IBM XT 5160: What to do with it?

[PandaBear]

If you cannot sell it to a collector, just recycle it.

Computational wise everything up to probably Pentium III can run DOS backward compatible enough and still has those serial parallel and floppy disk support in BIOS to do everything this thing does, 10000 times faster. There's also PC104 board that are faster and newer than this that's already obsoleted and scrapped and fit on your palm.

If I remember right the silicon's doping and metal stuff only last about 10 years reliably, at 30 years those stuff will likely make errors if you run it, even if it was powered off for the last 25 years.

 

[Andrew1972]

I see no purpose for this computer to exist except nostalgia.

I used the same computer in college and the best thing about it was I was able to run in a terminal into my universities network/UNIX where in 1992 they were smart enough to have ethernet in my University apartment. It also played tetris.

 

[javacontour]

Well, the original IBM PC was a single core 4.77MHz 32 bit machine.

Clock speeds are nearly 1000x faster, not to mention multiple cores, etc.

So not quite millions, but I would agree with the 10's of thousands of times faster.

Of course, it seems our computer code they run is 10's of thousands of times more bloated, so little to no net gain

 

[Alfred_B]

I read somewhere that NASA still runs those old PC-s and to procure parts, they buy vintage computers off of eBay.

Create a listing on eBay and see what happens.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: Tegger
Originally Posted By: robertcope
Is there a computer museum near you that you could donate it to?

That is a really good suggestion. I had not thought of that.

And there actually is a museum sorta-close to me: York University. York is a communist cesspool these days, but that's mostly for the "soft sciences"; I'm guessing their computer department is probably better. I just sent them an email.

It turns out that York is not interested: They already have such a machine and do not need another.

Now I'm trying The Personal Computer Museum.

I note a number of posters suggesting eBay. Thanks, but I don't have time for that. The money's not important; I just want to try to save a little bit of computer history.

 

[Kiwi_ME]

As I said earlier, post it on http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/forum.php in the marketplace forum, "free, pickup only." People there are always looking for original IBMs.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: Kiwi_ME
As I said earlier, post it on http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/forum.php in the marketplace forum, "free, pickup only." People there are always looking for original IBMs.

I did see that; thanks for the tip.

But I'd rather not register for yet another board I'll never use again. If the other museum doesn't want it, it goes to the dump and I move on to more important things.

 

[cptbarkey]

its good enough for police quest one. fire it up, just make sure to follow the proper police procedures, and no you cannot go into the ladies bathroom.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
its good enough for police quest one. fire it up, just make sure to follow the proper police procedures, and no you cannot go into the ladies bathroom.

I remember that game! If you did something really dumb, the game would stop and Daryl Gates would appear on screen and scold you for being stupid.

The version I had did not have a "save" feature, so you couldn't "save" part-way through the game, try something to see if it would work, then reload the saved game to try again. If you failed, you had to start the game all over again from the beginning. Frustrating.

Looks like that other museum isn't interested in the XT either. The thing is going to the dump the next time the weather goes below freezing long enough for the mud at the dump to solidify.

 

[mk378]

I do like the XT keyboards. They have a heavy, solid action based on IBM's years of building typewriters and other office machines.

 

[Garak]

Yes. You can still buy a buckling spring keyboard, and I've been tempted to do just that, many times. They can be pricey, though.

 

[Lubener]

I got rid of my old XT years ago but hung onto my Commodore Amiga 2000.

 

[bunnspecial]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Yes. You can still buy a buckling spring keyboard, and I've been tempted to do just that, many times. They can be pricey, though.


Unicomp still makes Model Ms(buckling spring) on the original IBM tooling.

I live ~20 miles from the factory, and have visited them on occasion.

I use a c. 1991 IBM Model M on a daily basis at work, although I also have a much newer Unicomp Model M that usually gets trotted out in March(it's the Unicomp University of Kentucky edition). If I remember, I might actually swap it out this week.

I keep meaning to order a Spacesaver M, which Unicomp makes as a Mac edition keyboard. As it is, I have my "Alt" key on my PC Model M mapped as the "Command"(Apple) key and the Control key mapped as Alt. The caps lock key functions as the control key. This may seem a bit strange, but "Alt" on a PC keyboard is located where my fingers search for the Apple key on an Apple keyboard(and it's the most used modifier key) while the Apple Control key is closer to the position of Alt on an Apple keyboard and is the second most used modifier-therefore it's second nature for my fingers to reach there. Control is rarely used on a Mac, which is why I place it where I do(and I never use caps lock).

I couldn't use a Model M when I shared an office due to noise complaints, but I'm happily using one now in my own office

 

[Virtuoso]

Ahh, Nostalgia. I would donate it if you can.

I wish I had kept my first computer, if just for giggles.

An Epson Equity I+. 8088 10MHz, 640k, 20meg HD, CGA graphics. It received a few upgrades along the way, but there was only so much you could do with 8bit ISA slots and and the 8088 processor.

The 386SX was quite the popular choice in the early 90s. Able to run 32 bit code, but hampered by the 16bit bus.

 

[Garak]

I like the idea of a buckling spring keyboard, and have used them in the past. However, all my home computers, going back to the TRS-80 Model IV, lacked that high end feature, so, I'm not married to the notion. Though, when this keyboard has had it, I will have to give it some serious consideration. I don't want a garbage $10 keyboard, but I don't want to be spending extra on a bunch of "features" I'll never need that don't actually translate to reliability or utility for me. I'd rather spend the money on the build quality itself.

 

[bunnspecial]

Originally Posted By: Garak
I like the idea of a buckling spring keyboard, and have used them in the past. However, all my home computers, going back to the TRS-80 Model IV, lacked that high end feature, so, I'm not married to the notion. Though, when this keyboard has had it, I will have to give it some serious consideration. I don't want a garbage $10 keyboard, but I don't want to be spending extra on a bunch of "features" I'll never need that don't actually translate to reliability or utility for me. I'd rather spend the money on the build quality itself.


If you buy a new buckling spring Model M from Unicomp(or an older IBM/Lexmark one), you are getting just that-no fancy features but "bomb proof" build quality.

About the only "special features" they offer are the ones with extra keys to make life easier for Mac users and some with special keycaps(like my University of Kentucky one I mentioned above). Even these carry only a modest premium over the "standard" Model M.

 

[Garak]

Yep, that's exactly what I'd be going for, the bomb proof no feature one!

 

[bunnspecial]

Here's the IBM one I mentioned on my work computer. You can see how big/heavy it is-I'd guess it weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 5lbs. I actually found this one in a garbage can at work-I took it apart, cleaned the keycaps ultrasonically, and hosed the rest of it down with deionized water. After I let everything dry and put the keycaps back on, it works perfectly and looks brand new.

Unicomps run ~$100 each, and can be had in either PS/2 or USB. I'm running the above off a cheap USB-PS2 adapter.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: Tegger
Looks like that other museum isn't interested in the XT either. The thing is going to the dump the next time the weather goes below freezing long enough for the mud at the dump to solidify.

UPDATE:

That "other museum" actually emailed me back! As of this afternoon my old XT resides at the Personal Computer Museum in Brantford, Ontario. I gave them a bunch of old software, too.

Thanks very much to BITOG poster "robertcope" for the suggestion of a museum donation.