Free IBM Laptop
July 28th, 2009
Found On: South Jersey Craigslist By: Bill C
Early’ 80’s IBM laptop.Power issues.Free
“Power issues.” That’s it though, this thing is awesome in all other respects. Highly non-obsolete.
Welcome to the late 20th Century. You’ll also need this:
and this:
You’re stylin’ now. Or is it “fly?” I don’t know, but I’ll bet you can get the 411 from these guys:
You’ll have to reach them with phone calls and letters, though. This computer doesn’t have teh interwebs. It may not even be able to run Pong.
Zack Morris called, he wants his computer back…
IBM PC Convertible. Originally released for $2000 in 1986. 23 years later, it’s free. And broken.
Somewhere out there is a guy living in his mom’s basement who needs this for his collection. He is convinced that old, outdated computers are the next big collectible and will one day make him a very wealthy man. Until that day though, he will continue to live in his mom’s basement, surrounded by obsolete technology, and will try to keep his job as “Chief French Fry Technician” at the local Mc Donalds.
I would take it.
@Mars478 me too. Sometimes dorking around with old computers is fun.. assuming it can be made to work.
Oh, and I had that exact model Walkman(tm) too.
I would take it. Perhaps be flamed but I would pay for a 20+ year old laptop. Early model..
Ey, don’t talk sh*t about Sony Walkmen. They were cool … then.
*Goes to the basement, searches where my old Atari is now*
@Jim Bob
Why doesn’t he get a job?
Hey! I have one of these somewhere! I could use this one as spare parts! That’s great stuff for old skool computer nerds like me.
If it was in total working order it would still be geeky as hell to want this thing, hut its gow POWER ISSUES! I have had computers 20 years newer than this thing with power issues that I had to throw out…
Hey, I still have a walkman. I got rid of the tape-playing one (and got rid of the cassettes) in 2003, but I still have and use a radio-only walkman, not an iPod.
Those guys are frightening…
You nostalgia, you lose.
you guys are plainly stupid.
this pc is valuable as part of computer history (believe me MHz isn’t everything). And there is also outdated software only running on those computers…. for example text software that was used a lot at those times and nowadays the old files can’t be read anymore with our current software.
so whats next? OMG, they giving away indian instruments for free… who needs them… those are INDIAN … and OLD … and DISGUSTING. Maybe that post would even increase the sites standard..
Good luck with being dumb
@Jim Bob
Http://www.pcmuseum.ca – I know the guy who runs this, and he is not some loser who works at McDonalds… he’s a columnist for the local newspaper among other things. He has devoted a lot of time, energy and money to the museum and it shows. One of the most amazing collections of Personal Computing history I have ever seen. Not everyone who collects outdated machines is a loser in his mom’s basement.
I had the identical cassette player and headphones when I was a teen in the early eighties. So I dont get it. J/K!!
Actually I still probably have it in a box somewhere LOL
I want one of those old brick phones. Seriously.
You guys are nuts, I would love to have that.
@dude
Stop taking this so damn seriously, this site is supposed to be FUNNY!
@Phyrros
I think this may be the exception rather than the rule…geek lol
isnt that Kajagoogoo?
We’ve tried to get them to tell us, but they’re “Too Shy-Shy,” so we don’t know for certain.
“It belongs in a museum”
But yeah, I’d take one if I had space to set up a proper old computer museum of my own…
I’m one of those basement dwellers that could actually fix this thing…
Looks like it would make an excellent addition to my museum of 8-bit computing.
Well, I had a mid-80’s Toshiba like this outside in the weather for about 5 years, a few months ago I knocked all the leaves and dirt out of it the best I could, and put power to it. It fired right up, even the hard drive worked. I guess they don’t make ‘em like they used to.
There are some hardcore casemodders that would love to get their hands on a nonworking classic, gut it, and plug in all new parts. It’s like souping up an old car.
I want the Computer the cell phone and the walkman that would be great. I am a CS major, the Cell phone is hilarious and would be great for an 80’s costume, and the walkman would go great with that costume.
Im a CS major so im a major nerd who loves the history of my field.
my sister had the hugest crush on Limahl…eventhough everyone said he was probably gay..she was convinced that she could “turn” him..
There is still a use for these older machines…famous techno and industial artists use these machines cause one of the best qualities of the 8bit SID chip was the unique fuctionality of sound ability it had. That’s right the sound emitted from that particular chip is used in a lot of techno / industrial songs that are being made today. If you would like to see some examples go check out these artists: “Machinae Supremacy”, “Sanxion7″, “M83″, “PLA”, and finally “VNV Nation” but that’s only naming a few. So I’m sure someone can find a use for this especially if they are looking to get into the techno/industrial music world. I would get this machine myself if I knew how to program the SID chip in order to make it create sounds but unfortunately I do not possess such expierence yet. Anyways my point is don’t hate on this machine if you are not aware of all it’s possiblites.
I gave away this very model machine – the IBM convertible PC – on Craigslist. Someone from my very dorm floor replied(!,) so they got it, but I had a good four other replies. It was probably worth fifty dollars in the working order I gave it to them, as it’s a somewhat desirable piece. I’ve managed to repatriate two 486es, an VGA/EGA hybrid monitor, three dot matrixes, a 286 lunchbox, and an XT clone through Craigslist, too. There’s demand, albeit small.
As per Anthony, no. Just no. All this machine can do is clunky 1-bit beeping. It’s an XT clone at 4.77MHZ, with no real expansion, and dual 720k floppies. Think it’s from 1986, and was already a touch quaint then O_O.
Anthony, SID chips can just be flat-out bit-for-bit emulated on home computers these days with zero errors or slowdown. Been like that for years, actually.
But yes. This is a nostalgia item.
[...] technician?” Let me guess. This is the last computer you were well-versed in. Or was it [...]
I still have an Original XBOX. It looks good next to (Below, actually) MY 360. And even then its concidered outdated. I could sell it for $20, $50 if i’m lucky.
@Terry
Ehh.. Because he has one?
I would take it. I like to fix old stuff in my spare time. I also like to play around with old computers. See how far I can push them before they catch fire.
@dude
All I can say to you is: Dude. Take a chill pill.
I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
Limahl had fabulous hair.
@Anthony:
This is an IBM. It has no SID. (Commodore 64 and 128 only)
@Slicer:
Sure they can be emulated, much in the same way you can emulate the sound character of a guitar speaker. Close, but not really. The real SID connoisseur will make sure his chip is not only the right model, but the right production series as well.