What's your dream machine?

Here's my idea of a cool machine

Here's my idea of a cool machine

I guess my dream machine would be just what I have now on my desk - but to have it all shoehorned into a TRS-80 Model 4 case, including my flat screen to replace the CRT of the Model 4. Like 'unknownK', I want it all at my fingertips - and I pretty much have that currently with over 3.5 terabytes of drive space, and a space saver Gateway SX2801-07E slim case computer. I'm a digital collector and I have archived PDF files of all my electronic and computer magazines, books and manuals. I've converted every CD, record album, book and magazine I owned to digital - and I'll never have enough time to ever get around to it all. I'd just like it all housed in a Model 4 case.

Currently I want basically anything I can get my hands on, however what I really want is something not as common, such as a NeXT Cube or something like that.

Um.. does next year have any other job openings? ;-)

the last time i was satisfied was pre IBM 51XX pre apple MAC. computers and users have gone downhill since then.

barythrin said:

Well, rip off is sorta an odd term for qdos. Rip off, yeah they bargained a great price and repackaged and sold it for a fortune but they did buy it. Interesting that Digital Research screwed the pooch though.

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I think DR realised there wasn't a light at the end of the tunnel hence its sell off of DrDos to Novell who didn't do much with it apart from using it as a basis for lawsuits then flicked it. Interesting that folk did keep enhancing it though, adding fat32 support (thanks to the FreeDos project) and more.. DRs Concurrent Dos had a number of off spring that were marketed into the 2000s. As for virus, they were "feature" of quite a number of OSs

Personally I don't have a "must have" machine but did manage get a couple of Acorn Risc PCs and picked up an Amiga. Things that did appeal to me early-mid 90s but for one reason or another never got around to aquiring at the time. OK I must admit I'm a GUI luver, Never owned a Mac of any type though but used them for work on number of occasions. For some reason Sun Spark Stations have recently created ich I must scratch.

Computer users are a wide and varied lot. To put them all into one group is just plain arrogance. My wife just bought new laptop, sketch pad and A3 printer/scanner for her hobby work- wood carving and stain glass design. Things that would have only dreams a couple of decades ago for home use. Didn't cost a 20 year salary either.

Caluser2000 said:

I think DR realised there wasn't a light at the end of the tunnel hence its sell off of DrDos to Novell who didn't do much with it apart from using it as a basis for lawsuits then flicked it.

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...and by the time Novell bought it (1991), that's all it was good for, realisitically. Windows 3 was a stroke of luck for Microsoft; MS had made it pretty well known by then that they were pulling out of the OS/2 collaboration to look after the Windows market. Windows was being bundled with some new machines and new apps for it were flooding the market.

From a mass-market viewpoint, DOS had just about as much of a future as did CP/M.

DRI had Gem, but it never really took off, other than for the Atari ST. The API for 68K GEM is almost identical to that of DOS, btw. At least I didn't have much problems moving to it from x86 DOS.

Vint said:

I guess my dream machine would be just what I have now on my desk - but to have it all shoehorned into a TRS-80 Model 4 case, including my flat screen to replace the CRT of the Model 4...

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That's a great idea, I've got an old MacMini laying around doing nothing, except serving media to my Apple TV. It could do that just as well housed in a Model 4 case, with a flat screen monitor. It should be relatively easy to install a MacMini in there. If I ever get another Model 4, one that's beyond repair, that's exactly what I'll do!! Thanks for the idea.

Chuck(G) said:

DRI had Gem, but it never really took off, other than for the Atari ST. The API for 68K GEM is almost identical to that of DOS, btw. At least I didn't have much problems moving to it from x86 DOS.

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That'd be an interesting discussion in itself. At the time wasn't Apple trying to sue the pants off anyone who coughed "graphical desktop"? DRI had to drop some features in GEM iirc.

I guess my dream machine would be the more simple around here:

A fully loaded 5160, with everything possible(all options, including 3 monitors, etc). Thinking about one sitting on my desk is just wonderful... I think I have about 2000 lb in computer parts here, I would trade all for this complete system

Tor said:

Oh well. I still hope to find one of those machines, maybe a smaller model but of the same type at least. There's a colleague hinting now and then that he might possibly have one stored away in his basement. But he's very vague about it.

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Yes, a ND-5700 Compact maybe? I wouldn't mind that myself, if I could find space for it.

An IBM 1130 with some extra disk packs. Once I've moved to my next house. Model 4, preferably. An 1800 or 1620 would do, too, with the right peripherals.