Post · bonfire.cafe

My home desktop - 1 March 2000 - a Pentium 233 MMX.
The OS was Debian Linux - you can see a printed Tux near the keyboard.
No broadband connection, just a 56k modem.
Iomega Zip drive - so I could download stuff at Uni and bring it back home.
One year later, this became my first 24/7 server.

#IT #SysAdmin #Linux #Debian #Throwback #Memories #Vintage #OldPhotos #OldTimes #OldNerd #OldMe #VintageSetup

A late 1990s - early 2000s computer setup on a white desk, featuring a large beige Sony CRT monitor, a beige tower PC with front-facing floppy disk and CD-ROM drives, an external 56k modem, a beige keyboard, and various scattered items such as CDs, cables, and glasses. Behind the monitor is a large black Sony speaker, and a motorcycle poster hangs on the wall. The photo’s timestamp reads “1.3.2000.”

Pete Orrall

@peteorrall@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · 6 days ago

@stefano The good ole days! Seriously, this brings back so many memories. My first Linux box was in a similarly sized behemoth of a tower. A dual P2 266MHz running Mandrake in 2004.

Zeki Çatav 🤔 ☕ 🕯️🎶

@catavz@mastodon.social replied · last week

@stefano The first PC I used was a Multitek Popular PC 500 with a 4.77 Mhz, 8088 CPU, 512 KB memory, dual 360 KB, 5.25" floppy disks. The OS was MS-DOS 3.2. I think it was around 1987-1988.

rozodru

@rozodru@social.vivaldi.net replied · last week

@stefano oh man the case without the cover on...yup rocked that too. My friend in university at the time had a T1 line so I would take CD-R's and would burn a bunch of music and games on to them to take them home as I only had a 56k modem.

Stefano Marinelli

@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · last week

@rozodru by the way: as you can see, there's a 1998 Ricoh CD burner. Vendors and people used to say that the home made CDs could last something around 5 to 10 years. 25 years later, they're still totally fine.

rozodru

@rozodru@social.vivaldi.net replied · last week

@stefano yup I still have burned Dreamcast games I got off IRC back in like 2000 that still work fine today. even have a burned copy of Windows 2000 that I'm sure still works.

Xenotar

@xenotar@mastodon.social replied · last week

@stefano Open Source and "Open Case" (the universal cooling solution then), almost the same setup I had at home: a Pentium Pro with 96M RAM running FreeBSD, Samsung Syncmaster, US Robotics 56k modem (ppp connection) and a Zip drive (plus a cat somewhere)

Adriano 🐡

@barbosaaob@bsd.network replied · last week

@stefano how all that white plastic parts were not yellow yet? And where are the plastic dust covers? FAKE AI photo! 😂

LFA :emacs: :tux: :freebsd:

@lfa@hostux.social replied · last week

@stefano Thet exact same year I had DSL at home, payed by my first employer, before that I had a 33.6k modem 😅

Ricardo Martín

@ricardo@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · last week

@stefano Was that a US Robotics? 🫣

Stefano Marinelli

@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · last week

@ricardo yep 😉

Xenotar

@xenotar@mastodon.social replied · last week

@stefano @ricardo
AOL is discontinuing dial up ;)

https://www.pcmag.com/news/end-of-an-e-era-aol-to-end-dial-up-internet-access

Lorgo Numputz

@lorgonumputz@beige.party replied · last week

@stefano

LUXURY

(Also: interesting)

jhx

@jhx@fosstodon.org replied · last week

@stefano
That brings back memories... 😀

Stefano Marinelli

@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · last week

@jhx the problem is that it seems like yesterday...

Andreas (82mhz)

@82mhz@oldbytes.space replied · last week

@stefano @jhx
I feel that. I recently looked at pictures from my dorm room from when I started University in 2003, and it feels like it wasn't that long ago. I still kind of feel like that young guy that lived in that room... then I look in the mirror and an old dude with no hair and a grey beard is looking back at me 😄

Tom

@tomeire@mastodon.ie replied · last week

@stefano were computers even beige back then? Or is that just from the ageing?

Stefano Marinelli

@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · last week

@tomeire the photo isn't totally accurate (it was my first digital camera, a Kodak) - I still have it and it still works but yes, it was beige. As you can see, the mouse is totally white and the monitor is grey-sh. I still have that computer (it's at my parents' house). I'll check the current color, 25 years later, next time I'll be there.
By the way, they're still using that keyboard 🙂

Andy H

@ToshInMacc@toot.community replied · last week

@stefano thought you were going to say, just upgraded it to Trixie 😎

Stefano Marinelli

@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · last week

gosh...25 years ago. Now I feel old.

TomAoki

@TomAoki@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · last week

@stefano
I should have been using P3-500 with 384MB(!) of RAM with mainly OS/2, and sometimes FreeBSD, Linux, BeOS and WinNT around 2000.

Internet connection was on ISDN (2B+D line, not T1 unfortunately).
1 year trial of FTTH (100Mbps media converter) came to me as a consumer monitor at late 2000, back to ISDN after that, then commercial FTTH (100Mbps ePON) came to me at early 2003. This line is what I'm still using (now replaced with GePON limited with 100M, though, but by the same fiber).

nineofseven

@nineofseven@mastodon.social replied · last week

@stefano 25 years... 2000... fuck... that makes me even older... which makes you younger... i give up. Going to the beach for a bath.

Stefano Marinelli

@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · last week

@nineofseven that's always a good idea 🙂

aCiReP

@acirep@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · last week

@stefano nothing more satisfying than the sound of a dial up modem while connecting. As I had a very bad phone line and 14.4k modem it sometimes had to retry 6-7 times so every time while waiting I was making plans what to do once connection is established. Those were the days!

Stefano Marinelli

@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · last week

@acirep Eheh exactly. I used to buy those USRobotics modems because they were the only ones who were good enugh to connect at more than 9.600, as the line wasn't that clean.

samir, a distributed system

@samir@mastodon.functional.computer replied · last week

@stefano In software, we say “legacy”. 😄

Stefano Marinelli

@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · last week

@samir ok, so I'm old, legacy and vintage 🤣

samir, a distributed system

@samir@mastodon.functional.computer replied · last week

@stefano I want that on my wall for video calls. With a big arrow pointing to my head. 😜

Stefano Marinelli

@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · last week

@samir 🤣

🏳️‍⚧️Debian :linux:

@wikifox@g0v.social replied · last week

dirk dierickx

@dirkdierickx@mastodon-belgium.be replied · last week

@stefano Internet was so expensive back then. At the time I worked night shifts in a NOC, on quiet moments I would download software updates and also put them on a zip disk to install them later at home.

Stefano Marinelli

@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe replied · last week

@dirkdierickx yes, it was. The most expensive thing was the phone bill (dial up connections) so we had to be fast enough when connecting.
I was using fetchmail to download my e-mails (then using mutt) and inn+suck (and, then, slrn or tin) for usenet.

Daniel Schildt

@autiomaa@mementomori.social replied · last week

@stefano @dirkdierickx We had ADSL connection in 2001 at work that cost ~170 € per month. It had fixed IP addresses and permissions to run own servers. But it was very slow connection.

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