WHAT IS THIS?

November 20th, 2007 by Ulaf Silchov

DEVICE ONE

ULAF FIND THIS IN THE GARAGE OF BENJ TODAY. IN FACT MY MIND ALMOST DIED ON IT BECAUSE THE DEVICE MAKES A HEAVY GOOD TRIPPER. DOES ANY OF MY PERSONS UNDERSTAND WHAT IS THIS? TELL ULAF DURING THE COMMENTARY UNDER THIS MESSAGE.

Guest Editor Introduction: ULAF EDIT THE GHOST THIS WEEKS

November 20th, 2007 by Ulaf Silchov

Ulaf Silchov[ Since Kotaku is being guest-edited by Simon Carless, and GameSetWatch is being guest-edited by Karsden Mörderhäschen this week, I figured I’d join in the trend by taking a break for Thanksgiving and leaving good ‘ole Ulaf Silchov in charge of VC&G for a while. I’ll still be around popping in to check on him, but for now he holds the reins. –Benj ]

ULAF DISCOVERED HIS MIND IN A STRANGER FUNNY POSITIONS THIS MORNING (NO, NOT LIKE THE YOGA). SINCE THE THINKSGIVING DID NOT CELEBRATED IN THE NATIVE COUNTRY OF MY MIND, THE BENJ TELLS ME TO ROLL IN THIS WEEKS WHILE HIS MIND CONSUMED THE TURNKEYS WITH PLEASURE. ULAF CALL IT CLASH OF BARBARIANS, BUT AMERICAS STILL CALLS IT THE THINKSGIVING KNOWLEDGE HOLIDAYS.

THE STORY BEGUN THIS: HIS MIND CALL MY MIND THIS MORNINGS TO TELL ULAF TO EMBODY SPOOKY GHOST EDITOR OF VINTAGE COMPUTERS WHILE HIS MIND RELAX IN FROSTY ELK BACKYARD. ULAF TELL HIM, “ULAF DID NOT USUALLY EDIT GHOST BECAUSE THE GHOST TASTE INEDIBLE.” BUT THE BENJ TELL ULAF, Turkey“NO BOTHER. HERE ULAF, WE GIVE YOUR MIND THE KEYS TO THE GARAGE OF MY MIND. DO WHAT YOU WILL WITH PICTURES”

NOW HERE ULAF SIT IN THE GARAGE OF HIS MIND, COLDER THAN GORST CHRISTMAS, BUT SURRENDERED BY THE BEAUTIFUL COMPUTER (AND THE OTHER JUNKS). SO FAR CATS DEFECATED ON ULAF’S LAP TWICE. MORE SAD FOR ULAF, MOST OF THE VIDEO GAMES STAY LOCKED INSIDE THE HOUSE OF THE BENJ. BUT ULAF STILL IN THE GOOD SPIRIT OF VINTAGE TECHNOLOGIES.

PLEASE PATIENCE MY MIND THIS WEEKS, AS ULAF EDUCATE TO WRITE MORE OF THE ENGLISH LUNG WITHOUT TRANSFORMERS AND ENVISION MORE OF THE COMPUTERS IN THE GARAGE OF THE BENJ FOR MY PERSONS TO ENJOY. ALSO ULAF MIGHT TELLS THE FEW SPOOKY GHOST ESSAYS IF YOUR MIND FEELS LUCKY.

THANK YOU FOR READING MY PERSONS. THIS IS ALL FOR NOW. UNTIL NEXT TIME THIS IS ULAF SAYING BE THE MASTER.

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[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Donkey King

November 19th, 2007 by Benj Edwards

Donkey King AdvertisementHmm. I wonder what game this is a copy of?

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An Apple IIe in Every Kitchen by 2008

November 15th, 2007 by Benj Edwards

An Apple IIe system in Benj's Kitchen

Last month I received the spiffy Apple IIe system you see above as part of a sizable donation to my computer collection (thanks Tom!). This particular IIe configuration hails from a high school in Ohio where it was used primarily as an AppleWorks machine in the mid-late 1980s.

After carefully peeling away decades of nasty, nasty sticky dirt and grime from the hardware, I naturally set it all up on my kitchen table (hence the ceramic duck, a must in every modern kitchen). Instead of splitting up the set for parts, I decided that it would be fun to keep it all together and preserve it as it was used in the school.

Benj's Apple IIe Kitchen MouseMuch to the mixed delight/chagrin of my wife, I doodled on Deluxe Paint with the mouse and tried various games on disk every day for about three weeks while eating breakfast. Alas, after about a month in the culinary limelight, the Kitchen IIe’s novelty has finally begun to wear thin. It will soon move on to another table, but I plan to keep this “school system” together with all its original parts so it will remain a functional example of 1980s educational computing.

[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Fishing for Dolphins

November 12th, 2007 by Benj Edwards
Data-Ed Teco Monitor Dolphin Ad

Dolphins are losers. Or is it the other way around?

Welcome to the world’s most bizarre and confusing vintage computer ad. The headline of the ad reads “hook a winner*,” but upon examining further down the page, you’ll notice that the footnote asterisk sits halfway between the words “dolphin” and “winner.”

So what exactly were they trying to say? “Hook a winner, not a dolphin” or “Hook a winner — like a dolphin”? Either way, who hooks dolphins?

“Damn, it’s another dolphin; gotta throw him back.”

[ From BYTE Magazine, May 1981 ]

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Yikes. $9000 Video Game Collection

November 9th, 2007 by Benj Edwards

If one guy can get $9000 for this on eBay…

$9000 Video Game Collection

…what do you think I could get for this? Not to mention the bajillions of games, controllers, and accessories not on that list. I just want to know what to put on my insurance claim form if my house burns down.

[Special thanks to Chris for sending this my way.]

Keep or Toss? Radius 21″ Greyscale Mac Monitor

November 8th, 2007 by Benj Edwards

I need to clean out my garage. That’s where I keep most of my computer collection. In order to have space for new and exciting things, some of the older, less exciting, and bulkier items must go.

Radius TPD/21E 21\" Greyscale Macintosh Monitor

Up on the block today is this nifty Radius TDP/21E 21″ greyscale monitor. It’s a unique piece of Macintosh history, but it’s huge. It has the peculiar resolution of 1152 x 870, doesn’t support color, and requires a unique NuBus controller card to work (which, incidentally, I have). Honestly, if I had a warehouse to store these things in, I’d definitely keep it. But I recently received it as a donation, and I don’t really have the room for it.

So I thought I’d let you guys decide for me. Is it worth saving, even if it takes up tons of space and I’ll never really use it? On the other hand, I could always toss out something else to make room for it. I’m having trouble deciding, so help me out.

Why I Love Japan

November 7th, 2007 by Benj Edwards

Because they make game covers like this:

Why I Love Japan

Ah — nothing like a Japanese Famicom Disk System classic. Is anybody out there willing to attempt an interpretation of this game’s synopsis from this picture alone? You’re up for a serious challenge.

Heck, I’ve played it and I still don’t know what it’s about.

How Not to Dismantle a Hard Drive

November 6th, 2007 by Benj Edwards

Did you know the platters in most hard disk drives these days are made of glass? Neither did I, until last week…

Shattered Glass Hard Disk Platter

What ever happened to good ‘ole fashioned aluminum discs? Thanks to a particularly rash and forceful extrication technique, I managed to spray bits of shattered, data-covered glass over half of my garage. Luckily, the pieces weren’t very sharp, as manufacturers apparently mix in some ceramic for good measure.

In case you were wondering about the whole scene to begin with, here’s the scoop: The drive was bad. I was after the wonderful, super-powerful neodymium magnets that reside within every modern hard drive (they’re part of the drive’s voice coil actuator assembly). I had previously given my entire hard disk magnet collection to my dad for use in his seismograph dampening system (doh!), so, naturally, I wanted some more. In the end, I got them — along with a room full of glass, a pretty picture, and a story to tell the grandkids.

[ Retro Scan of the Week ] The Voice — Odyssey 2 Speech Synthesizer

November 5th, 2007 by Benj Edwards

Odyssey 2 Voice Flier

I acquired this slick brochure promoting “The Voice” some years ago when I bought a nice collection of Odyssey 2 stuff. The Voice add-on unit apparently added speech synthesizer capabilities (and enhanced sound effects, according to the flier) to Magnavox’s Odyssey 2 console. I don’t own a “The Voice,” but I’ve always wanted one. They’re very rare, so if anybody has one they don’t want anymore, let me know.

Did anyone out there have one of these units?

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