#thrift store computer

[someexistite]

I got a working computer from the thrift store for $6.25 USD (including tax)

specs for nerds:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 @ 2.66GHz

1 GB DDR2-800 SDRAM Non-ECC RAM

256 GB HDD

Windows 7 Professional (according to the sticker on the side, it originally has Windows XP Professional)

CD/DVD drive

Intel DG33FB motherboard (I found a manual for it on the CIA website)

things that don't work:

CD/DVD drive (wasn't plugged in, the sata cable going to it was plugged into another sata port on the motherboard) (when trying to open the tray, makes two clunks then gives up)

Audio (doesn't detect any speakers)

Network (no WiFi antenna, my USB TP-Link refuses to work, I haven't any ethernet cables)

CMOS battery (thinks it's currently 2006)

[spirit-creates]

love from the past [commissions info]

[taperwolf]

Today in thrift store finds that got away—

They had a Yamaha QY-20, a little MIDI sequencer and player from 1993. It's about the size of a paperback book and runs on batteries; there's nothing there that I can't do with my phone (and some adapter cables, admittedly), but it's such a cute form factor. It won't play standard MIDI files without adaptation — the later QY-22 added General MIDI support — and I don't know how the sound quality is, though I expect it's got one of the era's FM chips.

(I'd like to say I decided I wouldn't really use it enough, but mostly it's just too expensive for a binge purchase.)

They also had a CoCo!

The TRS-80 Color Computer (1980) was Radio Shack's swing at the home computer market; the previous TRS-80 models were Z-80 machines with monochrome monitors, and this one (based on the Motorola 6809) was more the sort you could plug into a television.

(I don't have any personal nostalgia for the machine, just general Tandy nostalgia.)

[diltonsstrangescience]

I was thinking about Dilton’s insane garage laboratory again, and I got an idea for a comic. I would draw it, but I draw so slowly that it would take forever to finish a 6+ page comic, and I have too many other ideas to work on. So all you get is a written summary:

— Dilton’s dad hears from the other parents (or the newspaper) that multiple cars have been broken into or stolen in the past few weeks, and he decides the family needs to keep their car safely in the garage instead of the driveway, at least until the perpetrator is caught.

— He informs Dilton that this means Dilt needs to clear all his science stuff out of the garage to make room for the car.

— “You want me to dismantle my lab? Dad, please, don’t do this to me! Anything else!”

— “This isn’t a punishment, it’s just how things have to be for the foreseeable future. Your lab was our garage first, and we need a garage more than we need a lab right now.”

— “But how can you expect me to transport all of my equipment within the day? Where can I possibly store it all? How can I continue my experiments under these conditions?”

— “Why don’t you ask those friends of yours for help? I’m sure they’d be more than happy to lend a hand. That boy Moose, especially, should be useful in carrying your computers around.”

— So Dilton asks the gang for help, and they agree to help him clear out his lab, as well as each taking a portion of his science stuff to look after (there wasn’t enough space in Dilton’s room for all of it). They also agree to keep Dilton’s experiments going themselves, in small ways like taking notes on observations, or adding three drops of such and such to this concoction each day… etc. They’re all excited, thinking it’s going to be fun to try their hand at mad science for a while.

— Next comes a series of little Disasters caused by Dilton’s science in the hands of his inexperienced friends over the next few days.

— One of his friends ends up drinking some sort of potion (or multiple), either on accident or on purpose, and there’s some kind of weird effect—I’m not sure what yet, but almost definitely a minor transformation of some sort, on the same level as turning green or growing a tail or only talking in parrot squawks. This causes humorous problems in their life. (Jug wouldn’t drink unknown potions on purpose, because he has common sense, but Archie has none, so it would make more sense for him to do it intentionally.)

— One of his friends has to look after some animal test subjects, like mice in cages or something, but it turns out the animals have been made superintelligent, and they break out and start sabotaging the character with clever plots. The character fights back, mostly unsuccessfully, and things descend into Tom & Jerry territory. (I think this would be funny with Jug, especially since Hot Dog could be there too, animal vs animals.)

— One of his friends (maybe Betty?) has to look after a robot, and all seems cool and fine until it malfunctions (not her fault) and turns evil or chaotic and starts destroying things. (Its glowing eyes turn from green to red, so it’s clear that it’s evil now. This was an intentional design choice on Dilton’s part, as a warning sign in case of malfunction, and because it looks cool.)

— Veronica is given something she doesn’t need to observe or use, just store somewhere and not mess with. But at a fancy party, she tries to show off to her rich friends that she’s smart as well as beautiful and wealthy by showing off ”””her””” cool new invention, and she turns it on. She immediately loses control of it, whatever it does, and it causes a Disaster. This one’s working correctly, but Veronica doesn’t understand how it works or how it turns off, so it’s still causing a problem. (Hmm… maybe a weather-creating machine? Imagine a blizzard packed into a ballroom.)

— (Midge and Moose also helped Dilton, so I need to think of two more disasters. Or maybe, since they’re closer friends to Dilton, they know a thing or two about science and following instructions, so they don’t do anything they’re not supposed to, and they happen not to meet with any malfunction-type accidents. Everything goes fine with them.)

— The comic ends with Dilton’s dad reading in the newspaper that the crook who was breaking into and stealing all these cars has been caught and put in jail. He says to Dilton that this means their car is safe (because problems are very simple in this world), and so Dilton can have the garage back for his lab. (Let’s say it’s been like a week since the start of the comic.) Dilton is excited, and says he’ll go find his friends right away and tell them, and get his science stuff back. He rushes out the front door, only to find all his friends running up his sidewalk together, all carrying the science stuff he gave them and begging him to please take it all back! (Dilton is surprised, because he had no clue about all their problems, but everybody else looks like a wreck from their individual ordeals. This is all in stark contrast to how excited they seemed in the beginning to take on the science.)

— The end! That last scene was the punchline and final panel.

[benjaminallhope-fulltimemind]

What would you need this for, found this at my local Dollar Tree.

[mechahero]

//I kind of want to push how anachronistic the tech in Motor City is or looks. Or at the very least I'm considering it. It might turn out that way in how the tech there looks while still including tech you would see in the modern day with tablets and smartphones and whatnot.

[theantagonist]

my horny ass could not be a computer repair man.

[thisbibliomaniac]

I got my first mp3 player when I was 13. I still have it. It came with 100 free downloads from a site that probably doesn't exist anymore. I downloaded 100 songs, and listened to them nonstop for two weeks. On day 15, every one of those songs "expired", and were no longer playable. That experience has been in the back of my mind ever since, and that's why I have refused to pay for anything digital (with a couple of notable exceptions), and every bit of media I purchase is a physical disc.

[goodnightwindy]

oof wait idk if the. garbage dump is allowing dumpster diving rn. sad ! well theres thrift stores

[thriftrescue]

big old classy Mac keepin it real at thrift. i wanted it just for the lols but couldn’t justify it.

[wormgremlin]

Friendly reminder that there are products that prioritize longevity still out there! A lot of times they're still expensive but not top of the market expensive. The issue more comes from something else being sacrificed in the name of longevity.

Here are a few examples of things I have been in the market for recently:

Phones! Fairphone comes in at #1. It's expensive yes, but cheaper than an iPhone coming in at $600-800 but being theoretically upgradable ad infinitum. Plus values fair trade sourcing. A few other smaller companies maintain right to repair and sell reasonably priced replacement parts, e.g. Unihertz.

Backpacks/bags! I just bought an Osprey to retire my >10 year old backpack. They are built to last and have a guarantee to repair or replace the bag FOR LIFE. That means this is the last bag I really should ever NEED to buy. And they're good for it. I had a teacher who had a 20 some odd year old bag, sent it in for a repair, they decided they couldn't fix it, couldn't replace it because they don't even make that model anymore. So told her to pick a bag and they would ship it to her free of cost. Again, expensive for a backpack, but if you shop sale items, $50-100. Still cheaper than some. It's not a designer name, it's not super cute, but it's a dang nice bag and an even better guarantee.

Boots! There have apparently been increasing QC issues, especially since the manufacturer change, but built to last compared to other boots, and they also have a lifetime guarantee. I am guilty of wearing the same boots every day no matter what the weather or my outfit is like. Plus I have bad feet and knees. So yeah, $200-300 pair of boots, but at least I can actually use them unlike the $600+ designer boots coming out these days. I hear they're pretty good about fulfilling the guarantee too.

Computers (laptops specifically)! Framework somewhat recently came on the scene as a completely upgradable laptop. Continually cranking out upgrades and support. Similar to a fairphone version of a computer, but less focus on sourcing. I've actually done a lot less research on this because they simply don't make it to second hand markets, and the new price tag is too much for me. But starts at $850, which is a hell of a lot cheaper than a MacBook these days, or even most Microsoft and Dell computers.

I'm not saying any of these things are cheap. I am saying that you can still buy longevity if you seek out the market. I put my money into boots and a backpack because both of my old ones were falling apart on me (3+ years and 10+ years respectively). I have more money than I've had in years, but I am still poor af. But I decided the extra money was worth it to never have to worry about getting holes in either of them ever again or have to think about scrounging the money to buy another one.

This of course comes in part from being raised upper middle class with a very much "invest in good boots" mentality passed down over generations from when my grandfather was a houseboy for a wealthy family almost 100 years ago. So yeah. I wore a pair of boots with holes in them until I had $300 to splurge on boots (and there was a sale). I used my backpack with holes in it until I could splurge on a new one (and there was a sale).

I'm also queer and gender is meaningless to me which means I buy a lot of men's products! Women's products are simply skimpy garbage (like seriously, buy a nice 100% cotton pair of men's Levi's -- I got mine second hand, but will never go back; how do you make jeans skimpy???). It takes a lot of intention and research and either money or ability to get things second hand (which is size restrictive, takes a lot of time, and often ability to go pick things up which in America=drive). But the market exists.

Which I'm not saying exists in a boots theory economy is good. But it is possible to exist without having to replace boots and phones and computers and bags on a near yearly basis.

This makes me so sad and also I'm trying to remember if any of the Discworld books dealt with late stage capitalism

[rohirric-hunter]

I got a bluetooth keyboard hoping it would make it easier to write on my phone but what I didn't account for was the clicky noises the keys make being really really satisfying so I maybe just spent like 20 minutes repeatedly pressing my hands down on a powered down keyboard that isn't even connected to anything instead of actually writing

[thirsty-4-ghouls]

No one has been more convincing about encouraging me to play fallout new Vegas than the queer people in my phone. Literally every straight man I know in real life could not be half as convincing as the autistic queer people on this website

[swampthingking]

there’s something about an alien who’s been exiled to earth googling “human clothes”

[kleefkruid]

Every fun post on here that encourages people to have hobbies/be creative always gets an avalanche of "Some people are poor Karen" type reactions and respectfully, you're all super annoying. I've never lived above the poverty line and this is a list of hobbies I have that were cheap or entirely free:

Read books: Go to the library, lend a book from a friend

knitting, crochet, embroidery: Get some needles from the bargan store and ask around, people have leftovers from projects they'll happily give you. Thrift stores also often carry leftover fabric and other supplies. And talk about your hobby loud enough and an old lady will show up and gift you their whole collection, because there are way more old ladies with a closet full of wool than there are grandchildren who want to take up the hobby.

Origami/paper crafts: get some scrap paper and scissors, watch a youtube tutorial

walking: put on shoes open door

pilates/yoga/etc: get a mat or just use your carpet, watch a youtube tutorial

Houseplants: look online for people that swap plant cuttings. There are always people giving out stuff for free to get you started. If you're nice enough you'll probably get extra

gardening: You're gonna need some space for this one of course but you can just play around with seeds and cuttings from your grocery vegetables.

aquarium keeping is a bit of an obscure one but I got most of my stuff second hand for cheap or free and now I have a few thousand euro worth of material and plants.

drawing/art: You get very far just playing with bargan store materials. I did my entire art degree with mostly those.

writing: Rotate a cow in your head for free

cooking: again one you can make very expensive, but there are many budget recipes online for free. Look for African or Asian shops to get good rice and cheap spices.

Join a non-profit: Cities will have creative organisations who let you use woodworking machines or screen presses or laser cutters or 3D printers etc etc etc for a small fee. Some libraries also lend out materials.

candle making: You need some molds (cheap), wick, two old cooking pots for au bain marie melting and a ton of scrap candles, ask people to keep them aside for you.

a herbarium, flower pressing: Leaves are free, wildflowers too, ask if you can take from peoples gardens.

puzzles: thrift stores, your grandma probably

Citizen science: look for projects in your area or get the iNaturalist app

And lastly and most importantly: Share! Share your supllies, share your knowledge. Surround yourself with other creative people and before you know it someone will give you a pot of homemade jam and when you want to paint your kabinet someone will have leftover paint in just the right color and you can give them a homemade candle in return and everyone is having fun and building skills and friendships and not a cent is exchanged. We have always lived like this, it's what humans are build to do.

And all of it sure beats sitting behind a computer going "No stranger, I refuse to let myself have a good time."

Anyway I'm logging off bc I'm making some badges for a friend who cooked for me and then I'm going to fix some holes in everyones clothes.