cool Ikea-like bench?

And the ugliest ever:

Apple III.

God.

http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org/apple3/

[Sage Monkey]

Scary, I've seen or used most of the "obsolete" computers in your list, even the Apple III. I must be old!

[SuperFly]

[Bulsajo]

This one reminds me of Hal 9000...




This one or Superfly's Area 51 is about my speed; anything more (see below) just looks gaudy like some geek-wannabe-pimp's bling bling machine.