Computers I have owned
- Timex Sinclair ZX-81 My family owned one of these during the early 1980s. I had an audio tape drive and I remember playing chess with it. What a slow thing! In 1997 I bought the same one at a garage sale just for fun. Shortly thereafter I sold it on eBay. More pictures
- TI-99/4A This was my first true computer. Like the Sinclair, it uses a standard TV set as a monitor. I had a bunch of games for it and wrote some BASIC on it. Sold it at a yard sale. More information
- Apple LC475 Many, many years passed until I finally bought this machine in March 1994. It had a 25mhz 68LC040 processor which I later upgraded to 33mhz. Ended up with a 400MB drive and 8 MB RAM. Still own and it runs but don't use it.
- Apple iMac 333 mhz Purchased in June 1999 to replace the LC475. 333mhz G3 processor and underwent many, many upgrades. Ended up with 120GB hard and 24x CD-ROM drives and 768MB RAM. Still own this machine but am looking for a use for it or to sell it off.
- Apple dual processor G4 867 mhz. (M8787LL/A) What a sweet machine. 100GB, 120GB, 160GB and 200GB internal and 120GB & 20GB external drives. Superdrive (DVD-RW/CD-RW) - this was a custom option. 768MB RAM. 17" Dell and 19" Sylvania monitors.
- Apple 12" PowerBook G4 1.33GHz. This is a real laptop. I've got 768MB RAM, 60GB Hard Drive, CD-ROM/DVD and all the other standard features. A real awesome machine!
Computers I have had personal use of.
- Apple Mac SE - Used one of these in high school (1990-1992) to lay out the school newspaper. I had shared use in 1990-91 school year and sole use in 1991-92. We had a cable modem setup to receive news wires and stock quotes!
- Apple Mac Classic - Not much of an upgrade beyond the SE but it was a little faster. Newspaper layout went a little more quickly. These are good for Macquariums now. I had shared use of this computer in spring 1992.
- Gateway 486 computer - shared use with the SCC Treasurer while I was SCC Vice President in college (1995-6)
- Gateway Pentium II computer - Sole use of this computer while I was SCC President (1996-1998)
- Apple iBook G3 500mhz - Purchased with a grant for use at school in fall of 2001. Currently in use.
- Apple iBook G3 600mhz - Purchased by our department for use at school in fall of 2002. Currently in use.
- Apple iBook G4 1067mhz - Purchased by our department for use at school in fall of 2004. Currently in use.
My internet connection history
- I wrote and did layout for my high school newspaper while attending North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We had some sort of a wire service for news and stock quotes through the local cable provider. It was delivered to us through regular RG58 coax to a cable modem that was hooked up to our Mac SE by serial cable. It was pretty neat but wasn't quite the Internet yet.
- Shortly after I bought the LC475 in 1994 I got a 14.4Kbps modem that I used to dial up to the LHUPNet at Lock Haven University (part of SSHENet). The LHUPNet was installed in 1992 and I started classes in 1993, right during the birth of the World Wide Web. I was able to take care of text-based e-mail (PINE) and text based internet browsing. I could also access the UNIX shell at school where I could do some fun things including IRC [read about Undernet IRC]. I also used it to autoredial the phone-based scheduling system so I wouldn't have to manually redial the number. That was a sweet deal. I think I paid $125 for this modem.
- I ordered a 33.6Kbps modem in 1996 and was accidentally shipped a 56Kbps modem. Happy man! This one cost like $150 and the 56K was worth close to $250.
- When I graduated college and moved to Mountainhome, PA I continued to use the LC475 with the 56Kbps modem and the LHUPNet. It was a long distance call but I got it for free with some sort of deal with the phone company where I paid a flat fee for unlimited instate calls. This was cheaper than getting my own ISP.
- When I got my iMac in June 1999s it came with a 56Kbps modem. I got internet service through KCNet in Lock Haven ($10/month) and kept that through October 2002.
- My G4 PowerMac came with a 56Kbps modem which I continued to use with the KCNet service. In October 2002 I got cable modem service through Adelphia in Lock Haven. It was significantly more expensive than dialup but much, much faster. At first I had a four port router in my living room to split the connection to the iMac in my living room, the G4 in my office, and the laptops in the living room or office. In August 2003 I got a Belkin wireless hub for my iBook 600 which had an AirPort card and then bought another AirPort card for my G4 so I won't have to run a long wire to the office.
- When Jen and I bought our house in Williamsport we went with the Belkin wireless hub so our litter of four laptops would have wireless connectivity and our three desktops can be hardwired to the network. We have SusCom cable modem service.
- External Drives
- 2X CD-ROM drive bought in 1995
- CD Burner bought 1999?
- 120 GB External Firewire drive bought September 2002
- 20 GB LaCie External portable Firewire drive bought May 2002
- Printers
- Apple Stylewriter II (like Canon BJ-02 or something like that). Greyscale inkjet that I used from March 1994 to June 1999. Great little workhorse. I refilled cartridges like mad.
- Epson Stylus 740. Color injet printer. Uses a three color cartridge and a separate black cartridge. Used from June 1999 to present.
- HP LaserJet 1200se. Greyscale laser printer. Purchased June 2003 at Circuit City for $199 (usually $300+ but model was discontinued). Came with 8 MB RAM so I added 64 MB right away. We have the same one at school - it is very reliable.
- Scanners
- Artec 1236 USB. Works alright but black doesn't scan well. Bought this in June 1999.
- HP Perfection 1250 scanner. Great scanner. Bought February 2003.
Purchasing Computers
iPod
X-Plane
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