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posted by on Monday February 15 2016, @04:54PM   Printer-friendly
from the exemplary-mtbf dept.

The can of worms we opened when we learned of the server switched off after eighteen years and ten months' service is still wriggling, as a reader has contacted us to tell of nearly 30-year-old laptops still in service.

Reader "Holrum" says he has "a couple dozen Toshiba T1000 laptops from the mid [1980s] still fully functional (including floppy drives)".

The T1000 was introduced in 1987. [...] The machine was one of the very first computers to use a clamshell form factor. [...] It also offered a rather archaic LCD display, as illustrated.

[...]The machine ran MS-DOS 2.11 on a ROM [and] came with a colossal 512kB of RAM [...] and a single 3.5-inch floppy drive.

Holrum says the T1000s are taken offline every few years for just the few minutes required to replace the NiCad batteries and give them a clean before they are returned to duty as process monitoring terminals.

Previous: Beat This: Server Retired After 18 Years and 10 Months


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  • (Score: 2) by Gravis on Tuesday February 16 2016, @05:06PM

    by Gravis (4596) on Tuesday February 16 2016, @05:06PM (#305250)

    Okay then champ. Go over there with a hand full of arduinos and raspberry pi's and explain how you're are going to solve their energy crisis with 3d printing.

    there is no need for your incendiary commentary and condescending attitude. if you want to act like an asshole, that's fine, just don't do it here.

    If it ain't broke, don't fix it or attempt to fix it unless you absolutely have to.

    you seem to have a misconception about my objection. i don't object to them being old, i object to how much power they draw. if these had their own solar panels to generate power for them i would no objections at all. however, they draw plenty of electricity and electricity is currently generated by unclean means and therefore it's use should be reduced as much as possible. our civilization is very broken because it's destroying the only ecosystem we have.

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  • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday February 16 2016, @06:22PM

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Tuesday February 16 2016, @06:22PM (#305275) Journal

    My initial comment was meant to be somewhat insulting but not to the extent you made it out to be. Relax, its the internet. Expect some butthurt every now and then. I actually keep it pretty clean until I see something completely unreasonable.

    It's ridiculous to complain about the power usage of old equipment and its environmental impact when you obviously have no grasp of how critical some of these systems are. The amount of time, work, and money it takes to replace these kinds of systems can be staggering and financially dangerous.

    Does that mean I don't care about the environment? Of course I care. I have taken steps to make things more energy efficient at both my home and at work. But you cant possibly expect a business to rip out control equipment that works to save a few kWh so you can feel all warm and fuzzy. It's beyond unreasonable, and to be frank, asinine to demand such a thing. Just be happy that the newer technology available is usually more efficient and go about your business.

    As for solar offsetting: Many businesses, including the one I work for, have large solar installations to offset the cost of electricity. So our old Pentium 3 can be considered green as its load can be subtracted from the 100kW solar array on our roof. So yes, companies can be more green. Of course their motivation is based on the other kind of green. Either way, it works out.

    • (Score: 2) by Gravis on Tuesday February 16 2016, @07:35PM

      by Gravis (4596) on Tuesday February 16 2016, @07:35PM (#305313)

      My initial comment was meant to be somewhat insulting but not to the extent you made it out to be. Relax, its the internet. Expect some butthurt every now and then. I actually keep it pretty clean until I see something completely unreasonable.

      just because you normally act like more of an asshole, doesn't mean kinda acting like an asshole is par for course.

      It's ridiculous to complain about the power usage of old equipment and its environmental impact when you obviously have no grasp of how critical some of these systems are. The amount of time, work, and money it takes to replace these kinds of systems can be staggering and financially dangerous.

      of course, you are dead on. i'm the clueless one and you are the all-knowing god. that's not being condescending at all.