This Old Mouse

One of the biggest hurdles to overcome in the Retro Computing world is obtaining period correct parts. The older the computer is, the harder and more expensive it becomes to put together a complete system. Everything from expansion cards to the keyboard and monitor are all from a bygone  era. This is especially true for PC/XT class computers. The NuXT motherboard tries to address all of this while staying true to this type of computer from the 1980s. The NuXT is sold by Monotech Vintage PCs out of New Zealand. Here is a list of features and a few pictures: 8088 and NEC V20 CPU support 8087 math co-processor support 9.55MHz, switchable to 4.77MHz or 7.16MHz on the fly Dual 64K ROM, switchable with DIP switch, writeable 832K RAM 640K conventional up to 192K UMB RAM (160K max when using VGA) UMB-Configured DOS 6.22 uses only 10K conventional! PC/104 Expansion Platform (optional) PC/104 SVGA card, with VGA...

The personal computer market really started as something for hobbyists in the mid-1970s with the introduction of computers like the MITS Altair 8800. These early computers were in kit form and had to be assembled, putting them out of reach of mere mortals. That all changed in 1977 with the introduction of the Apple II, Commodore Pet, and TRS-80 Model I. All three of these computers were pre assembled and ready to use. This opened the door to a much wider audience and the popularity only grew from there. 1980 rolled around and there was a major player absent from this market, IBM. They had been keeping an eye on the personal computer industry and now wanted a piece of it. The biggest problem was that development cycles for any new IBM computer was on the order of 5 years. They designed almost everything in house from the ground up. They did not have that kind of time, so they did something totally out of character. They gave a group total control without having to get management approva...

I have been in the IT industry for almost 38 years. I went to tech school from 1983-1985. I got my first IT job shortly after graduating and within a few weeks I bought my first computer, a Tandy 1000 at my local Radio Shack. It started me down a road of always having computers around to fill my time as a hobby. I had a few older computers from 1999 to 2011.   I had two Tandy 1000s and two older 68K Macintoshes. Over the years I just lost interest in those computers. I moved back to my hometown in 2011 and wanted to downsize all the stuff I collected. Those 4 computers ended up being recycled. A decision I now regret doing. I got an iMac G5 in 2014 to run older Macintosh software and that satisfied my Retro Macintosh computing needs. I used emulators like DOSBox to run any Retro PC software I needed. I never felt a need to have actual Retro PC hardware to run on. DOSBox did a good enough job. The reason I moved back to my hometown was to be closer to my family, especially my parent...