The Lab
Keeping tech out of landfills since 1989
My friends and co-workers take great pride in poking fun at my lab at home. Its a collection of new tech and old used/abused/should have been retired years ago equipment.
Due to some of the equipment finally just flat out giving up, the lab has shrunk a little. However, I still have more computing power in this one room of the house than some 3rd world countries.
The Rack-
This is the nerve center of my little operation here. It currently houses (from top to bottom) my Linksys router, a Shiva LanRover for dial in access, a Bay Networks 32port hub, a Bay Networks 28200 series switch, an Emulex Performance 4000 terminal server with attached Epson AP3250 dot matrix printer, a non-named power console and printer selector (odd combo huh) that was surplused from the Oklahoma DHS. Computers on the rack include:
Vincent- VA-Linux PC at 550 Mghz and 128 mb RAM 20Gb HDD, CD, CD-R/W (4x HP) Currently loaded with Redhat 7.2
Dumont- HP Netserver 66/LM at a blinding 66Mghz and 148 MB ram, 4 22GB Seagate full height drives and external CD - Microsoft NT 4 workstation loaded. This machine serves as the networks file server and FTP server to the outside world if you've been given access. I also have (but not currently attached to anything) a Compaq Proliant 3060 RAID cabinet and a NSM Mercury 40 CD Jukebox.
Desk 1- KVM and monitor for Dumont, Vincent and AnnaLee
AnnaLee- IBM 755 CE ThinkPad in a DockII docking station. AnnaLee is my old DOS game machine as well as the upload point for;
Studley- Ok- get ready to laugh. Da'Studmeister is a NEC-PC8500 laptop with a Z-80 processor and 32K (yes "K" thats not a mistype) of RAM- The machine runs CP/M and is hard loaded with WordStar-to-go, Supercalc-to-go and a terminal emulation program. Getting my writings off of it required uploading via a serial cable and Z-modem protocol to AnnaLee via ProComm and then running the files through a special filter that turns them into normal text files. It may seem like a pain, but its a small price to pay for 30+ hours of battery life on 4 "C" cell batteries.
Desk 2- Real Computers
B.O.B. - my pride and joy- DEC VaxStation 4000 model 60 with a BA-32 enclosure for an additional 9GB drive and CD. B.O.B. is set up with 32MB of RAM, OpenVMS 7.1 on 2 Western Digital 4.3 GB SCSI drives and an AUI to TP transceiver. The monitor I have for B.O.B. is in sorry shape so access is via a terminal on the next desk over.
Bishop- Sun SPARCstation 5-170 with 19" Sun/Sony monitor external drives 256MB of RAM and a really bad attitude. Solaris 8 installed. I'm hoping to replace the current incarnation of Bishop with an Ultra 80 so he can replace Dumont before it dies.
Desk 3- <sigh> the Windows machine
KamaKira- the most modern of all the equipment. Custom built AMD Sempron 2400, half a gig of RAM and other extra goodies. This is my remote access point for work since my employer sold their souls to the Beast of Redmond and requires the use of MS-VPN. In addition to the 128MB video card its set up with an Acer A-Open sound card which drives the surround sound system amazingly well despite its $25.00 cost. A MaxOptics MO drive, a HP ScanJet 4c and Memorex 52x burner round out this Windows 2000 professional machine. Attached via AT-PS2 adapter is my Keytronic Eurotech keyboard. This one like my LK-401 on B.O.B. will be buried with me.
Bit- A few years before being swallowed by the now HP/Compaq industrial complex, DEC sold off their terminal business to a group call Boundless Technologies. One of the results was something I consider to be the finest device of its kind. A VT-525 color multi-session text terminal. This machine is hooked to the afore mentioned BayNetworks Switch, B.O.B. and the Emulex terminal server. If you use a Unix machine of any kind and have the resources, I highly recommend picking one up. VT-525 there is no substitute.
Printer Stand.- attached to a pair of Emulex NetQ print servers are:
HP LaserJet II - the greatest printer of all time. Period.
HP DeskJet 500- Its ancient and belonged to my dad previously so lord knows how many pages have been through this poor little bugger. Despite its age it works like a champ and unlike modern inkjets- the ink is relatively cheap.
On the wall above KamaKira-
Stamped steel logo plate from a Cray X-1. This, a poster and a coffee mug are probably the closest I'll ever get to owning the true Geek Machine.
Also in the network-
Marvin- my wife's AMD XP 2400 with burner, zip drive, USB scanner and Lexmark 3200 series printer. When the ink runs out this one will be replaced. Lexmark ink prices hover between stupid and military-procurement stupid and can't be refilled. When it does go, it will most likely be replaced with an Epson that will print directly to CD's. As a general rule I hate non-dot matrix Epson printers the way Oklahoman's hate the US constitution, but my buddy John swears by it and he's seldom if ever wrong.