# Who here is using the oldest computer to access SDMB? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 2, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373 "2009-10-02T17:49:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/1 "2009-10-02T17:49:25Z")
Who here is using the oldest computer to access SDMB? What are the specs of the machine and how is it accessing the internet? Does it perform well for your needs? Mine is about a year old, so I am sure its doing fine. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/2 "2009-10-02T17:53:15Z")
I occasionally use a PowerBook “[Pismo](http://lowendmac.com/pb2/pismo-powerbook-g3-2000.html)” to access the SDMB. It’s 9+ years old, and works fine, if a bit slow. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/3 "2009-10-02T18:12:25Z")
I use an IBM ThinkPad T20 when I surf from my laptop. I’m not sure of its age, but the sticker says “Designed for Windows 2000”. I’ve got XP SP2 on there, and use it to stream movie files from my server and surf the Web (using Chrome). Heavy Web sites are a tad slow, but the SDMB is just fine. I think it’s got a PIII 700mHz processor with 512mb of RAM. I have a wireless G PCI card stickin’ out the side. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/4 "2009-10-02T18:40:30Z")
In a thread like this a few years ago, someone posted a pic of what the SDMB looked like when viewed on a Commodore 64. I think that someone else had an older computer. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/5 "2009-10-02T18:41:13Z")
I got mine in the summer of 1999, so a little over 10 years old. I’ve replaced the dial-up modem (and now use Comcast), upgraded the RAM, replaced the hard drive a couple of times, replaced the sound card, video card, and power supply, and have long since had a new monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Beat that! ---
**Author:** ![Kalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/df705f/32.png) [@Kalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalypso)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/6 "2009-10-02T18:43:44Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I got mine in the summer of 1999, so a little over 10 years old. I’ve replaced the dial-up modem (and now use Comcast), upgraded the RAM, replaced the hard drive a couple of times, replaced the sound card, video card, and power supply, and have long since had a new monitor, keyboard, and mouse. > > Beat that! What’s the processor speed on that thing? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/7 "2009-10-02T18:50:53Z")
> [@Kalypso](#): > > What’s the processor speed on that thing? No idea. Six? It’s a Pentium-whatever-was-popular-at-the-time. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/8 "2009-10-02T18:53:16Z")
While my regular computer was being upgraded, I accessed the Dope on a [PowerMac 8100/80](http://lowendmac.com/ppc/power-macintosh-8100.html). Pages took five minutes to load, even though it was connected to the same cable modem as my regular computer, which loaded them immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/9 "2009-10-02T22:50:50Z")
At work I sometimes check out the board on a 1999 Dell 550 running Windows 98 with a dial up modem. My brother sometimes uses a 1997 Dell 150 with Windows 95. Even with dial up and the old computers you can still surf the board very well. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/10 "2009-10-02T23:54:45Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I got mine in the summer of 1999, so a little over 10 years old. I’ve replaced the dial-up modem (and now use Comcast), upgraded the RAM, replaced the hard drive a couple of times, replaced the sound card, video card, and power supply, and have long since had a new monitor, keyboard, and mouse. > > Beat that! If we’re playing at this [Ship of Theseus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus) game, I suppose one could say my rig dates to mid 1999. 😃 I’ve never once COMPLETELY started a new computer, there have been incremental upgrades from then until now. Of course, now is a core 2 duo running Vista. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/11 "2009-10-03T00:01:17Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > If we’re playing at this [Ship of Theseus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus) game, I suppose one could say my rig dates to mid 1999. Thanks for posting that unexpected link. I didn’t know the concept/paradox had a name. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/12 "2009-10-03T00:25:55Z")
I popped on here with my vintage-1995 PowerMac 7100/80 from time to time up until the tail end of 2006, but when the job I’d had at that time closed, I took that old computer home and haven’t hooked it up again. At the same job, I _did_ have an original Mac LC (circa 1990) with an ethernet card in it, and it COULD have run System 7 and therefore COULD have come here, but I had it booted into System 6 instead. I was having fun running the oldest operating system in the office. I could take it online but the godawful-pathetic MacWWW web browser which was the only thing I could run in System 6 could not handle vBulletin web sites. Meanwhile, my vintage-1999 “WallStreet” PowerBook G3 is still alive kicking and sees action now & then, and I’ve been on here with that as recently as this month. Oh, and I’m posting this using the classic version of iCab, running in MacOS 8.6, emulation environment courtesy of SheepShaver, System Folder & apps from my original system on the WallStreet. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/13 "2009-10-03T02:10:34Z")
My ex-husband once pulled up the SDMB on a Commodore-64 running some custom software and attached to our router with a jerry-rigged connection using a Palm cradle. My laptop is much newer. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/14 "2009-10-03T02:56:56Z")
\ I may have the newest! I just got it today! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sebastienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Sebastienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sebastienne)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/15 "2009-10-03T04:24:16Z")
I’m usually reading the Dope with a circa 2000 Sony Vaio laptop-- the thing has a floppy drive built in, how quaint! It runs Ubuntu quite well, though the small amount of RAM it has is constantly apparent. Still, its sturdiness has made me something of a fan of Vaios, despite only having acquired this one as a very cheap emergency replacement when my primary laptop died. (It doesn’t have a battery, however, which I really should remedy-- though I think a new battery would cost as much as what I paid for the laptop itself.) Very occasionally I’ll go online with my blue bubble iMac, but that hasn’t come up in quite awhile. I should add that I do have a very nice tablet PC purchased just this past year, but I use it exclusively for school and don’t want to grub it up with too much casual use. EDIT: And congratulations to Ruby! ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/16 "2009-10-03T15:12:33Z")
On the Wiki page for the Apple/II, there was a pic of some guy using one to access the internets. I can’t pull up the page right now, serius bandwith issues. But… does anyone know someone that pulled that off? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/17 "2009-10-03T15:40:01Z")
I have a ca. 1997-8 Dell OptiPlex GX1p that I can access the Dope from. I _don’t_, but I could. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/18 "2009-10-03T17:00:10Z")
You really can access the web, including the SDMB, from a Commodore 64 circa 1982. There is even a web browser for it. I don’t have a physical Commodore 64 any more but I do have the emulator that acts as a virtual computer exactly like the real thing on my Windows computer. I did access the web through it as an experiment once and it worked. You could technically buy a Commodore 64 on Ebay and post to the SDMB if you really wanted to. I may try that virtual experiment with the emulator again later today if I have the time. I am pretty sure you can go back farther than that if you wanted to though. There is a text only web browser called Lynx that has versions for VMS and Unix which have roots back to the 1960’s. I used it at a job that had a no web surfing policy and the SDMB when viewed from it just looks like you have a programming window open and I posted from it. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/19 "2009-10-03T17:32:11Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I got mine in the summer of 1999, so a little over 10 years old. I’ve replaced the dial-up modem (and now use Comcast), upgraded the RAM, replaced the hard drive a couple of times, replaced the sound card, video card, and power supply, and have long since had a new monitor, keyboard, and mouse. > > Beat that! Reminds me of ad I once saw for the original hatchet George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree. Despite the fact that it was so old, the handle had only been replaced twice and the blade just once. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373/20 "2009-10-03T17:36:20Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > If we’re playing at this [Ship of Theseus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus) game, I suppose one could say my rig dates to mid 1999. > > 😃 > > I’ve never once COMPLETELY started a new computer, there have been incremental upgrades from then until now. > > Of course, now is a core 2 duo running Vista. To be fair, it sounds like **tdn** has never replaced the motherboard, so there is a part of it that does date to the original machine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-is-using-the-oldest-computer-to-access-sdmb/512373.md?page=2)