Most people on this forum have a collection of old iron. But apart from the occasional workout, does anyone use their machines for a modern day purpose?
I do. I’m presently in a local theatre production and have LOTS of lines to learn (hence vintage computing has taken a back seat). I’ve dragged out my PS/2 30-286 and programmed a small “reader” program (with the text in DATA statements) which allows me to reveal the script line by line (and also erase the script from the screen going backwards) simply by pressing on appropriate keys. The script can unfold and when I come to the line before mine I can recite my line, press a button and check if I’m right. If I'm not, I can reverse up and try again.
Now I know there are lots of other ways to do this. I could record the lines on an audio data recorder, then leave a gap for “my” lines, reveal the lines with a piece of paper in the script or ask my wife to read the other lines. I could even write a similar program in a modern programming environment or using Virtual PC if I wanted the old BASICA. Heck, even scrolling down with a double-spaced Word document would do it!
But…it was a nostalgia blast to do that old BASIC programming again so why not! Why a PS/2 30-286? Basically because of all my old machines it’s very reliable and has a small footprint on the desk. Also it has the Model M IBM keyboard. I programmed a lot of BASICA, QUICKBASIC and TURBO PASCAL code on that keyboard.
Anyone else played with their old machines recently?