Comment Re:Still have an old 486 running... (Score 1) 1705
Mine is very similar, but with some upgrades. The basic box is a Data General 486DX/33 probably about a year older than yours. The CPU has been upgraded to a 486DX2/66. It has an ISA SCSI controller with a couple of 2GB disks. It has an ISA 56K modem and some kind of NE2000 ISA NIC. It runs FreeBSD, NAT, Squid, and Apache and doesn't even breath hard. Well, actually when it does start to breath hard, I replace the fan, just like you do.
It has been in more or less continuous use for ten years, first as the kids' homework and play computer then as the firewall. That's not the oldest machine around here, though. The PC/XT that my father in law bought in 1987 or so is sitting here collecting dust. I should try to boot it up and see if I still remember how to use Word Perfect. It worked fine the last time I used it a couple of years ago.
Even that's not the oldest working machine in the family. My mom has an Apple //c from about 1985 that she still uses every month to print out mailing labels for a newsletter. It's a classic case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." She has a printer and software that works with it and sees no reason to change it.
It has been in more or less continuous use for ten years, first as the kids' homework and play computer then as the firewall. That's not the oldest machine around here, though. The PC/XT that my father in law bought in 1987 or so is sitting here collecting dust. I should try to boot it up and see if I still remember how to use Word Perfect. It worked fine the last time I used it a couple of years ago.
Even that's not the oldest working machine in the family. My mom has an Apple
