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it's time for some random old computer magazine posting
Today we're going to Byte, from March 1992.
https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1992-03
Today we're going to Byte, from March 1992.
https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1992-03
Pinacle is advertising their rewritable optical drive, which is a 3.5" disc. It's a 128mb Magneto-Optical disk, and they advertise it's only 79$ a disc!
This is a weird bug: apparently the floppy drives in PowerBook 140 and 170s don't work unless you turn down the brightness.
huh.
huh.
apparently Windows NT is going to be Unix.
Hey, it's the Twiddler! This is a chorded-keyboard (where you type letters by pressing combinations) that's also a mouse.
Here's a page of Gateway computers. Let's look closer.
So their low-end computer is a 286 with 2mb of ram, dual floppy drives (3.5" and 5.25"), 40mb hard drive, 14" VGA monitor, DOS 5.0, 1345$
And the high-end machine is 486 with 8mb of ram, same dual drives, 340mb hard drive (SCSI!), 14" VGA monitor, DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.0, 3895$
The page also has a Cow Phone, which I'm sure @gewt wants.
After Dark 2.0! 29$ for your flying toasters.
Huh, the Paper Partner.
It's a device to detect when you're out of printer paper.
It's a device to detect when you're out of printer paper.
This ad is weird.
it seems to really just be saying "buy our power supplies: they have more stuff in them"
it seems to really just be saying "buy our power supplies: they have more stuff in them"
Here's an advertisement for a text editor, VEDIT PLUS.
Interesting it talks about how it runs on DOS, QNX, XENIX, FlexOS, Unix, and IBM 4680! That's a lot of compatibility.
It even supports EBCDIC!
Interesting it talks about how it runs on DOS, QNX, XENIX, FlexOS, Unix, and IBM 4680! That's a lot of compatibility.
It even supports EBCDIC!
But look at these times.
It can "save and continue" in only 52 seconds on a 3mb file, and delete a column in a file in only 10 minutes, compared to OVER AND HOUR on the other editors?
It can "save and continue" in only 52 seconds on a 3mb file, and delete a column in a file in only 10 minutes, compared to OVER AND HOUR on the other editors?
HOW SHITTY WERE TEXT EDITORS IN 1992?
Also, pricing:
DOS is the cheapest at 185$ for a single user.
DOS is the cheapest at 185$ for a single user.
Pizazz Plus lets you take screenshots of windows or full screen programs, and save them to image files!
Price: 149$
Price: 149$
I want one of these. It's a Mylex multiprocessing server. It looks cool and it supports FOUR 486 CPUS!
Up to 512mb of ram, too, which is INSANE for 1992. Remember that the high-end Gateway PC had only 340mb of hard drive!
Up to 512mb of ram, too, which is INSANE for 1992. Remember that the high-end Gateway PC had only 340mb of hard drive!
14.4 kbps modem WITH FAX AND VOICE!
for only 399.95!
don't you wanna get less than 2 kilobytes/s for the equivalent of 730$ today?
for only 399.95!
don't you wanna get less than 2 kilobytes/s for the equivalent of 730$ today?
Periscope! I want one of these.
They're hardware debuggers for PCs: they fit between the CPU and the motherboard, letting you do insane things like debug the BIOS or boot code.
They're hardware debuggers for PCs: they fit between the CPU and the motherboard, letting you do insane things like debug the BIOS or boot code.
ViewSonic monitors! 20" and 17" used to be "big screen"
These both are 1280x1024 displays, but sadly no prices.
These both are 1280x1024 displays, but sadly no prices.
Canon Still Video... and they're still talking about Video-Floppy based cameras! in 1992! That's interesting, I thought these were more of an 80s thing.
These are cameras like the Canon RC-250, which are (kinda) digital cameras that store their pictures as analog NTSC/PAL frames, on a floppy disc.
They use these little 2" floppy disks.
Each disk has 50 tracks, and they just store one single frame of video on a track, so it can keep displaying it by continually spinning.
Each disk has 50 tracks, and they just store one single frame of video on a track, so it can keep displaying it by continually spinning.
GATE BUSTERS! with the gateway logo and "who ya gonna call?"
they're TRYING to get sued, aren't they?
they're TRYING to get sued, aren't they?
Ultratek/AIC's KNS computers.
These are 286/386/486 PCs built into a keyboard. I love them and I want one...
These are 286/386/486 PCs built into a keyboard. I love them and I want one...
Save space on your desk with a 10" LCD, that can only do 640x480 in monochrome, for only 995$
Hey, it's a Datalux space saver keyboard! I have one of these. They're weird and awesome.
Apparently in 1992 BASIC was still the most popular language on microcomptuers, at least according to Doris Appleby.
Christ, even in 1992 they recognized that floppy drive sizes had stagnated in a long while.
This is talking about the upcoming floptical and flextra drives.
This is talking about the upcoming floptical and flextra drives.
The Bernoulli Box 2! This was Iomega's predecessor to the Zip Disk. They're big floppies, about the size of a 5.25" disk but very thick, and they could store quite a lot for the time, but never reached the popularity that zip disks did.
Check out these rack-mounted PC cases.
I like that top one, which has two IBM-PC style full-height 5.25" drives, because that's what I want in a datacenter!
they also list "doesn't look like IBM" as a feature.
I like that top one, which has two IBM-PC style full-height 5.25" drives, because that's what I want in a datacenter!
they also list "doesn't look like IBM" as a feature.
