My collection of technology

I like computers and gadgets. I used to have an extensive collection of antique computers but in recent years I have had to get rid of a lot of them in order to move house more easily, fit into smaller houses, and in two cases to fit everything I own on a ferry. You can read about computers that I used to own on this web page and this one. I still like old computer technology, especially old mainframes, Silicon Graphics computers, mutlti-processor machines and old unix systems.

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IBM Thinkpad X21

My main computer is an IBM Thinkpad X21 that I bought on eBay in July 2004 for Ł180. It weighs only 1.4KG and is an incredibly portable machine which makes it easy for me to use anywhere. It has a Pentium III at 700MHz with Speedstep, 256MB RAM, ATI Rage Mobility M 4MB graphics, 18GB hard disk, 12" XGA LCD screen and a wonderful trackpoint mouse pointer. It runs Mandrake Linux 10.1, and has a Windows 2000 license that doesn't see much use. It is connected to the wireless network with a DLink DWL-610 wireless card.
Thinkpad X21
Acer Aspire
Acer Aspire 1353XC

Karen uses an Acer Aspire 1353XC laptop that was bought for us in January 2004. It is quite big at 3.6KG so it tends to stay put on the desk. It has a mobile Athlon XP 2400, 256MB RAM with 64MB shared memory graphics, 18GB hard disk, DVD reader CD writer and a 14" XGA LCD screen. It occasionally gets used with an Asus WL-330b pocket access point when it is mobile, although the roaring hot fan tends to discourage lap-top use. It runs Mandrake Linux 10.1 and sometimes Windows XP.

Linksys NSLU2 and Lacie Hard Disk

Network storage is taken care of by a Lacie 80GB USB hard disk (Designed by Porsche!) attached to the network by a Linksys / Cisco NSLU2 Network Storage Link - a very clever device that attaches USB storage to an ethernet network. The NSLU2 runs a Linux kernel and is user updateable to run a new linux kernel too. It has 2 USB 2 sockets, an ARM 266MHz processor and 32MB of RAM. It also hosts a web site at binare.ath.cx where friends can see photographs if they ask me nicely.
NSLU2 server hard

Brother HL-1250 HP Jetdirect
Brother HL-1250 and HP JetDirect EX Plus

We print on a Brother HL-1250 laser printer. We bought this in 2000 for Karen to print her masters degree thesis on. It is so efficient that we only had to change the toner cartridge for the first time in summer 2003. The printer is attached to the network through a HP Jetdirect EX Plus. This is one the first Jetdirects ever made and it is incredibly simple - it just receives data on port 9100 and copies it to the printer port - no printer feedback or anything!

Network Infrastructure and Internet access

Our Internet access is provided by NTL cable broadband at 750K download and 128K upload. The cable modem is connected to a Linksys WRT54G wireless router (that belongs to my friend Phil) which provides sophisticated firewalling and routing as well as wireless networking. We have a Grandstream Handytone ATA-486 router / Voice Over Internet (VoIP) adapter which connects our phone line to the world. The phone is a Binatone e3300 DECT handset. When away from home I can use my Asus wl-330b wireless access point with the Grandstream router to create a temporary network.
Grandstream VOIP router Linksys router Asus WL330b pocket access point

IBM Network Station
IBM Network Station 1000

I picked up an IBM network station 1000 on eBay, model 8362-A53. I haven't done much with it yet but it has a 200MHz Power PC 603 processor, 64MB or memory and 4MB SVGA graphics and I hope to use it as a multimedia terminal of some kind. It boots over the network and can function as an X terminal, Windows terminal and Java station. It also has sound hardware and a smart card reader built in. People have reported success booting linux 2.4 on it.

Silicon Graphics Indy
In 2001 I finally got hold of my own SGI Indy workstation, 6 years after first dreaming of owning one. (When they still cost 10 to 15 thousand pounds!) I bought this one from Ian Mapleson for 85 pounds. It's got an R5000 processor at 150MHz, but only 8 bit graphics. I am running IRIX 6.5 on it, and despite the slow clock speed, it runs netscape and emacs ok for but is a bit strained for everyday work.
SGI Indy

Photo of a SGI Indigo
Silicon Graphics Indigo Elan
Silicon Graphics workstation with a 33MHz MIPS R3000 processor, 64MB of RAM and a 1.2GB hard disk. The main feature of the machine is the Elan graphics card, the then top of the range model with 24-bit color, hardware Z-buffer and four geometry engines. There is an old magazine review of a similar machine archived here. The supplied monitor is a SGI badged sony 16 inch trinitron. Don't be fooled though, they mean a 16 inch visible picture and the actual tube is about 19 inches across! The operating system is IRIX 5.3. I picked up a lower-specification Indigo with less memory, hard disk and graphics power at the same time as this one but sold it on eBay. This machine is chunky and loud and fits in with how many people think SGI defines a server:
Server (n.),
1. Large, extremely expensive machine that goes "Ping!". Measuring at least 25 cubic feet, heavy, bulky and giving of more heat then a nuclear power plant. It's big, it's bad, it's beautiful and makes it pretty clear what happened to this year's IT-budget.

I'm not really sure what to add to that except that the blue case and pretty SGI logo look very nice on my desk!

Sony Ericsson P910i

I recently got a Sony Ericsson P910i from Orange, it's an all-in-one phone, computer, MP3 music player, camera, video camera and player, and anything else you can imagine! It has a 320x208 screen with 262K colours, 64MB of memory, full QWERTY keyboard behind the flip, it's got a tri-band phone with GPRS, weighs only 155 grams and is very nice. If you want to buy me a memory expansion card so that I can carry more music with me, see my Amazon.com wish list linked from my home page :-)
Sony Ericsson P910

Still to write about

Apple Macintosh IIsi
Acorn BBC Model B
Nokia 9850 DVB receiver
Dansai DVD-1010
Sony STR-DE495 surround sound tuner / decoder / aplifier

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IBM Thinkpad X21 My main computer is an IBM Thinkpad X21 that I bought on eBay in July 2004 for Ł180. It weighs only 1.4KG and is an incredibly portable machine which makes it easy for me to use anywhere. It has a Pentium III at 700MHz with Speedstep, 256MB RAM, ATI Rage Mobility M 4MB graphics, 18GB hard disk, 12" XGA LCD screen and a wonderful trackpoint mouse pointer. It runs Mandrake Linux 10.1, and has a Windows 2000 license that doesn't see much use. It is connected to the wireless network with a DLink DWL-610 wireless card.
	Acer Aspire 1353XC Karen uses an Acer Aspire 1353XC laptop that was bought for us in January 2004. It is quite big at 3.6KG so it tends to stay put on the desk. It has a mobile Athlon XP 2400, 256MB RAM with 64MB shared memory graphics, 18GB hard disk, DVD reader CD writer and a 14" XGA LCD screen. It occasionally gets used with an Asus WL-330b pocket access point when it is mobile, although the roaring hot fan tends to discourage lap-top use. It runs Mandrake Linux 10.1 and sometimes Windows XP.
Linksys NSLU2 and Lacie Hard Disk Network storage is taken care of by a Lacie 80GB USB hard disk (Designed by Porsche!) attached to the network by a Linksys / Cisco NSLU2 Network Storage Link - a very clever device that attaches USB storage to an ethernet network. The NSLU2 runs a Linux kernel and is user updateable to run a new linux kernel too. It has 2 USB 2 sockets, an ARM 266MHz processor and 32MB of RAM. It also hosts a web site at binare.ath.cx where friends can see photographs if they ask me nicely.
	Brother HL-1250 and HP JetDirect EX Plus We print on a Brother HL-1250 laser printer. We bought this in 2000 for Karen to print her masters degree thesis on. It is so efficient that we only had to change the toner cartridge for the first time in summer 2003. The printer is attached to the network through a HP Jetdirect EX Plus. This is one the first Jetdirects ever made and it is incredibly simple - it just receives data on port 9100 and copies it to the printer port - no printer feedback or anything!
Network Infrastructure and Internet access Our Internet access is provided by NTL cable broadband at 750K download and 128K upload. The cable modem is connected to a Linksys WRT54G wireless router (that belongs to my friend Phil) which provides sophisticated firewalling and routing as well as wireless networking. We have a Grandstream Handytone ATA-486 router / Voice Over Internet (VoIP) adapter which connects our phone line to the world. The phone is a Binatone e3300 DECT handset. When away from home I can use my Asus wl-330b wireless access point with the Grandstream router to create a temporary network.
	IBM Network Station 1000 I picked up an IBM network station 1000 on eBay, model 8362-A53. I haven't done much with it yet but it has a 200MHz Power PC 603 processor, 64MB or memory and 4MB SVGA graphics and I hope to use it as a multimedia terminal of some kind. It boots over the network and can function as an X terminal, Windows terminal and Java station. It also has sound hardware and a smart card reader built in. People have reported success booting linux 2.4 on it.
Silicon Graphics Indy In 2001 I finally got hold of my own SGI Indy workstation, 6 years after first dreaming of owning one. (When they still cost 10 to 15 thousand pounds!) I bought this one from Ian Mapleson for 85 pounds. It's got an R5000 processor at 150MHz, but only 8 bit graphics. I am running IRIX 6.5 on it, and despite the slow clock speed, it runs netscape and emacs ok for but is a bit strained for everyday work.
	Silicon Graphics Indigo Elan Silicon Graphics workstation with a 33MHz MIPS R3000 processor, 64MB of RAM and a 1.2GB hard disk. The main feature of the machine is the Elan graphics card, the then top of the range model with 24-bit color, hardware Z-buffer and four geometry engines. There is an old magazine review of a similar machine archived here. The supplied monitor is a SGI badged sony 16 inch trinitron. Don't be fooled though, they mean a 16 inch visible picture and the actual tube is about 19 inches across! The operating system is IRIX 5.3. I picked up a lower-specification Indigo with less memory, hard disk and graphics power at the same time as this one but sold it on eBay. This machine is chunky and loud and fits in with how many people think SGI defines a server: Server (n.), 1. Large, extremely expensive machine that goes "Ping!". Measuring at least 25 cubic feet, heavy, bulky and giving of more heat then a nuclear power plant. It's big, it's bad, it's beautiful and makes it pretty clear what happened to this year's IT-budget. I'm not really sure what to add to that except that the blue case and pretty SGI logo look very nice on my desk!
Sony Ericsson P910i I recently got a Sony Ericsson P910i from Orange, it's an all-in-one phone, computer, MP3 music player, camera, video camera and player, and anything else you can imagine! It has a 320x208 screen with 262K colours, 64MB of memory, full QWERTY keyboard behind the flip, it's got a tri-band phone with GPRS, weighs only 155 grams and is very nice. If you want to buy me a memory expansion card so that I can carry more music with me, see my Amazon.com wish list linked from my home page :-)