Computer Nostalgia (with period "model")

ChrisJ

I took this for the challenge a month ago, but wasn't that happy with it. It's missing something (like an old blueprint on the cube wall), but I still kind of like it. I tried to give a feel of someone working in the early 80s.




That is an old TRS-80 portable computer with printer and acoustic coupler modem from 1983. It still works and runs BASIC nicely. The desk may very well be from that era, too. I thought my co-worker with the nice 'burns really made the shot.

Any suggestions as to how I could have improved this are welcome!

Frog Lady

yeah, the "period model" really shouted out '80's Is he still sportin' those side burns in this modern age?

cheers,

C.

Dave Lee

Love the old Tandy. I still use my PC-7, which is a smaller programmable caluculator based on the PC-100 series.

I guess the nostalgia work on me.:D

Oops! I guess it was a TRS-80(should have read the entire post!) Must be a few years older than my tandy.

ChrisJ

Frog Lady wrote:

yeah, the "period model" really shouted out '80's Is he still sportin' those side burns in this modern age?

cheers,

C.

Yep, he's still got 'em... What do you expect from a wanna-be astronomer?

ChrisJ

Dave Lee wrote:

Oops! I guess it was a TRS-80(should have read the entire post!) Must be a few years older than my tandy.

One of the first systems I programmed on was the Desktop model Trash-80. I had never seen one of the portables until we found this in an old room.

Here's a closeup:

trs-80-small.jpg

Richard

ChrisJ wrote:

It's missing something (like an old blueprint on the cube wall), but I still kind of like it....
Any suggestions as to how I could have improved this are welcome!

It needs some junk food...potato chips, Jolt Cola, something like that. Cool idea.

Cheers,

ChrisJ

rsinmadrid wrote:

It needs some junk food...potato chips, Jolt Cola, something like that. Cool idea.

Cheers,

Ahh, yeah... Mountain Dew and some candy bars, that would have been good. Or maybe some coffee. I don't think Jolt existed in the early 80's though.

That would have given it a more "hacker" feel than a business worker. Good suggestion!

System

1- black horned rim glasses

2- white short-sleeve dress shirt-

3- clip-on tie-

4- pocket protector-

5- rotary phone?-

6- picture of carter or reagan as president?-

george

ps if you are wearing any of the above- no offense intended-

Dave Lee

gefillmore wrote:

1- black horned rim glasses

2- white short-sleeve dress shirt-

3- clip-on tie-

4- pocket protector-

5- rotary phone?-

6- picture of carter or reagan as president?-

george

ps if you are wearing any of the above- no offense intended-

None taken.

System

ha!-

good!-

raian

What a fun shot. IMHO could have been improved only by posting some 80's Big Hair Bands on that cubical wall :D

ChrisJ

gefillmore wrote:

1- black horned rim glasses
2- white short-sleeve dress shirt-
3- clip-on tie-
4- pocket protector-
5- rotary phone?-
6- picture of carter or reagan as president?-
george
ps if you are wearing any of the above- no offense intended-

Great suggestions here, George... you seem to *really* know what you're talking about.

I did look for a rotary phone, but couldn't find one...

ChrisJ

raian wrote:

What a fun shot. IMHO could have been improved only by posting some 80's Big Hair Bands on that cubical wall :D

Hmm... never thought about raiding the grad student hangouts. They probably only have decent stuff like Zeppelin, the Who, or Pink Floyd anyway.

System

long time before the 80's, but the favorite nerd in our class was 'booger'---lot smarter than 'one ball' longmire-

I did not know his sister but ended up marrying her in the mid-seventies--then I found out my brother-in-law was 'booger'!!-






no, not really

cornerketch

Hey, I still have the TRS-80 it works great.. doesn't do a lot compared to an iPod..

I liked the picture..

ChrisJ

gefillmore wrote:

no, not really

Nice one...

cornerketch wrote:

Hey, I still have the TRS-80 it works great.. doesn't do a lot compared to an iPod..

I liked the picture..

Thanks, cornerketch. But all the iPod does is play music and video! You could never play Zork on it!

mary

For a 1980s look, he needs a Mullet!!!

herion

ChrisJ wrote:

Nice one...



Thanks, cornerketch. But all the iPod does is play music and video! You could never play Zork on it!

Ahhh ... "What's big as a house and round as a cup and all the King's horses can't pull it up?"

:D:D:D:D

Blurmore

A Trash 80! I have a working C64 with 400 baud (maybe lower) modem, 1541 floppy drive, monitor, pacman on cartridge and speed 'doubler'. My dad bought it for me on my 7th birthday, we spent 6 hours programming it to make a red 'ball' bounce across the tv screen. The owner of the marina where my dad used to keep his boat had a database on a TRS80 he used untill he dies in 1997. We were at the office one day and he pulled out one of those like 10 inch floppies and I thought it was some kind of joke. Hard to believe the C64 was produced untill 1993, and the TRS80 in some iteration untill 1985. Now neither would make even a decent 1 MP camera processor.

System

I loved my c64-

programmed a check disbursement program on it in basic-

spent all night typing in code for a wp from the back of a magazine, was blind by the next morning, and the freakin' thing didn't work one bit (or 64, for that matter)-

my wife and a friend of hers spent all day one day playing zork II-

floppy drive always got overheated-

what a piece of junk!-

I was in heaven!-

shecodes

ChrisJ wrote:

The desk may very well be from that era, too. I thought my co-worker with the nice 'burns really made the shot.

The desk looks like one I bought at an Air Force salvage store in the mid-eighties.

Rotary phones were 70s and earlier.

System

Rotary phones were 70s and earlier.


well, little missy, when you get to my age, it all tends to run together-

do you remember the princess phones?-

george

shecodes

Yup, I remember Princess phones. I also remember my in-laws yellow rotary phone in their kitchen with the very long tangled cord. These days they still have a kitchen phone, but it's no longer harvest gold.

These days I use my Skype phone and my Vonage account rings my cell phone the same time my main phone rings. So I can answer just about anywhere.

I also remember 300 baud modems and my Atari 800.

Richard

shecodes wrote:

These days I use my Skype phone and my Vonage account rings my cell phone the same time my main phone rings. So I can answer just about anywhere.

I also remember 300 baud modems and my Atari 800.

Right. I have most of the tech-toys too, but I got more calls in the rotary dial days. :cry

System

ahhh, but did you ever have to carry around a slide rule-

Richard

gefillmore wrote:

ahhh, but did you ever have to carry around a slide rule-

Sure, but if you were nerdy enough you just clipped it to your belt. No problem.

System

no man-

I was cule with the slide rule-

Richard

gefillmore wrote:

no man-

I was cule with the slide rule-

Actually, I didn't mind the slide rule nearly as much as those boxes of 2000 punch cards. Man, those were heavy after a while.

System

good ol' fortran-

ian408

For a minute, I thought that was your desk on Pike St

I think karzas might have the phone you're looking for--want me to call him
for you

SirArmstrong

Wow, I had to laugh when I saw this. I had the same computer and printer! It all looks period ... even the sideburns.