About D2CA Screen Shot Gallery D2CA's Microsoft® Bob™ Exhibit Recent Additions (software) Legacy Software Catalogs Legacy Computer Hardware "Computer Artifacts" Just Say NO To Warez Is Abandonware Legal? Services Downloads Donate Site Map Links Testimonials Awards & References Privacy Policy Legal Policy Contact me D2CA News What Is Abandonware?

Welcome to Dan's 20th Century Abandonware! Dan's 20th Century Abandonware, a.k.a. "D2CA," represents my personal collection of original legacy computer software, legacy computer hardware, and related legacy computer items. More ... Dan's 20th Century Abandonware is also a source for acquiring malware-free legacy software. For more information, please visit D2CA's Services page. Archived legacy software titles (dsk, img, iso, zip): 2,959 Archived legacy software titles total volume size: 286.82GB Non-archivable software titles (original commercial media): 37 Legacy computer systems: 45 Computer software and hardware created on this day in 1989 and earlier is now considered antique! D2CA's first legacy software collection title: Carbon Copy 1.0b for Windows 3.0 added 09/16/1999. Dan's 20th Century Abandonware has been visited from 196 countries!

D2CA News

Dan's 20th Century Abandonware Will Celebrate Its 10th Anniversary In September! September 16, 2009 will mark a decade of D2CA's presence on the Web. Has it really been that long???

D2CA To Get Overhauled Screen Shot Gallery, Now Totally 1024x768 Res July 3, 2009  UPDATED An improved Screen Shot Gallery coming soon. I am in the process of upgrading D2CA's Screen Shot Gallery. The upgrade will not be live until it is completed. Screen Shot Gallery pages to be updated: DOS commercial, Macintosh commercial, Windows 1.x/2.x/3.x commercial, Windows 9x/Me commercial Current Screen Shot Gallery page I am working on: DOS shareware New Screen Shot Gallery pages I have completed: Main Screen Shot Gallery page, BeOS commercial, Commodore commercial, CP/M Commodore commercial, CP/M KAYPRO commercial, CP/M Osborne commercial, DeskMate commercial, DESQview commercial, GEM commercial, GeoWorks commercial, GeoWorks shareware, Linux commercial, Macintosh shareware, NetWare commercial, OS/2 commercial, OS/2 shareware, Windows 1.x/2.x/3.x shareware, Windows 9x/Me shareware, Windows NT/2000 commercial, Windows NT/2000 shareware Historical background. The current reduced 320 pixels-wide screen shots were originally created to save server space when D2CA originally resided on an ISP's server years ago with much less Web space. At first, I had only 10MB of space to work with. Images and screen shots quickly ate up this tiny amount of space. In those days, four to 9+ years ago, every byte of space was precious because I had so much I wanted to display on D2CA. While still on ISP servers, I later paid extra money to increase my Web space to 20MB. As my legacy software collection continued to grow, this amount of space also got eaten up quickly. In 2005, for the cost I was paying my ISP for 10MB of extra space, I was able to afford to move D2CA to its own domain on a Web hosting service with gigabytes of space. At last, my site finally had its own URL and more than enough space to grow into what I truly wanted it to be. But by the time D2CA got this room to grow, I was expanding both my legacy software collection and the site's Screen Shot Gallery in addition to adding all the other features D2CA has today. There are only so many hours in a day, and while all this expanding of D2CA was going on I did not have the time to redesign the Screen Shot Gallery the way I wanted to. So the reduced screen shots remained -- some of the originals are as old as D2CA itself. Coming along nicely. Preparing the new Screen Shot Gallery pages has gone much smoother than I originally anticipated. This has been aided by using my newest 2.83GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 x64 system which is an order of magnitude faster than my 2005 3GHz Pentium D x32 system. With the help of newer software I am able to replace many of the screen shots that previously I was only able to produce using a digital camera taking photos of computer screen displays. Many of those fuzzy photos have been replaced with crisp, software-captured images that makes the viewing and nostalgic experience much more enjoyable. Of course, some of the older software platforms such as CP/M and Commodore will still have digital photos of screen displays because there is no screen capture software for those systems. And, with the exception of the Commodore platform, I do not use emulator software to capture screen shots because it doesn't represent authentic use of this legacy software. The entire goal of D2CA's Screen Shot Gallery is to show screen shots of these legacy software titles in the same way they looked to the people that used (and still use) them. Every screen shot is taken from a program in D2CA's legacy software collection that was installed and ran in order to capture an authentic screen shot. Although the new Screen Shot Gallery is getting done faster than planned, I still have a long way to go. I still have hundreds of "exhibits" to create new screen shots for. This will take time but it is already proving to be worth the effort. So many screen shots, so little time...

May 30, 2009 WCSI News/Talk 1010 in Columbus, IN mentioned Dan's 20th Century Abandonware on their radio talk show "Computer Talk" and listed D2CA at the top of their selected list of "Web Sites of the Week" for May 30, 2009.  Thank you, WCSI!

Helping Dan's 20th Century Abandonware Grow May 12, 2009 Barry S. from MN USA donated an incredible six PDA's and accessories to Dan's 20th Century Abandonware. The PDA's include a Palm IIIc, Palm IIIx, palm m505, palm Zire 71, palm Tungsten | c, and a palmOne LifeDrive. The batteries had to be charged in 5 of the PDA's, and 2 AAA batteries installed in the Palm IIIx, but they are all fully functional. Accessories include leather PDA cases, a metal carrying case for the palm Tungsten | c, leather & plastic PDA covers, serial & USB PDA HotSync/ charging cradles, A/C power adapters, emergency PDA charging unit, a collection of PDA styluses, adapters for international power outlets in a vinyl pouch, palm OS update and application software, and manuals. These PDA's were created from 2000 to 2005, meaning D2CA will have a "21st Century" section on the legacy hardware PDA page to feature these PDA's. This will be the only category on D2CA to feature items later than 2000. Thank you, Barry!

Dan Finds Dozens of 30-Pin SIMMs At Local Thrift Store! April 18, 2009 30-pin SIMMs are hard to come by these days without paying premium prices for them on the Internet. I have older 286 and 386 PCs that use 30-pin SIMMs. I found these two packages of 30-pin SIMMs at a local thrift store -- 44 SIMMs total -- in these convenient plastic SIMM trays. The SIMMs in the upper left of the picture with 9 chips per module are 1MB. The cost for these 44 SIMMs was US$5.00.

Dan Sells Rare 1980 8" Datapoint 1800 System Disk To Son of Datapoint Corporation's Founder! March 26, 2009 In November 2008 I received a donation of over 120 8" floppy disks from a generous Utah USA gentleman. Among these disks was a very rare original commercial 1980 8" disk labeled "1800 Software System." At the time, I did not know what this title was. On March 16, 2009, a gentleman by the name of Austin Roche (name used with permission) from Texas USA contacted me, searching for this title. He explained this title is an operating system boot disk for an early 1980's personal computer system called the 1800 made by a company called Datapoint Corporation, whose original name was Computer Terminal Corporation -- the creators of the first desktop computer system. This company designed the 8008 processor for Intel. Mr. Roche then told me he is the son of the founder of CTC and had worked for this company in their R&D department. He has a complete 1800 computer system but had no system or other software to operate the system with. While searching for 1800 software, Mr. Roche came upon a link to my 1800 Software System listing in D2CA's Non-Archivable Commercial Legacy Software Titles "catalog." He then contacted me to inquire about the condition of this title and if it could be made available. His intent was to be able to pass on a complete, working 1800 system to his heirs. Having no photos of this title on D2CA at the time, I took high- resolution digital photos of this title and made them available to Mr. Roche. This title's media is in excellent condition, complete with its original Datapoint 8" protective paper sleeve. After reviewing the digital photos, Mr. Roche contacted me and said this was the title he was seeking and asked if he could purchase it. I explained to Mr. Roche that while this title's outward apperance is in excellent condition, I did not have the means to test the disk's data contents to know if the information was still readable. Mr. Roche understood and still intended to purchase the title, explaining that even associates he maintained contact with who used to have ties to Datapoint Corporation no longer had any software for these systems. An agreement was reached, and this title was sold to Mr. Roche for an undisclosed amount. Mr. Roche said he would notify me as to whether or not this title is still readable with his 1800 system. I am honored that I was able to meet a member of the family that founded one of the computer companies that made an important contribution to the computer industry and is a key part of computer history. It is an honor for me to have been able to unite one of my legacy software titles with a legacy computer system. This would not have been possible, had a generous man from Utah, Daryl C., decided to just throw away these rare pieces of computer history rather than donate them to D2CA. Thank you, Daryl, and thank you, Mr. Roche!

Rare Leading Edge 8088 PC Donated To D2CA March 4, 2009 Eric from ID, USA donated a Leading Edge Model "D" DC-2010E 8088 PC to Dan's 20th Century Abandonware. This model looks nearly identical to a Model "D" DC-2011E that was donated to D2CA last year. This model differs from the other in that it only has a 4.77MHz 8088 CPU instead of the 7.16MHz CPU in the DC-2011E. But this DC-2010E has an upgraded BIOS that supports VGA graphics and has a 256K VGA video card. An 8088 with VGA graphics! Thank you, Eric!

Helping Dan's 20th Century Abandonware Grow February 3, 2009 Cory from CA, USA made a fourth generous donation to Dan's 20th Century Abandonware, donating 1 Windows 3.1x and 9 DOS legacy software titles on their original, commercial 5¼" floppy disks. Cory also sent backup copies of these titles on 3½" floppies. The titles include: Best Seller Office Tools 2.1, ClickArt Sampler, Easy Working Desktop Publisher 1.0 for Windows, Easy Working Hard Disk Tri-Pack 1.0, Easy Working The Planner 2.10, Home Office Workstation, KEY Clipmaster 1.08, The Norton Commander 3.00, Twist & Shout 1.09, and ViruCide 2.24. Cory also donated the manual for Home Office Workstation, which is very hard to find today. Thank you, Cory!

Dan Finds 1991 ORACLE Database Development System At Local Thrift Store! February 1, 2009 ORACLE has been one of the top database development companies in the industry since the late 1970's, and today competes with computer industry heavyweights IBM, SYBASE, and others in a multi-billion US Dollar market. Today, ORACLE licenses its database software to businesses for thousands, and millions, of US Dollars, depending on how large of a deployment is implemented. This very high-end database development/application software is not pre-loaded on computers sold to home users. Incredibly, I found a complete media set of ORACLE Tools and Database 6.0 on 58 3½" 720K floppy disks at a local thrift store! The media has no read errors and I was able to successfully install the entire package onto my DFI 12MHz 286 PC (above). This version of ORACLE is made for 286 and 386 PCs. This version of ORACLE Tools and Database contains the following components: Install - DOS (installs all the following components), Required Support files - DOS, Required Support files - Windows (3.0), Utilities - DOS, Tools Utilities - DOS, Pro*C - DOS/Windows, SQL*Loader - DOS, SQL*Plus - DOS, SQL*Menu - DOS, SQL*Forms - DOS, SQL*ReportWriter - DOS, RDBMS - DOS, Client Manger - DOS This is not a "trial" version or limited-feature release. This is the full software system. I was stunned when I realized what I had found. So far, this is the highest level industrial software I have found for my legacy software collection, even over Microstation for DOS, AutoCAD 2000i for 32-bit Windows, and Windows 2000 Advanced Server. Wow!

Dan Updates "What is Abandonware?" Article January 25, 2009 Times change. Computers and software change. D2CA's "What is Abandonware?" article has been updated to reflect these changes. Much of the substance of this article was unchanged for over 9 years. Abandonware is still abandonware, but the computer industry and the way people use computers are quite different than they were nearly a decade ago. I took a different approach with the latter part of this article. Instead of touting what abandonware software is capable of doing on old computer systems, I reverse this and show how old computer systems can still be useful by using the right abandonware titles. The original article was based mainly on PC abandonware. The current article addresses different computer "platforms" such as Commodore, CP/M, Macintosh, etc. I also balance this with what people want to use computers for today. For example, not everyone is going to be able to make use of running a 1982 KAYPRO II CP/M "luggable" computer, a 1983 Commodore 64 or 8088 IBM PC. I also show a more balanced view of how the computer industry, while still dealing like car salespeople, has to take some steps to protect itself from going out of business. But don't interpret this as me going soft on the industry. I will continue to put the industry on notice as I have in telling my experiences with my own computer systems on my Dan's Personal Computer History page.

After More Than 9 Years, Dan Converts D2CA's Text Software Catalogs To PDF® January 12, 2009 It's been a long time coming, and nearly as monumental an improvement as the introduction of D2CA's CSS menu. Dan's 20th Century Abandonware's Legacy Software Catalogs have undergone a complete transformation and consolidation from ASCII text to Adobe® PDF format. Not only has the file format changed, but what used to be separate catalogs with titles listed by computer "platform" have been consolidated into the broader categories of commercial, shareware & freeware, etc. to allow the consolidation of all the computer platforms into a single catalog. Instead of having to open two text catalogs to browse D2CA's DOS and Macintosh commercial software titles, now a single PDF catalog lists all of D2CA's commercial titles. The same applies to shareware and freeware titles. Instead of 25 separate text-based legacy software catalogs, that same information has been consolidated into 5 PDF files. This will make multi-platform searches far easier and faster and these PDF files can easily be downloaded for off-line browsing. Enjoy!

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What Is Abandonware?
by Dan Rose

What is abandonware? When you think of the word "abandonware," what is the first thought that comes to mind? Pirated software? Websites offering illegal Internet downloads of copyrighted software? Copyright infringement? In spite of numerous illegal "abandonware archive" and "warez" sites doing just that on the Internet -- Dan's 20th Century Abandonware not being one of them -- the true definition of "abandonware" might surprise you. "Abandonware," the term coined by others, refers to "software titles that are no longer distributed through normal retail outlets, and have had all support 'abandoned.' " It can be any software made for any computer system. For an in-depth analysis of the legality of "abandonware" legacy software, please visit my "Is Abandonware Legal?" page. "Old" doesn't always mean "free." Abandonware does not always mean "freeware." It only means a software title's support has been "abandoned," not necessarily the author's right to prohibit free distribution. Many old commercial software titles, some dating back decades, are still under non-distributable copyright protection. Just because a software program is "old" does not always mean it is permissible to distribute copies. Even if you are not familiar with copyright laws, if caught distributing software titles that are under non- distributable copyright protection, you could end up answering to a corporate or individual's attorney. Older, but still as good as new. Abandonware is termed "obsolete" because there is newer software to run in its place. But does that make the original software any less functional? No. It still does exactly the same thing it did before it was replaced by a newer version or another program. Bring us your hard-earned cash -- again, and again, and again... The computer industry is always touting the newest, latest, and greatest computer system, operating system, application program, game, etc. They do this to keep you spending more and more money on hardware, software, and any accessory they can make you believe you "need." But the one unspoken truth they do not want you to know is this: You do not always need the newest computer hardware and software to accomplish your computing needs. Older is still good -- and far less expensive. There are PCs in the 4MHz to 1+GHz range, Macintosh, and PowerPCs, that are always becoming available at thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales, etc. and cost a fraction of the price of even the lowest end new model computer. And there is feature-rich Apple System 6/7/8, DOS, GEM, GeoWorks, OS/2, Windows 3.x, and 32-bit Windows 95/98/NT/2000 software that is also available at thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales, and on-line from Internet websites, like Dan's 20th Century Abandonware, that can be just as productive today on these "obsolete" computer systems as when it was new. There are many people who live on limited or fixed incomes that cannot afford the latest and greatest computer systems, which often necessitate the extra cost of additional new software and "accessories" to make that system productive. "Obsolete" computer systems can be purchased for very little cost, and can sometimes be acquired for free. Old "abandonware" software can also be acquired for very little cost, and sometimes for free. For a family living on a constrained budget, this could mean the difference between the children having a computer to do their schoolwork on, or having to use the school's computer lab. So why do some software companies continue to enforce non-distributable copyrights on some "obsolete" software? Short answer: To keep forcing people to purchase newer versions of their titles, e.g., to keep making money. Long answer: If all computer software over 5 years old was free to acquire and distribute, many people would use it instead of the newer software. If all software became free after becoming 5 years old, people could wait for a "new" software title to become 5 years old and acquire it for free instead of having to purchase it, and wait for newer versions of titles to become 5 years old to get free upgrades. How long would commercial and shareware software authors stay in business if this were the status quo? Right now, that feature-rich software I mentioned earlier can provide nearly as high a degree of productivity as software available today. Case in point: How many "new" features have been introduced in "office" suites in the last decade that are so revolutionary they would sway you from using an office suite of years past? How many more truly useful new features does Microsoft Office 2007 have that would make you spend upwards of US$500.00 rather than use Microsoft Office 97 which could be acquired at a thrift store, flea market, garage sale, etc. for less than US$10.00? Since the mid-1990's, word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software have had so many features that the average user only uses about 2% of them. How many features do you need to type a letter? Make a budget spreadsheet? Create a slide show presentation? Microsoft Office 4.0 for Windows 3.1x, released in 1993, has dozens of features that people today still mostly don't use in "modern" office software. The Extinction Of The Floppy Disk. - 1991: Apple stopped selling computers with 5¼" floppy drives. - 1994: PC manufacturers stopped selling computers with 5¼" floppy drives. - 1998: Apple stopped selling computers with 3½" floppy drives. - 2003: PC manufacturers stopped selling notebook computers with 3½" floppy drives. - 2003: PC manufacturers included 3½" floppy drives in desktop computers only as "add-ons." - 2004: PC manufacturers stopped selling desktop computers with 3½" floppy drives. In 2004, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates at the 2004 Windows Hardware Engineering Conference was quoted as saying, "This is the first time I can say that the floppy disk is dead. You know, we enjoyed the floppy disk. It was nice. It got smaller and smaller. But because of compatibility reasons it sort of got stuck at the 1.44 megabyte level. Carrying them around and that big physical slot in machines became a real burden." "Big physical slot"? If the floppy disk is "dead," why are so many companies still currently selling internal floppy drives? Why do motherboards continue to have floppy disk controllers and floppy BIOS support? And when computer manufacturers stopped including floppy drives in their units, why did they and other companies start offering external USB floppy drives? Long after the floppy disk was declared "dead," industrial companies continued to use software whose license "keys" still resided on floppy disks. If the computers the software was to be installed on did not have an internal floppy disk drive, an external USB floppy drive would be required to "unlock" the software or transfer a license key. But the computer would have to have floppy support for this to work. Even newer 64-bit PC operating systems such as 64-bit Windows XP and 64-bit Windows Vista still support floppy disks in systems with floppy hardware support. Some newer 64-bit PCs have eliminated the IDE bus in favor of the faster SATA -- yet still kept floppy support, an older technology that is supposed to be "dead!" The floppy disk drive was eliminated from PCs to force people to move to more "modern" media -- CD, DVD, BD, USB "flash drives," etc., leaving floppy disks to become yet another abandoned computing media. Software grew too large to be distributed on floppy disks back in the mid-1990's with the advent of larger "bloatware" titles. And while it's true that many of the files we create today are larger than a floppy disk's capacity, floppy drives could still be utilized to install and run older floppy-based software. Floppy disks and the drives that read them were forced, yes, forced into obsolescence by the computer industry to prevent people from using old floppy-based software on new computers. This forced consumers to purchase newer versions of software on newer media -- CD, DVD, Internet download, etc. This wasn't all bad, however. Floppy disks were prone to media errors and if even one disk in a series was defective it could prevent an owner from using that title. CD and DVD media, on the other hand, are a more reliable media and allow hundreds and thousands of times larger titles to be distributed on as few as one disc. If "the floppy disk is dead," why do software companies still use the image of a 3½" floppy to represent the "save" functions on toolbars and in menus? When motherboard manufacturers stop making motherboards with floppy disk controllers and floppy disk BIOS support, and computer operating systems no longer recognize or emulate floppy disk drives, then the floppy disk will truly be "dead." But how many years will people continue to use floppy drives and media on the computers that continue to support them? Even today it is still possible to purchase surplus 8", 5¼", and 3½" floppy media on the Internet . . . and they have been "dead" for how long? Right now, the only floppy disks that can truly be considered "dead" are 8" floppies. There are very few operational drives and systems left in existence to use this media. Almost no personal computer since the late 70's has hardware support for 8" floppy media. OS9, Datapoint, and CP/M are among the last operating systems that support 8" floppy media. So, yes, for all intent and purposes, 8" floppy disks are "dead." When 5¼" and 3½" media and hardware reach this level of "extinction" they can be considered "dead" as well. So, what can an "obsolete" 20th Century computer using legacy "abandonware" software really do for you today? Well, the exact same thing it did all those years ago when it was the newest cutting-edge technology. Many of their features and functions can still be productive today. Binary 0's and 1's are the same bits, whether they're traveling through an 8086 or a multi-core CPU. "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Let's turn the clock back to 1982 and take a walk down "computer lane" to see what some of these systems really can do. What you will learn might surprise you, and just might give you a new appreciation for what many call "dinosaurs" and "museum pieces." We'll stop just short of 2000 and "party like it's 1999" afterward. "Ozzie & Kay." Among the first "transportable," suitcase-sized computer systems from the early 1980's, they run an operating system that is older than DOS. It's called "CP/M." Two competing brands of these "luggable" computer systems were the Osborne and the KAYPRO. For today's computing needs, systems like these are really not practical when legacy Macintosh systems and PCs are much easier to operate. These are floppy-based systems, meaning they do not have a hard drive to store the operating system, software, or data. You must use a 5¼" CP/M system disk to boot these systems from their A: drive and then have 5¼" floppy disks of all your software plus blank 5¼" floppies to save your data on. These systems use 5¼" double-sided, double-density floppy disks, which are very hard to find today. Software for these systems is even harder to find. Still, if one of these is all you've got or all you can afford, with a little perseverence, and the right software, you can accomplish these computing tasks: Osborne: BASIC-80 -- write and run BASIC programs and play BASIC games Osborne: CP/M -- Boot the Osborne Executive for use and basic file/directory commands Osborne: dBASE II -- database Osborne: SuperCalc -- spreadsheet Osborne: WordStar -- word processing KAYPRO: BASIC-80 -- write and run BASIC programs and play BASIC games KAYPRO: CP/M -- Boot the KAYPRO II for use and basic file/directory commands KAYPRO: Perfect Filer -- database KAYPRO: Perfect Calc, ProfitPlan -- spreadsheet KAYPRO: Perfect Writer, SELECT, WordStar -- word processing There were some text-based games released for CP/M, ADVENTURE being one of the most common. With these systems there are only two ways to save data -- storing data on 5¼" floppy disks or printing hard copies. You will need a parallel printer cable connected to a dot-matrix printer for printing. The software and any data created are not compatible with other computer systems because their floppy disk data encoding formats are unique to their systems. If either of these systems break down you cannot buy new parts for them. The only way to replace parts is to cannibalize working components from other systems or locate used parts on the Internet (which came from other cannibalized systems). One advantage these systems have over desktops is portability. They carry like a piece of luggage and can be used anywhere a power outlet is available. "The Commodores." The VIC-20, Commodore 64, and Commodore 128 were among the first computer systems made specifically for home users. Introduced about the same time as the business-oriented Osborne and KAYPRO systems shown above, and at about the same time as the much more expensive IBM PC, these Commodore systems did not originally have an independent operating system. Rather, these systems "booted" to versions of a Commodore BASIC interpreter from which Commodore programs could be run and BASIC programs could be written, run, printed, and saved to external peripheral devices such as cassette and 5¼" floppy drives. These Commodore models have one relation to home video game systems of the day -- if you can't afford a Commodore computer monitor, they can use the same video adapter Atari and other video game systems use to connect these computers to a regular analog television set. These systems were slow, even by early 1980's standards. A single program could take nearly 10 minutes to load into memory before being ready to run. This made these Commodore models impractical to use for any serious computing tasks. Still, a handful of software companies tried to bring serious computing to these units. These models offered modems for telecommunication. There were software companies that offered word processor, database, accounting, graphics, and other commercial software for these Commodore models. Microsoft ported a version of their Multiplan spreadsheet to the Commodore 64. Berkeley Softworks created the GEOS graphical user interface for the Commodore 64 and 128 that turned an Atari 2600 video game joystick into a "mouse." And Digital Research, Inc. made a Commodore 128 version of their CP/M operating system, bringing the C128 as close as it could be to a serious business machine. But, like the Osborne and KAYPRO systems, the VIC-20, Commodore 64, and Commodore 128 do not have a hard drive. Users must run programs and games from ROM-based cartridges, cassette tapes, and 5¼" floppy disks. Data can only be saved to cassette tapes, 5¼" floppy disks, or printed as hard copies. Many floppy-based Commodore software titles were released on copy-protected disks, making it nearly impossible for the average user to make legal backup copies of their purchases. A few software companies introduced software to override many of the copy protection schemes used at the time, but had to keep releasing future "parameter" updates as software companies used different copy protection schemes and sometimes changed these schemes between releases of their titles. One item the Commodore 64 and 128 models had was a sophisticated music synthesizer capable of creating complex musical sequences. If the user had the programming knowledge, musical scores could be written for use in programs and games. As far as using a VIC-20, Commodore 64, or Commodore 128 computer today for serious computing tasks, you are faced with the same dilemas as with the Osborne and KAYPRO systems. Saving data is limited to audio cassettes or 5¼" floppy disks, and the data formats of the cassette and floppy media are not compatible with any other computer system. These systems are also prone to frequent program crashes and data corruption. If a component fails you can't purchase a new one. Components for these models were not made for casual repairing so for the most part they must be replaced with a working component. Although used in countries around the world, Commodore hardware and software is getting harder to find with each passing year. One very good use for VIC-20, Commodore 64, and Commodore 128 systems is education. There were several educational titles created for these models and the data saving issues don't apply for programs that teach knowledge from the screen. Commodore systems can be excellent for teaching children the basics -- the alphabet, telling time, math, spelling, reading, etc. Why spend US$1,000.00 on a new computer to teach young children the "three R's?" Another good use for these Commodore models is entertainment. There are a lot of games made for these systems and the issues of data saving don't apply. Apple Macintosh System 6/7/8. If a CP/M "luggable" computer or a Commodore 64 isn't for you, but you are really not a fan of PCs either, maybe you're one of those that "think different." A low-cost legacy Macintosh system might be just the computer you're looking for. Macintosh computers have many unique features that set them apart from other computer systems. The Macintosh operating system, or "Mac OS," has a mouse-based graphical user interface. There is no text-based command interpreter like in DOS, OS/2, and some later PC-based operating systems. And from the beginning, the Mac OS has always had long file name capability, allowing file names to have up to 31 characters and do not require a 3-character extension name separated by a period like file systems in PC-based operating systems. The Macintosh mouse, by default, has only one button. There were some third parties that created 2-button Macintosh mice, but they were the exception, not the rule. The Macintosh keyboard also has keys and functions unique only to itself, such as a power key that powers on the system rather then pressing a power button on the processor case. All Macintosh systems use 3½" floppy disks. Macintosh floppy disk drives have a motorized ejection which must be executed in the Macintosh OS by dragging a floppy disk icon to the Trash or using the system menu. The formats of Macintosh floppy disks started at 400K (single-sided), grew to 800K (double-sided, double-density), and ended up at 1.44MB (double-sided, high-density). These disk formats, even the 1.44MB, are not compatible with DOS-based 3½" floppy drives or file systems. Macintosh System 7 and later can format 3½" DS-DD disks as DOS 720K and DS-HD disks as DOS 1.44MB. This allows files made on a Macintosh to be saved on a DOS format floppy disk that can be read by PCs with 3½" floppy drives. Another feature built into Macintosh systems is a SCSI bus which allows data to transfer much faster than a PC's ISA or IDE bus. Early Macintosh systems have SCSI hard drives. Some later models have IDE drives but also have a SCSI bus for SCSI devices. There are many Macintosh System 6, System 7, and System 8 legacy "abandonware" titles that can be used on these systems. To view hundreds of these examples, check out the Macintosh section of D2CA's Commercial Legacy Software Catalog and Shareware & Freeware Legacy Software Catalog. Because by default many Macintosh systems were shipped with low amounts of memory, they were inherently slow. Later models of Macintosh PowerPCs allowed a maximum of only 128MB of memory, and often shipped with only 16MB or 32MB. The cost for Macintosh memory used to be very high, but it is inexpensive today and, if you can find the right memory for your model, you can upgrade the memory for very little cost. But be warned, it is very difficult to open some older Macintosh system cases, and it is particularly difficult to upgrade older SE models. Here are some uses these legacy Macintosh computers can still be used for today: Macintosh SE and Macintosh Classic System 6 - Productivity: These models can still be used for word processing document printing. There are several System 6-based word processor titles that can be very productive for this task. They can also be used to store contact information, and other miscellaneous tasks. - Education: The best use for one of these Macintosh systems is for teaching children with educational software. There are many good programs for teaching math, spelling, reading, and more for a very low cost. - Summary: Having a 9" monochrome screen, there are limited options for these systems. If these systems fail the only way to get parts is to cannibalize them from another working system. Even then, these systems are extremely difficult to access and repair. If the system fails it is easier to replace it with another low-cost computer system. Macintosh System 7 Legacy Computers: - Productivity: A System 7 Macintosh can run productive word processor, spreadsheet, database, etc. software. High-end System 7 PowerPCs can run "office" suites, CAD and graphics software, and much more. If equipped with a modem or Ethernet networking they can also access the Internet. - Education: Again, one of the best uses for these systems is teaching children with educational software. There are more advanced educational titles for System 7 Macs and these titles and systems can also be acquired for a low cost. - Summary: System 7 Macs have color monitors and SVGA capability and offer a better computing experience. There are different models that run Mac OS 7. If possible, try to get a PowerPC model and upgrade it to the maximum 128MB memory. Macintosh System 8 Legacy Computers: - Productivity: A System 8 Macintosh can run later versions of "office" software, graphics software, and much more. If equipped with a modem or Ethernet networking they can also access the Internet. - Education: One of the best uses for these systems is teaching children with educational software. There are dozens of educational titles for System 8 Macs and these titles and systems can be acquired for a low cost. - Games: Because of the low amounts of memory legacy Macintosh systems have, they are not the best gaming systems. While there are many game titles for the Mac, they just don't have the gameplay PCs of the same time period do. But if a Macintosh is the only system available to you, it can be made into a game system by installing games on it. - Summary: While running a more advanced version of Mac OS and software, many of these systems still have a memory limit of 128MB. If the system you get has less than 128MB of memory, upgrading it will increase performance significantly. 8088 computer systems. Did you know that in 1981 IBM introduced the 8088-based Personal Computer system, which cost a whopping US$10,000.00? Did you know that just two years later they slashed the price of their 8088 PCs to the ridculously low price of only US$7,999.99? That price bought you a system with 512K RAM, no 8087 math coprocessor, monochrome CGA monitor, and 10MB (that's megabyte) MFM hard drive. A 20MB hard drive was the largest capacity available for an IBM PC. Did you know that at that same time, in order to save almost US$3,000 many businesses and the few handfuls of people who could afford a US$5,000 computer ordered IBM PCs with dual 360K floppy drives, sacrificing the luxury of a hard drive and reducing the functionality of that system nearly to that of an Osborne or KAYPRO II system without the benefit of portability? Would you pay US$3,000 for a 10MB hard drive that was going to have anywhere from 5 to nearly 20 bad sectors when it shipped new? PC hard drive technology was new in the early 1980's, and the manufacturing process did not turn out hard drives with zero bad sectors like we get 99.9% of the time today. For years it was a given that if your PC had a hard drive it was bound to have X number of bad sectors. Today, you don't have to pay those outrageous prices for an 8088 PC. And you can still do the same things with one today that you could back when they were new, only for much less cost and possibly even for free if a system is donated to you. Many 8088 PCs have color monitors. But if you are willing to sacrifice color for portability there are a few "luggable" suitcase-sized 8088 systems such as the 1983 Compaq 101709 which even has a 30MB hard drive. While some of the very first IBM PCs ran the CP/M operating system, IBM quickly changed to the Disk Operating System, or DOS and used it as the de facto standard. 8088 IBM compatible "clone" PCs also run DOS. Unlike early 1980's proprietary computer systems whose data formats were compatible only with systems of their own kind (Osborne with Osborne, Commodore with Commodore, etc.), 8088 and later personal computers all standardized on one variant or another of DOS (PC-DOS, MS-DOS, DR-DOS, Novell DOS, etc.), all of which are compatible with each other. DOS-based data files created on an 8088 IBM PC can be read on another 8088 IBM PC, an 8088 Leading Edge PC, or any DOS-based 8088 or later PC. The DOS-based file format continues to be compatible with DOS and Windows-based PCs to this day. There are thousands of legacy "abandonware" programs that can run on 8088 PCs. These are just a sampling: - Card-making: PrintMaster, The Print Shop, The Newsroom Pro, The Printing Press - Communication: QModem, Perfect Link, IBM Personal Communications Manager - Database: dBASE III Plus, Q&A, R:BASE, Perfect Filer, pfs:filer - Desktop publisher: Newsmaster II, Fontasy, PFS:First Publisher - Financial: Quicken, MoneyCounts, Peachtree Accounting - Forms: FormTool, Form Finisher - Graphics software: PC Paint, PC Paintbrush, Microsoft Paintbrush - Integrated suite: Eight-In-One, Microsoft Works, Electric Desk, Ability, Enable - Menu: Point & Shoot, Direct Access, Menu Works, IBM Fixed Disk Organizer - Presentation: Harvard Graphics - Productivity: Sidekick, Calendar Creator, WordPerfect Libray, Labels Unlimited, ForComment, SmartNotes - Programming: True BASIC, Turbo Pascal, Microsoft FORTRAN, IBM PC BASIC Compiler, GW-BASIC - Spreadsheet: VisiCalc, SuperCalc2, Perfect Calc, ValueCalc, Lotus 1-2-3, The TWIN, Microsoft Multiplan - Utility: COPY II PC, PC-Fullbak, IBM PC Diagnostics, The Norton Commander, XTREE, PC Tools - Word processor: Leading Edge Word Processing, Perfect Writer, volkswriter, WordPerfect, WordStar, Microsoft Word You can also run these graphical user interfaces: - Microsoft Windows 1.0x - GEM Desktop The titles listed above are just the commercial portion of legacy software available for 8088 PCs. There are also thousands of public domain, shareware, and freeware programs that can be run on 8088 PCs. And, just like the Commodore systems mentioned above, there are thousands of commercial, public domain, shareware, and freeware educational programs, making an 8088 PC an equally less expensive alternative to a new computer for the children to learn with, but offering far easier operation and learning on a more similar computer found in the more modern world. And don't forget the games! There are thousands of commercial, public domain, shareware, and freeware games that can be run on 8088 PCs. While I only have a fraction of what is available, check out my personal collection of 8088 and other games (PDF). Software programs and games for 8088 PCs can still be found at thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales, and on-line from Internet websites, like Dan's 20th Century Abandonware. With the right software, an 8088 PC can still be both a productive and entertaining computer system. The only drawback is that the majority of software for these PCs resides on 5¼" floppies. Very few 8088 PC models came with 3½" 720K floppy disk drives. For the most part, your data will reside on the PC's hard drive (if it has one) or on 5¼" single-sided or double-sided floppy disks. The only way to share data with other computers is via 5¼" floppies, telecommunication (if you can find another system that can establish a connection with you), or network (if you can still find a network that accepts coaxial connections). "640K ought to be enough for anybody." Billy Boy denies ever making that statement. It is enough for your 8088? 80286 computer systems. The first 286 PCs, portables, and laptops were made in the latter half of the 1980's. But because of their high prices -- some 286 portable systems could cost as much as US$6,000.00 -- 286 PCs were not purchased by home users in any kind of numbers until the late 1980's, when their prices dropped nearly in half to about US$3,100.00 for a standard system. The first 16-bit 286 systems still used technologies found in 8-bit 8088 systems such as MFM hard drives, CGA graphics, and 5¼" floppy drives. But as newer technologies were invented they were incorporated into later 286 systems. These newer technologies included "protected mode" memory, EGA and VGA video graphics, IDE bus for a new generation of hard drives, an advanced floppy controller with support for 5¼" 1.2MB, 3½" 720K and 3½" 1.44MB floppy drives, improved ISA support for modems, Ethernet network cards, support for more than 640K of memory -- up to 12MB if the system supported it -- and the introduction of SIMM memory modules which eliminated individual memory chips like in 8088 and early 286 systems. Along with newer hardware technologies, a new operating system for PCs was emerging along with newer versions of DOS and newer versions of the GEM Desktop and Microsoft Windows graphical user interfaces. New software programs, newer versions of existing programs and games, and new games were exploding onto the market, creating a vast selection of software for users to choose from. But just like the computer hardware, new versions of software were expensive. From the 1980's to the early 1990's DOS business software, such as WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, and dBASE III sold for US$495.00 each. At that time there were no "office suites." Today, a 286 PC can be productive, educating, and entertaining if legacy software is availble to run on it. Some of the operating systems, graphical user interfaces, programs, and games a 286 PC can run include: - MS-DOS up to version 6.22 - GEM Desktop - OS/2 1.00, IBM OS/2 1.xx, Microsoft OS/2 1.xx - Windows/286 2.xx, Windows 3.0, Windows 3.1 (286's can't run Windows 3.11 or later) - DOS and Windows telecommunication and network software - Hundreds of commercial, public domain, shareware, and freeware educational programs - Hundreds of games, some of which are listed in my personal games collection (PDF) A 286 PC has more power to run more advanced software than an 8088 PC. The best uses for a 286 PC are: - Running early Windows 3.1 versions of software such as WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Excel, etc. for productivity. These versions are new enough that they can be shared with others running much newer "office" versions of these programs. However, these Windows 3.1 programs will not read files saved with newer Windows 95/98/XP/Vista versions of WordPerfect, Word, Excel, etc. unless they are saved in a format readable by these older programs. You will need a late model 286 PC with at least 2MB of memory to do this. - Running DOS and early Windows 3.1 versions of educational software for the childern to learn with. 286 PCs can run more advanced versions of educational software for easier operation and a better learning experience. Many of these programs have mouse support for point-and-click ease of use. - Playing more advanced DOS and some limited Windows 3.1 games. 286 PCs can be very useful for low-budget needs. While many of the programs made for 286 PCs still reside on 5¼" floppy disks, many 286 software titles were also released on 3½" 720K and 1.44MB disks. If you acquire a 286 PC with only a 5¼" floppy drive, and the BIOS supports a 3½" 1.44MB floppy drive, it is relatively easy to add a 1.44MB drive to these systems. Used 1.44MB floppy drives can be found at thrift stores and other outlets for very little cost. 80386 computer systems. The 80386 CPU was invented in 1985 and is the first 32-bit processor for PCs. It has a considerable performance increase over 16-bit 286 CPUs and features advanced "protected mode" processing and support for virtual memory. The first 386 systems were very expensive, and it wasn't until the early 1990's that system prices dropped to about US$3,100.00, finally allowing home users to be able to afford them. From the late 1980's on, there were no more MFM or RLL hard drives like those found in 8088 and early 286 PCs. 386 PCs use the IDE bus and IDE hard drives. 386 PCs also use SIMM memory modules instead of individual memory chips plugged into an array of sockets like in 8088 and early 286 PCs. The first 386 models used the same 30-pin SIMMs also used in late model 286 PCs. Later 386 models used newer 72-pin SIMMs, and a new class of 386 portable computer called the notebook used a compact SIMM module called SODIMM. CGA, MCGA, Hercules, and EGA graphics were also obsolete with 386 systems. VGA and a newer Super VGA video format allowed for graphics displays higher than VGA's 640x480 maximum pixel resolution. The 386 was also the first PC generation that introduced a breakthrough in a category not developed in 8088 or 286 PCs -- sound. Digital audio, first introduced on expansion cards called "sound cards," created a new category of computing -- multimedia. One of the first types of programs to take advantage of digital audio was, what else? Games. Classic DOS games like Wolfenstein 3D and Prince of Persia incorporated digital audio into these games and the gamimg experience was changed forever. Of course, to hear this incredible digital sound you had to purchase a set of computer speakers. Thus, a new computer accessory market was born. Just like for stereo systems, different types of quality -- and price -- of computer speaker systems beckoned for that paper or plastic residing in your wallet. And at about this same time, after wrangling with the music industry for some time, the computer industry finally convinced the music industry into letting them share a type of storage media that would forever revolutionize how computer software was distributed to the masses. That media was the compact disc, or "CD." Unlike floppy disks, CDs are made of non-magnetic materials, eliminating all the precautions people had to take storing magnetic media. And while a CD is roughly the same size as the magnetic disc inside a 5¼" floppy case, the original storage capacity of a CD was 650MB. A single CD could store as much information as 451 1.44MB floppy disks, 541 1.2MB floppy disks, and 1,848 360K floppies! For the first few years of the CD-ROM revolution there were no CD-burner drives made available to computer users. The first CD-ROM drives were very expensive and slow to transfer data from CD discs to computer systems. But for those who could afford the cost, multimedia PCs with CD-ROM drives and sound cards brought the computer out of the Dark Ages of boring computing and into a New Age of multimedia. This digital revolution had an incredible impact almost overnight. The large capacity of CDs made possible the ability to create an entire encyclopedia on a single compact disc, making print volume encyclopedias obsolete overnight and costing only a fraction of the expense. Multimedia encyclopedias not only included print articles and photos, but sounds, animations, and sound- accompanied videos -- features no print encyclopedia could ever have. Computing and the way we learn was forever changed. Today, a 386 PC equipped with a sound card and CD-ROM drive can still be a productive, educational, and entertaining device with adequate legacy software installed on it. Here is a sampling of legacy software that can run on 386 PCs: - GEM Desktop, GEM-based software, and DOS-based software using the GEM interface (Ventura Publisher, etc.) - GeoWorks, NewDeal Office - Tandy DeskMate and DeskMate-based software - Advanced DOS software programs with graphical interfaces - OS/2 2.xx and OS/2 software - Microsoft Windows 3.1, 3.11, and 3.11 for Workgroups - 16-bit and 32-bit Win32s Windows software, including Windows telecommunication software and Web browsers - Thousands of commercial, public domain, shareware, and freeware educational programs - Thousands of games, some of which are listed in my personal games collection (PDF) The best uses for a 386 PC are: - Running advanced productivity software such as Microsoft Office 4.xx (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access). These versions are new enough that they can be shared with others running much newer "office" versions of these programs. However, these Windows 3.1 programs will not read files saved with newer Windows 95/98/XP/ Vista versions of Microsoft Office unless they are saved in a format readable by Microsoft Office 4.xx. You will need a 386 PC with at least 2MB of memory. - Using it as an inexpensive Internet kiosk running a Windows 3.1x Internet browser. A modem or Ethernet network card is required for dialup or TCP/IP connections. - Running DOS and Windows 3.1x versions of educational software, particularly Windows CD-based multimedia titles such as encyclopedias and interactive learning titles. You will need a 386 PC with at least 2MB of memory, sound card, computer speakers, CD-ROM drive, and a VGA or Super VGA video card with at least 1MB of video memory, and a VGA or SVGA monitor. - Playing DOS and Windows 3.1x computer games. And if you really want to push a 386 further than it was meant to be used, you can install 32-bit Windows 95 and run some of the lesser CPU and video intensive 32-bit Windows 95 programs. Note that response will be slow because Windows 95 was intended for high-end 486 and Pentium systems, but will run on a 386 system because 386 CPUs are 32-bit. 386 PCs offer an inexpensive system that can run productive software, provide multimedia learning and entertainment, and can even get you on the Internet. 80486 computer systems. Did you know that some of the first 486 PCs cost up to US$25,000.00? How many people or businesses actually paid this price for them? The first 486 CPUs were created in 1989. The 80486DX was the first CPU to have an integrated numeric coprocessor. Clock speeds began at 25MHz and would increase to 100MHz for the Intel 80486DX4 and up to 133MHz for AMD 486 CPUs. Not only did the CPUs increase in speed, motherboard bus speeds were increasing over the years as well. Video chipsets were increasing in processor speed and more video memory was being added to video cards. In addition to 486DX CPUs, a second version of 486 was released, the 486SX and 486SX2. These were 486DX CPUs with their internal numeric coprocessor disabled. While lesser in processing power, they were also sold at a lesser cost, making 486SX/SX2 systems less expensive than systems with 486DX/DX2 CPUs. High-end Intel 80486DX4-100MHz systems can actually outperform a similarly equipped Pentium 60MHz system. High-end AMD 5x86-133MHz (the fasted 486 CPU ever made) can actually outperform a similarly equipped Pentium 75MHz system. This was the only generation of CPU whose fastest models outperformed lower models of the next CPU generation. 486 notebook computers allow taking this processing power off of your desk and to places no desktop has gone before, or since. In the early 1990's there was a competition between two emerging advanced motherboard bus designs that would make the ISA bus obsolete and usher in a new line of faster expansion card devices. Those standards were the VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) Local Bus, or VL-Bus/VLB, and the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Local Bus, or just PCI. For a short time, late-model 486 motherboards with VESA and PCI local buses were produced. But because the VESA Local Bus was designed specifically around the 486 CPU's memory architecture, it was incompatible with any other CPU design. The PCI standard, which was not CPU-specific, won out and would be the bus design for future motherboards for years to come. Old DOS programs compiled specifically for the ISA bus, used timing loops that counted CPU cycle "ticks" instead of using the system clock, or used non-conventional addressing routines that work with ISA-based systems do not run properly or will crash with memory addressing errors or the infamous "divide by zero" error on VESA or PCI-based 486 systems. One classic example of DOS programs that run properly on ISA-based 486 and earlier systems but do not run properly on 486 VESA or PCI systems is PC Tools Pro 9.0a. On a VESA or PCI system, the install progress bar actually runs backwards. Some utilities don't work at all. Some examples of what 486 PCs can run are: - Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and high-end 16-bit Windows software - OS/2 Warp 3 and OS/2 Warp software - Microsoft Windows 95 and early Windows 95 32-bit software (486DX2 or higher recommended) - High-end DOS4GW "virtual reality" games such as Descent, DOOM, etc. (486DX4 with VESA/PCI graphics card recommended) The best uses for a 486 PC are: - Running high-end Windows 3.1x "office" software such as Microsoft Office 4.3 or Corel WordPerfect Suite 7 for Windows 3.1x - Running high-end Windows 3.1x CAD and graphics software - Using a high-end 486DX4 PC as an Internet kiosk (modem or Ethernet card) - As a low-cost learning center for the children using educational and multimedia encyclopedia and interactive titles - As a low-cost gaming system running "virtual reality" and other advanced games 486 PCs have the power to run advanced legacy "abandonware" software and games at a fraction of the cost of a new system. "It's all about the Pentiums, baby." "Pent," meaning "five," signified the beginning of Intel's fifth generation of PC CPUs. Intel released its first Pentium CPU in 1993 (60MHz). Intel did not designate their fifth generation CPUs "80586" because competitors AMD, Cyrix and others used x86 designations for prior CPUs. "Pentium" would be the name that signified Intel's fifth and future generations of PC and notebook CPUs for years to come, and would be the name most PC computer customers would identify with. Weird Al didn't choose that name for nothing ... baby. The fifth generation also marked the end of non-coprocessor CPUs. All Pentium and competing fifth-generation CPUs and future CPU generations would have integrated NPUs. The Pentium is also the first CPU to incorporate a superscalar archetechture -- two parallel microcode instruction "pipelines" for faster program execution for code that is optimized to use both pipelines. Pentium CPUs were also the first to be optimized for the PCI Local Bus (later 486DX4 CPUs would be as well and would actually be faster than the first Pentium CPUs). A very few Pentium motherboards used the VESA Local Bus, but incompatibilities forced VESA into an early retirement. PCI became the standard from which future Pentium motherboards were made. As with older 486 systems with VESA and PCI motherboards, old DOS programs that were compiled specifically for the ISA bus, used timing loops that counted CPU cycle "ticks" instead of using the system clock, or used non-conventional addressing routines that work with ISA-based systems do not run properly or will crash with memory addressing errors or a "divide by zero" error on PCI-based Pentium systems. Has anyone ever seen or owned a VESA-based Pentium system? Frst generation Pentium CPUs have clock speeds ranging from 60MHz to 200MHz with bus speeds from 50MHz to 66MHz. In 1997, Intel introduced the Pentium with MMX Technology. MMX is an extra set of microcode instructions that increases the multimedia capability of computer systems, such as adding the ability to run full-screen, full-motion video. Pentium CPUs with MMX Technology have clock speeds ranging from 133MHz to 233MHz with a bus speed of 66MHz. Two years earlier, Intel introduced its sixth generation of CPU, the Pentium Pro. This CPU combined a CPU core and a L2 cache core in a single die. Because of its high cost, used mostly for high-end servers and workstations running dual and quad-processor configurations, the Pentium Pro was bypassed for low-end business and home users in favor of the lower-cost Pentium II CPU. In 1997, Intel also introduced the Pentium II. This CPU was essentially a redesigned and scaled back Pentium Pro packaged in a plastic cartridge case called a "Slot 1." Like the Pentium Pro, the Pentium II has a separate processor core and a L2 cache core. Unlike the Pentium Pro, the Pentium II has added 16-bit support and MMX Technology. Pentium II CPUs were released with the following clock speeds: Klamath 66MHz FSB: 233MHz, 266MHz, 300MHz Deschutes 66MHz FSB: 266MHz, 300MHz, 333MHz Deschutes 100MHz FSB: 350MHz, 400MHz, 450MHz A high-end Pentium II Xeon was also produced. Building on the Pentium II's technology, Intel introduced the Pentium III in 1999. The Pentium III introduced the SSE instruction set which improved 3D graphics and multimedia processing. Like the Pentium II, the Pentium III was released in a Slot 1 cartridge and also as a socket 370. Pentium III CPUs were released with the following clock speeds: Katmai 100MHz FSB: 450MHz, 500MHz, 550MHz, 600MHz Katmai 133MHz FSB: 533MHz, 600MHz Coppermine 100MHz & 133MHz FSB: 500MHz to 1GHz There were later Pentium III "Tualatin" CPU releases in 2001 and 2002 up to 1.4GHz and a Pentium III Xeon CPU. But we're going to stop here because this is Dan's 20th Century Abandonware and my little segment of computer history ends at Y2K. The Pentium III also included one unique feature that raised a considerable amount of controversy -- a unique identification number called a PSN, or Processor Serial Number, which can be accessed and read using software if the PSN is enabled in a system's BIOS. The controversy was over privacy issues. Pentium III PSNs could be accessed locally, over a network, or over the Internet. Intel did not include the PSN feature in late Pentium III Tualatin CPUs and did not implement it in the Pentium 4 or later CPUs. Intel also developed notebook "mobile" versions of the Pentium, Pentium II, and Pentium III CPUs, as well as "overdrive" processors for older systems. A new technology that was introduced with Pentium PCI motherboards was Direct Memory Access, or DMA. This technology allows data to be transferred from RAM directly to other devices without having to pass through the CPU. New technologies that emerged on Pentium II motherboards include: - Integrated audio chipsets and Ethernet, eliminating the need for sound and network cards - The Universal Serial Bus, or USB - The Accelerated Graphics Port, or AGP - Ultra-DMA, or UDMA, AKA Ultra-ATA Competitors to the Pentium lines of CPUs included AMD, Cyrix, WinChip, NexGen, and Rise Technology. At the beginning of the 21st Century, Intel had one major competitor, AMD. Some examples of what Pentium-class systems can be used for include: - Better gameplay of DOS4GW "virtual reality" games such as Descent, DOOM, Terminal Velocity, etc. than on high-end 486 PCs - Running 32-bit operating systems such as Windows 95, Windows 98SE, Windows NT, OS/2 Warp 3, OS/2 Warp 4 - Running 32-bit "office" suites such as Microsoft Office 95, Corel Office Professional & WordPerfect Suite 7, Lotus SmartSuite - Running 32-bit educational and interactive multimedia software - Burning and "ripping" CDs (on 200MHz or higher systems with adequate hardware) - Encoding and playing MP3 audio files - Connecting to networks up to 100Mb - Dial-up and broadband Internet - Using USB devices such as printers, "flash drives," etc. (requires Windows 98SE or Windows 2000) Some examples of what Pentium II-class systems can be used for include: - Much better gameplay of DOS4GW "virtual reality" games than on Pentium-class PCs (optimum platform for these games) - Better performance of 32-bit operating systems such as Windows 98SE and Windows 2000 than on Pentium-class PCs - Play newer 32-bit multimedia games such as STAR WARS Episode I RACER - Run newer versions of "office" suites such as Microsoft Office 97, Corel WordPerfect Suite 8, etc. - Running newer 32-bit educational and interactive multimedia software - Better performance for burning & "ripping" CDs and encoding & playing MP3s than on Pentium-class PCs - Connecting to networks up to 100Mb - Better dial-up and broadband Internet performance than on Pentium-class PCs - Using USB devices such as printers, "flash drives," etc. (requires Windows 98SE or Windows 2000) - Playing DVDs using DVD playback software (DVD-ROM drive required) Some examples of what Pentium III-class systems can be used for include: - Better performance of 32-bit operating systems such as Windows 98SE and Windows 2000 than on Pentium II-class PCs - Play newer 32-bit multimedia games such as Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings - Run newer versions of "office" suites such as Microsoft Office 2000, Corel WordPerfect Office 2000, etc. - Running newer 32-bit educational and interactive multimedia software - Better performance for burning & "ripping" CDs and encoding & playing MP3s than on Pentium II-class PCs - Connecting to networks up to 100Mb - Better dial-up and broadband Internet performance than on Pentium II-class PCs - Using USB devices such as printers, "flash drives," etc. (requires Windows 98SE or Windows 2000) - Better performance for playing DVDs using DVD playback software (DVD-ROM drive required) And if you want to push these systems to their limits: - Run Windows 2000 Professional or OS/2 Warp 4 on a Pentium-class PC (200MHz MMX CPU & 128MB RAM recommended) - Run a high-speed CD-burner in a Pentium II-class system (256MB RAM or more recommended) - Run Windows XP on a Pentium III-class system (512MB RAM or more recommended) "...two thousand, zero-zero, party over. Oops! Out of time. So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999."   ("1999," © 1984 Prince) What do you want to do with a computer? I hope our journey from the Dark Ages of personal computing to the edge of the 21st Century has shown you that just because a computer is "old" doesn't necessarily mean it is useless. There are millions of people around the world who cannot afford a new computer. There are many who cannot afford a computer at all. Many less fortunate families and individuals would be happy to have any one of these computer systems donated to them so their children could have something to learn with and do their schoolwork on and the adults could have something to be more productive with than just a pencil and paper. Shortly after receiving my Computer Technician postition in 2001, many older "obsolete" PCs, printers, etc. were replaced with newer ones due to hardware failure or due to being phased out because of obsolescence. Different PCs had different faulty components but still had many working parts. An employee I worked with knew another Computer Tech who worked for a local school district that helped families in our area who could not afford computers. This tech would take working components from several failed older computer systems to create working systems and donate them to less fortunate families. When I learned of this I asked the management at my employment if I could offer our obsolete and defective computers to this tech. They gave me permission to do this and from 2001 to 2004 I was able to give this tech over a dozen full-size pickup truck loads of obsolete and older defective PCs, printers, keyboards, mice, etc. This tech was very grateful and was able to help several families in our area have working computers they otherwise would not have been able to afford. After the very oldest of computer hardware had been upgraded, and a change in my employment's management took place, I was no longer able to discard systems with any working components. This ended my being able to donate salvageable computer parts. But for those three years I was able to be a part in helping less fortunate people in our area who could not afford a computer acquire one. To many who can afford new computers, these legacy systems seem like "dinosaurs," "relics," "museum pieces." To those who cannot afford any computers, old or new, when one is donated to them they are a treasure. Questions? Comments? Contact me.

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Updated: 07/03/2009
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