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June 2nd, 2010
By Jeff Garrison, on June 2nd, 2010
When it came in the door in receiving, I couldn’t resist getting it on the bench and checking it out. TeleVideo Computer.
Yellowed casing. Matched keyboard. 9 inch green text screen. Not in new condition. Over 28 years of pulling its weight and yet it growled to life the minute I flipped the switch.
It has a 20MB Winchester hard disk and runs CP/M the ancient pre-Microsoft operating system. 640kb of memory. 5-1/4 inch floppy drive. It will be reused, not recycled. It’s a museum piece. It deserves a long life. 
May 26th, 2010
By Jeff Garrison, on May 26th, 2010
This week it’s a Rescued Relic featuring a machine/project that highlights the Repair-to-Reuse philosophy Nextstep is supporting:
The GBC 4250 Medium-Scale Laminator.
Listen in as we tell the tale of a nearly recycled jewel saved by the Repair-to-Reuse actions of one of Nextstep’s own.
April 28th, 2010
By Jeff Garrison, on April 28th, 2010
 This week, I am highlighting the Apple IIGS computer. Still extremely popular; highly collected, this came in a collection from a retired geek lady who came with her daughter to Nextstep Saturday the 24th of April.
She worked for the Atari company and we shared some stories of computers of old, and she donated Atari accessories, Commodore things, a Tandy 1000 Computer, and some Apple and Macintosh goodies.
We honor her donation and her contribution on the show.
April 21st, 2010
By Jeff Garrison, on April 21st, 2010
From 1986, the Talking Computron is a speech synthesized learning “computer” for children.
It came with spelling, math and music exercises and a game or two.
Speech synthesis, making a machine talk, had been around and in use in computing for many years
before this model came out. And the speech produced by this still-young technology was not up to par. In fact much of what this toy “says” is hard to understand.
But, it represents one interesting milestone: A talking computing and learning tool that cost only $30 at a time when computers couldn’t be bought for much less than $1000.00.
And, 24 years later, it still works as it did when first sold. You’ll hear it “talk” on today’s show.
Episode 12: Show Page (Podcast/UStream) | Guests | Rescued Relic
April 7th, 2010
By Jeff Garrison, on April 7th, 2010
 I rescued a circa 1993 giant metal-box business computer on Saturday. It has an 80486slc CPU, 16MB of memory and a 120MB hard drive. I haven’t done a rescue on machine of this type for some time.
I put DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.11 on it over the weekend. All that’s missing is Internet Explorer 3 for 3.x and some of the connectivity software and it will be an internet box celebrating the “way it was” in websurfing for around 1994.
 About DOS 6.22
The Disk Operating System taken by Microsoft and modified/improved all the way to around 1999 (DOS 7). It was 1994 when DOS 6.22 was made available. DOS was a non-GUI system for control and use of older PCs.
About Windows 3.11
On 31 December 1993, Microsoft released an update for Windows 3.1 that (aside from installing new files) changes the Windows version displayed in “About” dialog boxes to 3.11. Thus, Windows 3.11 is not a standalone version of Windows, but rather a software update from Windows 3.1, much like modern Windows service packs. For those who did not own Windows 3.1, full disk sets of Windows 3.11 were available at the time.
April 7th, 2010
By Jeff Garrison, on April 7th, 2010
In a container we were going through during one of our two-day’s scheduled Business Sorting Program, I discovered something I hadn’t seen for nearly 40 years.
There were two 4-Track Tape Playback Units that came from a TV station locally, along with a spinning rack of tapes.
My first job at KAVR radio 960 in Apple Valley, California put me in the role as a Disk Jockey/ Engineer whose duties, among the mentioned were to keep the electrical and frequency settings of the station in the proper boundaries so we wouldn’t be fined by the FCC or knock out the main transmitter taking us off the air.
The machine was used by us, like at the TV station, to play recorded messages both from professional recording services and our own disk jockeys. Commercials and local announcements for upcoming events went to these tapes which could range in size from 5 seconds (you snip the tape to length yourself in that case) to up to almost half an hour.
There’s an interesting history to the tapes we used, starring one of the most colorful pitchmen ever to own an electronics manufacturing company.
March 31st, 2010
By Jeff Garrison, on March 31st, 2010
 This week’s Rescued Relic is part thing and part idea. I have a rescued relic, but I also have an idea that I’d like to pass on to you that will maybe rescue some Relic Thinking, too.
This weekend, I was inspired to write a presentation about giving technology to more people who are least likely to be able to afford it. A movie was forwarded to me in an email by an old friend regarding the direction and speed of changes in the world and how technology is crucial to keeping up with the changes. A popular source to place and find knowledge about change comes from websites on the internet. They’re quicker with news than the TV channels because you see it sooner and it’s updated more frequently.
I pondered about how many people, because of financial limitations wouldn’t be able to have access to the information. Then I thought of explaining how older technology, with some very light enhancements, can be used to bridge the gap and make access to technology more affordable.
I own a miniature Dell computer that’s not normally a desirable machine to own. It is a bare bones model workstation that didn’t come with a CD ROM, it had minimal memory, onboard video (1MB), and relatively small hard drive. I don’t store music or pictures on it so small hard drive is OK for how I use it.
To me, a useful computer is one that can email, browse most modern web pages, do Facebook, Twitter, stream videos off youtube and stream music from a number of websites that host music.
What did I do to make it better than just the measly workstation it was?
  I added one stick of memory, a faster CPU, and a video card with more memory in it. By spending very little on it to begin with, little on it to modify it, I have a machine that does well and serves my needs without buying a new or high end used computer. That supports the reuse-before-recycle philosophy that is NextStep’s focus.
With the newer parts in place there was only one thing missing: an operating system. There was a license on the side of this Dell for Windows 2000, a Microsoft operating system considered these days to be too old for usefulness by most including Microsoft who is ending support for it in July of this year.
I used a Linux operating system I’ve been very fond of for a number of years. I found a remade version that added some really cool applications that make it quite modern for its tiny size of 300MB.(Bear in mind that an average Windows operating system is about 4,000MB or more). This is a free operating system. Free as in beer, meaning somebody pays for it with their donated time and resources, but YOU pay nothing. A huge community of geeky people all over the world contribute to it’s development and it comes with a lot of features that may surprise you. Linux in general is an unfairly misunderstood operating system. It is unlike Windows in enough ways that it is avoided by some computer users. And that’s sad. Some Linuxes, like the one I use, can be tried without affecting the Windows version you may have installed on your computer. These are made to be copied to a CD and can boot your computer so you can try Linux without erasing the Windows install. Actually using the CD as if it were your hard disk without wrecking any existing operating system OR the computer.
Using the freely supplied operating system and the older technology like my inexpensive little Dell workstation, more people can have the access to information the internet provides at lesser cost.
There are computers with the insides like I put in my Dell that you don’t have to modify. You can find them at either of our two NextStep ReUse Stores.
If you have the will and determination to learn and think differently, you can have access to the information that will educate you and inform you and let you be connected to friends through social sites like Facebook and Twitter to mention a few.
Using older technology supports reuse over recycling, one of the fundamental messages this radio show expresses. Reuse IS the new recycle. Not so old old can be the not so new but surprisingly useful new.
Come on in to one of our ReUse Stores and see what you can find. We look forward to hearing about how what you did caused a change for the better in your life, and maybe the lives of others, too.
March 24th, 2010
By Jeff Garrison, on March 24th, 2010
This week’s Rescued Relic is a Quasar black and white portable TV. I call it the “Pacman” TV because of its unique front closure.
It’s Quasar’s (Panasonic) model XP1478BH, made in December of 1986 and has a built-in AM/FM tuner plus its VHF and UHF stations. It runs with the AC adapter, and can be used with Nickel-Cadmium batteries.
This TV, after 24 years, still works great. Sadly, many areas of the country don’t have “over-the-air” broadcast of TV anymore, but here in Oregon, for now, we’re able to watch a few stations.
March 17th, 2010
By Jeff Garrison, on March 17th, 2010
Kentucky Fried Computer—The name first given to a company started in a garage. This unit is better know to the world as the Northstar Advantage. A huge heavy hulk of a computer, it’s an all-in-one style with a monochrome screen and an IBM Selectric Typewriter keyboard. It come with 2 MB of RAM, and a very expensive upgrade: A 5MB, yes megabyte, hard disk. Oh, yes, it also has a 5-1/4 inch floppy disk drive. This machine was sold in 1982. It ran a weird operating system called CP/M. After 28 years, this tank of a computer, the size of medicine ball, is still able to boot and run. A real testament to the makers.
February 17th, 2010
By Jeff Garrison, on February 17th, 2010
Jeff restored this vintage 8-track player this week. The whole system is hinged and closes up for easy carrying! the unit also detaches for a fuller sound.
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