Queen Bohemian Rhapsody Old School Computer Remix

From the author of the video:

"This is dedicated to all fans of Queen and hey let's not forget about Mike Myers and Dana Carvey of Wayne's World.

No effects or sampling were used. What you see is what you hear (does that even make sense?)

• Atari 800XL was used for the lead piano/organ sound
• Texas Instruments TI-99/4a as lead guitar
• 8 Inch Floppy Disk as Bass
• 3.5 inch Harddrive as the gong
• HP ScanJet 3C was used for all vocals.

Please note I had to record the HP scanner 4 seperate times for each voice. I wanted to buy 4 HP scanners but for some reason sellers on E-Bay expect you to pay $80-$100, I got mine for $30.

I keep hearing parts of the song are out of tune. Keep in mind the scanner and floppy drive are not musical instruments. These are mechanical devices whose motors tend to drift and can cause some notes to be out of tune. "

Gone but not forgotten: 10 operating systems the world left behind

Computerworld reports: "You're not really supposed to love an operating system. It's like your car's hydraulic system, your digestive system or the global financial system. It's supposed to do its job -- and not get in your way while you're doing yours."

Do you remember CP/M, O/S 2, MS-DOS, take a trip back down silicon memory lane...

CNN: Show us your vintage Macs

CNN iReport: "The Macintosh desktop is turning 25 on Saturday, and we'd love to take a stroll down memory lane. Apple's tiny computer, released in 1984, was different with its uniform design, decidedly un-furry 'mouse' and innovative graphical user interface."

CNN wants you to send them photos and video of you and your vintage Macs. They also want to know:

• What was your first Mac, and why did you get it?
• How are you using this device?
• Are the computers still as mind-blowing now, and how far have they come?

The Most Collectible PCs of All Time

MSN Tech & Gadgets has a slide show of what they consider the most collectible computers. I would say a lot of their choices I would agree with, but I still think others are missing from the list. Here is excerpt from the article: "personal computers have been around long enough that certain models -- mostly dating from the 1970s and early 1980s -- have gone from newfangled gadget to prized relic. We compiled this list after consulting with tech historians and collectors, including Bryan Blackburn, Digibarn's Bruce Damer, the Vintage Computer Festival's Sellam Ismail and Erik Klein of Vintage-Computer.com"

I am going to do my own version of this list for this blog. Hopefully I will complete it soon.

eBay: Rare - Original Apple Lisa (w/Twiggy Drives)

Here is a very rare computer that I would buy if I had a spare $11,000. Its an original Apple Lisa (with Twiggy drives). Definitely a prize for any collection, and as the description states there are only 50 still around.

Normally if someone was asking $11,000 for a computer, I would say its way over priced. With the exception for a very few, and this is the exception. What makes it valuable and rare is that it has the 5.25" drives (known as Twiggy).

This system is an excellent example of Apple Computer's Second Rarest Computer, next to the original Apple-1 (1976). Less than 50 are known to exist in the world today. The Lisa was a landmark in computing history, being the first personal computer available with a mouse & GUI (Graphical User Interface). The release of this machine and the Lisa Office System to the public pre-dates Microsoft Windows 1.0 by almost 3 years!

The Apple Lisa was the programming platform for the Macintosh.
Apple offered Basic Plus, Pascal, and Cobol as programming environments for the lisa.
Mac OS 1.0 and most of the early Mac 128k programs were written with a Lisa.
The Lisa has 1mb RAM and a 5MB Hard Drive vs. 128k of RAM in the Macintosh.
Both machines use a Motorola 68000 CPU.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a buy-it-now listing, meaning there are no bidders or bidding process. Don't miss your chance to own a Lisa 1!

This Lisa turns on and passes all hardware tests. She boots up to Office System 1.2 (installed on the X/ProFile). A Lisa screen is hard to take a picture of, please be assured the screen is bright and crisp with no significant burn-in. I do not have any Twiggy floppy disks to test the Twiggy drives with, but they appear to be in very good shape.

As you can see by the photos, All plastic panels are clean. They have matching tone, and do not have any significant yellowing. No cracks or significant scratches present. The ProFile drive has some scratches on the top case, but is clean. This machine is in beautiful restored condition and appears to have seen little use during its lifetime.

A LISA 1 IS EXTREMELY RARE BECAUSE:
*It did not ship until July 1983, and was discontinued in January 1984 (6 months)
*Its original cost in 1983 was $10,000 US (approx. $21,000 US in 2008 dollars) making it a hard sell to businesses
*Apple offered all Lisa 1 owners a FREE upgrade to a Lisa 2 in 1984. Almost everybody went for this upgrade
*Apple took back all Lisa 1 specific parts back from authorized service centers and had them destroyed/disposed of

INCLUDED IN THIS AUCTION:
*Apple Lisa 1 Computer (with TWIGGY floppy drives)
*Apple Lisa Keyboard with original pull-out cards (cleaned,tested, working)
*Apple Lisa Mouse
*5 MB Apple Profile Hard Drive - upgraded to a new X/ProFile with Compact Flash memory card
*Power & data cables
*Original silk Anti-Glare Screen
*Complete Office System 1.2 installed on external X/ProFile Drive.
*Programs installed: LisaWrite, LisaDraw, LisaGraph, LisaList, LisaCalc, LisaProject, and LisaTerminal

OTHER RARE POINTS:
*The Twiggy drives included with this machine are very early examples, dated January 21st 1983.
*Lisa Office System 1.2 (included) is more rare than 1.0, as it only came with LisaTerminal (a required upgrade to operate LisaTerminal).
*CPU board ROM's are a rare "F" revision.

ABOUT THE X/ProFile:
The new X/ProFile and Voltage Regulator boards have been produced in a joint effort by Sigma Seven Systems and Vintage Micros, and are still available today. It will not die on you like the almost 30 year old ProFile drives, causing you to lose all of your precious data. You can simply back-up or duplicate the CF (Compact Flash) memory card!

Due to age and extreme rarity, this computer is sold "as-is" with no warranty or returns. I guarantee that this computer will be working as described when shipped. I am willing to demonstrate the Lisa 1 working, if picked up in person by the winning bidder. For shipping the Lisa, everything will be wrapped with extreme care so that it arrives safely. I do not charge for Packing materials or handling! Actual shipping cost only (please inquire).

eBay: Atari Stacy Vintage Portible Computer -

Here is a eBay auction for an Atari Stacy laptop computer that was up for sale. These are pretty rare and they are not worth much. I consider it an interesting artifact for those who like to collect these types of computers.

Tech of Yesteryear: Where Old Computers Find Their Final Resting Place

CIO magazine reports: "Max Burnet has turned his home in the leafy suburbs of Sydney into arguably Australia’s largest private computer museum. Since retiring as director of Digital Equipment Corporation a decade ago, Burnet has converted his interest in the computing industry into an invaluable snapshot of computer history. Every available space from his basement to the top floor of his two-storey home is covered with relics from the past. His collection is vast, from a 1920s Julius Totalisator, the first UNIX PDP-7, a classic DEC PDP-8, the original IBM PC, Apple’s Lisa, MITS Altair 8800, numerous punch cards and over 6000 computer reference books. And more. He happily opened his doors for CIO to take a look."

Max Burnet has a pretty amazing collection of vintage computer artifacts you may have never seen before. There are lots DEC, IBM personal computer and mainframe parts in his collection, plus several miscellaneous items you may have never seen before.

A Decade of Internet Superstars: Where Are They Now?

MSN Tech & Gadgets reports: "Whatever happened to the Evolution of Dance guy or that kid who loved Britney Spears so much he cried for her under his sheet? We'll fill you in on what happened to them and other Web celebrities when their 15 minutes of fame ended."

I thought this was an interesting article.

eBay - HeathKit Educational Systems Hero 2000 Robot

I am always watching eBay for interesting vintage technology. Here is a vintage robot that I have never seen before. Its the HeathKit Educational Systems Hero 2000 Robot. Below is an except from the auction: "The unit is in good cosmetic condition with some wear present from previous use but overall looks structurally sound. The unit is in unknown working condition as we do not have the means here to test it. Also some of the wires are cut on the top of the unit are cut."

Here is some more information on this robot.

Know Your Meme: All Your Base

Rocketboom does a great job in explaining the history behind the phrase "All Your Base Are Belong To Us". For those of you who don't know what a Meme is, here's an article from Wikipedia.