Lifestyle, stuff and living.


September 2, 2005


Fax Machine (World’sFirst).

Filed under: Old Gadget.

Alexander Bain.

The world’s first fax machine was patented in 1843 by Alexander Bain. He came from a remote croft in Caithness in Scotland and, for his early experiments, used cattle jaw bones for hinges and heather for springs. His fax machine was based on an electric clock, which he had also invented.

Firsts in Fax Machine History.

1) In 1902, Dr Arthur Korn invented an improved and practical fax, the photoelectric system.
2) In 1914, Edouard Belin established the concept for remote fax photo/news reporting.
3) The American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) worked to improve telephone facsimile technology, and in 1924, the telephotography machine was used to send political convention photos long distance for newspaper publication.
4) On March 4, 1955, the first radio facsimile transmission was sent across the continent.

The first machines were installed in the office of the New York Herald in 1898. Even the fax machine was invented in West, but it’s more famous in the Japan later (modern era). Modern fax technology became feasible only in the mid-1970s as the sophistication and cost of the three underlying technologies improved to a reasonable level.

Fax machines first became popular in Japan, where they had an clear advantage over competing technologies like telex; it is faster to write Japanese ideographs than to type them. Over time, they gradually became affordable and were very popular around the world by the mid-1980s.

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World’s First Fax Machine.

August 25, 2005


The TRS-80 PC-1.

Filed under: Old Gadget.

Radio Shack Pocket Computer ( The TRS-80 PC-1).

Maybe the design is not attractive, but at that time…. this is the most famous “pocket pc”.
The TRS-80 PC-1 is the first-ever BASIC-programmable pocket-sized computer! It’s actually the Sharp PC-1211, sold by Radio Shack in the US.
This new TRS-80 Computer is another “first” from the company which brought you the best-selling, world renowned TRS-80. A truly pocket-sized Computer (not a programmable calculator). Of course it is an ultra-powerful calculator too… And it “speaks” BASIC - - the most common computer language, and the easiest to learn. You’ll soon be impressed by the phenomenal computing power of this hand-held TRS-80 - - ideal for mathematics, engineering and business application.

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Specifications:

Model: PC-1.
Introduced: July 1980.
Weight: 170g / 6.0 oz.
Price: US $230.
CPU: SC43177, SC43178.
RAM: 1.5K.
Ports: Expansion connector.
Display: 24 X 1 text LCD.
Storage: * Cassette storage.
Options: * Printer, Tape I/O
OS: BASIC in ROM.
* Requires Expansion Interface.


Radio Shack TRS-80 Model III

Filed under: Old Gadget.

Radio Shack TRS-80 Model III.

More advance that the 1st model, huh…?
Yup… this model is basically an upgrade of the Model I, which was released three years earlier.
The main different between the 1st model and the 2nd model is it is faster, has more memory, and the floppy drives hold twice as much data. But… it’s still using the same CPU like the 1st model.
Lets take a look to this model and its specifations.

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Introduced: July 1980.
Price: US $699 base model. US $2495 w/ 32K, dual drives.
CPU: Zilog Z-80, 2.03 MHz
RAM: 4K, 48K max.
Ports: Cassette tape, expansion, serial.
Display: 12-inch B/W monitor: 64 X 16 text.
Strorage: 0, 1, or 2 internal 178K floppy drives. External cassette @ 500 / 1500 baud.
OS: BASIC in ROM, TRS-DOS on disk.

Still impress….??


IBM Datamaster 5322.

Filed under: Old Gadget.

IBM Datamaster 5322.

This model was launched in the July 1981.
It seems like classic especially about the color. The famous color at that time is “white”.
Now, IBM is a “grand name” in this industry. As you know, the IBM laptop is a one of the “greatest” among the rest.

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Specifications:
Model: 5322.
Announced: 1979.
Released: July 1981.
Price: US$9,830 with printer.
Weight: 95 pounds.
CPU: Intel 8085.
RAM: 64K max.
Display: 80 X 24 text green phosphor display.
Expansion: Six internal slots.
Storage: Dual 8-inch floppy drives.
Ports: Current-loop serial port printer port.
OS: BASIC built-in.

The Datamaster combined word processing and data processing in a single machine to give small businesses the big benefits of information processing.
The same engineers who design the Datamaster went on to help designed the IBM PC, the computer system which started the PC revolution which exists today.


Radio Shack TRS-80 Model II

Filed under: Old Gadget.

Well, this is the Radio Shack TRS-80 Model II. In my previous posting, I already show you the TRS-80 Model 1, so let’s take a look for the second model.

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First, I’ll show you the specsifications:
Catalog: 26-4002.
Announced: May 1979
Released: October 1979.
Price: $3450 (32K RAM) $3899 (64K RAM).
CPU: Zilog Z-80A, 4 MHz.
RAM: 32K, 64K.
Ports: Two serial ports One parallel port.
Display: Built-in 12″ monochrome monitor 40 X 24 or 80 X 24 text.
Storage: One 500K 8-inch built-in floppy drive. External Expansion w/ 3 floppy bays.
OS: TRS-DOS, BASIC.

If you wanna compare the different with the first model, please scroll down to find the info.
Actually, this gadget remind me about my birthday….. (same age dude…!!)


IBM 5110 model 3

Filed under: Old Gadget.

This is an old gadget from IBM.
In 1980, this is the lowest price computer in the market at that time.
And also, for your information… this is the heaviest desktop computer ever - 105 pounds! (48 kg).

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How about we take a look at the specifications:

IBM 5110 model 3.
Introduced: February 1980.
Price: US $9,340 with printer.
Weight: 105 lbs / 48 kg.
CPU: IBM proprietary.
RAM: 32K.
Display: 9-inch monitor 64 X 16 text.
Storage: Dual 8-inch floppy drives.

Ports: Floppy / printer I/O port.
OS: APL and/or BASIC.

Still shocked?????

August 24, 2005


Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I

Filed under: Old Gadget.

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The TRS-80 Model II microcomputer system, designed and manufactured by Radio Shack in Fort Worth, TX, was not intended to replace or obsolete the Model I, it was designed to take up where the Model I left off - a machine with increased capacity and speed in every respect, targeted directly at the small-business application market.
Let’s go back to the history:

Catalog: 26-1001
Released: August 1977
Price: US $599.95 (with monitor)
How Many: 200,000 (1977-1981)
CPU: Zilog Z-80A, 1.77 MHz
RAM: 4K, 16K max*
Ports: Cassette I/O, video, Expansion connector*
Display: 12-inch monochrome monitor 64 X 16 text
Expansion: External Expansion Interface*
Storage: Cassette storage*
OS: BASIC in ROM*
* Additional capabilties with Expansion Interface

So expensive huh…?

August 23, 2005


The First Model of MP3 (iPOD).

Filed under: Old Gadget.

Yeah…

If you want to know what is look like, just take a look at this image. This is the FIRST MP3 player from iPOD. It was launched in 1999…! Basically, the function is still the same… but, what the best about this “old-gadget” is the quality of the sound (crystal clear sound).

More details….
iPOD.

I will track the another “history” about an “old gadget” soon in my future posting. Hopefully, we can share more idea and information ….

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