Hi Patty,
Welcome to the list. You'll get lots of information and
interesting ideas here.
You wrote:
> OK -- IBM-brand PS/1 (not a clone), 386, 120 MB HD,
> Windows 3.1 1992, 2 MB RAM (takes 72-pin SIMSS, can be
> upgraded to 32 MB if I find the hardware), 2400 modem (can
> be replaced -- modems are easy to find and cheap). Remind
> me if I need to add information -- I'm not used to this.
I did a bit of checking about the PS/1 386SX and from what
I can see it can only take a maximum of 6M on the system
board. My docs say there is a 2M soldered bank and a
single memory-module socket for which there is a choice of
a 2M or 4M proprietary card available. (Part numbers
92F9935 and 92F9694) If I got the right model (you didn't
say which of the 11 models it was) then it doesn't bode
too well. Even if my information is slightly off, you will
probably still have to get the right IBM specific memory.
This could be difficult to find.
> I would like to use an earlier browser than current ones
> (I use a 5-year-old version of Netscape on my Mac) (and
<snip>
> I think Yolanda
> sent me a browser and e-mail package for the PS/1 a few
> months ago over the 'net, but I haven't installed them or
If you are willing to use DOS, then NetTamer is an
excellent choice for e-mail, FTP, and news. It is very
small and will run fast on that machine. When it comes to
a graphical browser, then I don't think you'll have a lot
of fun. If that machine runs windows then _maby_ you could
run an old version of Netscape (I've got v.1.1 if you
want), but it will not work with a lot of web pages. In
DOS, you could use Arachne, but I think it would be
fairely slow. Some people do it though. (They'll come
forward as soon as you mention it. hehe) If you want to
tackle a bit of a learning curve, then you can install
LYNX for DOS and do text mode browsing. That is _really_
fast, and many people like it because of that. NetTamer
also does text based browsing, but not as well.
> checked them out, since there's practically no RAM in the
> PS/1 and it seems pointless. Is it pointless? Now that I
> have found a monitor I feel much better about the whole
> thing.
I think it is probably best to leave well enough alone as
far as upgrading is concerned. With 2M of RAM you can run
a disk cache (smartdrv) and it will be a fairely fast
machine for DOS based stuff. When it comes to windows ....
well, most newer software _does_ need much more RAM.
I probably have a bit more expereince with minimal
computers, but most of what I do would run just fine on
your PS/1. It's a great machine, but don't expect to do
really fashionable things. <g> There are lots of others
here who could (and do) squeeze a lot through a machine
like that. They probably don't run windows though. <g>
Windows, by the way, is a graphical shell which runs on
DOS.... so DOS and Windows are not so far apart.
<snip>
> The PS/1 has tutorials for Windows and MS Works in it, so
> I should be able to learn to do some basic things when I
> have patience to study it. Yesterday I had a major fight
> with it -- trying to set up a folder on the "desktop" to
> keep my files in (documents), like I would do on the Mac.
I won't get into it here, but if you need a bit of help
with file management, I will do it off list. (I have an
evangelical attitude toward that topic.) hehehe
> It wouldn't let me move the files to where I wanted them,
> so I guess I need to study up on how to do that. I just
> drag and drop on the equally old Mac.
Windows is not a good environment for doing file
management, IMHO. It is very easy and fast to do in plain
old DOS which is why many people who otherwise use
windows, end up doing it that way. You can get a simple
program like DM (dirmagic) by Michael Mefford, which will
let you copy/move/rename/view/etc files by simply
highlighting them. I'll send that to you if you want to
try. It's 8K. That way is pretty simple and you don't have
to type a bunch of stuff.
BTW, it was probably the creation of "directories" which
you were missing.
>
> Patty (totally clueless about IBMs and their clones)
I'm sure you'll catch on quick enough. <g>
"IBMs and their clones" as you say, is probably not the
point here though. It is the operating system which is the
thing to learn about. The hardware is not so different
from one "brand" to another. This is something which Mac
users often have a bit of a problem seeing at first
because they are used to the operating system and the
hardware being sold as one thing. In the "IBM" world you
can make your own choices. In short: you are stepping into
the world of freedom. <g>
Cheers,
Ole Juul
PS: Don't take my "opinions" too seriously .... I probably
got the parts numbers right though. <g>
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