*It has come to my attention that it is important to point out that this is a clone, and not directly manufactured by IBM*
This is pretty cool so I thought I'd share. Most of us weren't into computers when these were around, or not even born yet (like me). Our actual lab workstations are modern Dells with widescreens
It's not the only thing from the 1980's I've found in this lab. The XT must have had some 8-bit ISA card for robot control since there is a back panel cover missing. Also there's the note on the front about a robot. I'm guessing it got stored for awhile, no one knew what it was, and since it said "robot" on it they stashed it in here in case SkyNet needed it one day.
I've used a clone of this kind of computer before, but I was a little kid (even then it was old) and that one had a hard drive to boot from. This one has no hard drive, and I have no operating system, or software for it, nor a 5.25" floppy drive. The graphics adapter uses an RCA connection for CGA NTSC. A compatible monitor is in here too, as well as an XT keyboard, and a spare Taiwanese clone of the graphics adapter in an IBM box. I happen to collect 1391401 Model M's, so I could bring one in for it if I ever happen to find an OS. I'd sure like to power it on and see if it still functions! I wouldn't get to keep it, but at least someone looked at it before it gets another ~20 years of neglect.
Now I actually want to find a 5.25" floppy drive for a networked PC. The 600 page manual for this appears to be about two semesters worth of content for logic and assembly. This thing today is like an incarnation of modern computer and microcontroller fundamentals. It won't do instagram or youtube, so I'm probably the only person who doesn't see this as scrap metal and hazardous waste. I have a much more thorough computer history project involving IBM that I'm developing on the side. Probably won't post that until 2013.
Some online resources for this machine:
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=274
http://www.retroarchive.org/dos/docs/index.html
My cellphone photos: (look how clean it is!)
Edit: IT WORKS! I couldn't resist and just had to power it up! I found an XT keyboard in here too and happened to bring an RCA cable today. It did exactly what I expected; made classic computer noises, slowly counted kilobytes of ram, beep, and then complain there's nothing for it to do. It felt exactly like a broken terminal in Fallout 3 or New Vegas. That would be some fun software for it! Emulate the "hacking" program.
Quick video
A.
B.
1. Front View
2. Front Bays with Cover off
3. Back Panel
4. Power Supply
5. CPU
6. Memory
7. Full Length Cards
8. Floppy and Com Controller Card with Zilog Chip
9. Card Holder
10. Motherboard Chips
11. Motherboard Chips
12. Floppy Drives
13. Floppy Drive Labels
14. Power SWITCH! KLACK!
15. Clone Adapter ("clone" written on back of box)
16. Graphics Card Close-up
This is pretty cool so I thought I'd share. Most of us weren't into computers when these were around, or not even born yet (like me). Our actual lab workstations are modern Dells with widescreens
It's not the only thing from the 1980's I've found in this lab. The XT must have had some 8-bit ISA card for robot control since there is a back panel cover missing. Also there's the note on the front about a robot. I'm guessing it got stored for awhile, no one knew what it was, and since it said "robot" on it they stashed it in here in case SkyNet needed it one day.
I've used a clone of this kind of computer before, but I was a little kid (even then it was old) and that one had a hard drive to boot from. This one has no hard drive, and I have no operating system, or software for it, nor a 5.25" floppy drive. The graphics adapter uses an RCA connection for CGA NTSC. A compatible monitor is in here too, as well as an XT keyboard, and a spare Taiwanese clone of the graphics adapter in an IBM box. I happen to collect 1391401 Model M's, so I could bring one in for it if I ever happen to find an OS. I'd sure like to power it on and see if it still functions! I wouldn't get to keep it, but at least someone looked at it before it gets another ~20 years of neglect.
Now I actually want to find a 5.25" floppy drive for a networked PC. The 600 page manual for this appears to be about two semesters worth of content for logic and assembly. This thing today is like an incarnation of modern computer and microcontroller fundamentals. It won't do instagram or youtube, so I'm probably the only person who doesn't see this as scrap metal and hazardous waste. I have a much more thorough computer history project involving IBM that I'm developing on the side. Probably won't post that until 2013.
Some online resources for this machine:
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=274
http://www.retroarchive.org/dos/docs/index.html
My cellphone photos: (look how clean it is!)
Edit: IT WORKS! I couldn't resist and just had to power it up! I found an XT keyboard in here too and happened to bring an RCA cable today. It did exactly what I expected; made classic computer noises, slowly counted kilobytes of ram, beep, and then complain there's nothing for it to do. It felt exactly like a broken terminal in Fallout 3 or New Vegas. That would be some fun software for it! Emulate the "hacking" program.
Quick video
A.
B.
1. Front View
2. Front Bays with Cover off
3. Back Panel
4. Power Supply
5. CPU
6. Memory
7. Full Length Cards
8. Floppy and Com Controller Card with Zilog Chip
9. Card Holder
10. Motherboard Chips
11. Motherboard Chips
12. Floppy Drives
13. Floppy Drive Labels
14. Power SWITCH! KLACK!
15. Clone Adapter ("clone" written on back of box)
16. Graphics Card Close-up
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