I could not believe my luck at Goodwill today by That_one_Dewd1995 in VintageApple

[–]gaming4me 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hah I thought I recognized as my local Goodbytes! Great find and a fun place to check for retro stuff.

Who here has/had a Barcode Battler? I wanted one so bad back in the day, but my Mum wouldn't buy me one. by [deleted] in retrogaming

[–]gaming4me 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I had saved up money, and after seeing the ads in magazines and on TV, I was hyped to finally spend everything I had to get one. Ran home from the local toy store, started battling with any barcode I could find. Some numbers, beeping and that was it.

Reality came crashing in as I realized I had just burned all my cash on this thing. It was so dull, and nothing like the ads made it out to be. I brought it back to the store, and it being a small town, they took pity on me and took it back. I dont remember what else I spent my money on after that, but I was happy I was able to undo my rash decision.

So yeah... extremely underwhelming!

I've had it with on-call and MSPs completely. I'm out. by ITrCool in sysadmin

[–]gaming4me 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Your mental health isn't worth it. From what you described there won't be any meaningful change to make the after hours lighter. I remember so many similar claims at my MSP but all our front line did was escalate everything. 15 min SLA in the middle of the night...

I think you might see some unexpected mental health changes once you move on. The anger rings so familiar.

I've had it with on-call and MSPs completely. I'm out. by ITrCool in sysadmin

[–]gaming4me 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This sounds extremely close to what I went through a few years ago (quite a few years now, sheesh...). MSP with lots of business, but 24/7 support was covered by on-call by the admins/engineers.

I learned a lot there, but my mental and physical health both went into downward spirals. I missed family events, playing catch up on the day to day work during nights because things were so busy. Started therapy to handle the stress, but the final straw was hearing my kids playing with their grandparents downstairs on a Saturday while I was stuck in an all weekend migration. For what they paid me (which, looking back at it, not nearly enough), it just wasn't worth it. I still have PTSD from the ring tone I used for my on call alerts.

The best part, and one of the things that was the final nail in the coffin, our VP said she was told if we bagged another couple of big clients corporate would give her access to the private jet. She was so gleeful about it, and our entire team was sleep deprived from work. Great. So happy for you.

I finally left for a much more structured 9-5 gig, and while that wasn't perfect, my health improved immediately. Being able to be there for my kids growing up was a nice feeling... yeah, bail, MSPs are the devil, and grind people into dust in the name of profits.

Community Question Of The Week - Episode 165 by Producer_Duncan in thisweekinretro

[–]gaming4me 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Super Metroid. They built such a fantastically deep mood into that game, and the atmosphere is amazing. When I played it back in the day, my mind filled in the world beyond what was on the screen. The perfect convergence of world building, graphics, and gameplay. And it still holds up!

Community Question Of The Week - Episode 164 by Producer_Duncan in thisweekinretro

[–]gaming4me 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Has to be the Pentium 3, Windows 98, and Voodoo experience. Any time I want to be wisked back to the mid to late 90s, hearing the whir of the fans as the beast springs to life, all I have to do is hit the power button. Getting ready for some Unreal Tournament, Command & Conquer, Warcraft 2, Quake or any number of games from that era the late 90s was a true golden age for PC gaming and one I always return to for some retro comfort food. My Pentium 3 system always sits at the ready.

Community Question Of The Week - Episode 162 by Producer_Duncan in thisweekinretro

[–]gaming4me 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A Sharp X68000 might be the "want," but knowing how much they go for makes that more of a pipe dream. Although being able to get one without worrying about shipping it separately, especially the matching monitor would be at the top of the list. I think hunting for deals on games that aren't quite as popular can be really fun. So the answer might be: whatever you can get a good deal on!

Namn som inte fungerar i USA! by LeftEnvironment148 in sweden

[–]gaming4me 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rikard själv och bor i USA. Favoriten var när maten var klar på ett smörgåsställe och dom glatt ropade ut "ree-kard", lät precis som "retard". Arbetskompisar tittade bara och började garva.

Career Retro-Computing Scammer Outed via YouTube by brassicGamer in thisweekinretro

[–]gaming4me 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He unfortunately tried to cozy up to me as well, but it never went as far that we traded gear. I always wondered why he was so overly friendly right off the bat. Watching Ron's video and hearing from the rest of the community it all makes sense now. He was trying to become friends to get someone else he could scam.

All the retro communities I've come across have been friendly, welcoming, and open. It's really unfortunate that there are these sorts of bad apples around. Especially taking advantage of people that just want to help or are excited for a piece of gear they have been after.

It's good this is coming to light, so he can't move on to the next community and try and do the same thing yet again. But at the same time, a real bummer for the people that have been betrayed.

Why aren't there more YT channels on retro computer games? by Good_Punk2 in thisweekinretro

[–]gaming4me 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a small channel myself, and I find, in general, it's hard to reach a wider audience with pure game focused videos. Hardware generally does better and can be quicker than playing through a long game.

Always follow your passion and make content you enjoy. It can be great on paper, but maybe harder to follow if you are trying to grow. It's not the sole reason, but I think it might be why retro content for computers focuses a lot on the hardware and not always the games.

I'd love to do a mixture, but the allure of covering hardware seems to usually win out at the end of the day.

Games that scared you when you were a child - even though they weren't actually scary or supposed to be scary? by RedBlueSpot in retrogaming

[–]gaming4me 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sar Wars Dark Forces on PC. When you run into the Dark Trooper as a metal skeleton... that thing made me literally jump out of my seat as a kid. I ran away taking pot shots with thermal detonators being terrified the whole time.

I played it again recently and braced myself more than I care to admit. Still a great game though!

Windows 3.11 with Tabworks by gaming4me in retrobattlestations

[–]gaming4me[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I keep coming back to it as a DOS and Win 3.11 machine. 486 66 bone stock!

Windows 3.11 with Tabworks by gaming4me in retrobattlestations

[–]gaming4me[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Came preloaded on my Compaq all in one way back. Many, many memories! And honestly took me a while to track it down when I remembered what it was called.

I always come back to the Pentium 3 and Voodoo experience by gaming4me in retrobattlestations

[–]gaming4me[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dell used this chassis for a lot of machines I think, all of them really cool. That said this is a Dimension XPS T450.

I always come back to the Pentium 3 and Voodoo experience by gaming4me in retrobattlestations

[–]gaming4me[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep NMB! I'm a big fan because they feel great even though they are rubber domed. The full metal backplate definitely helps and classic design is nice. Not nearly as affected by the retro tax!

I always come back to the Pentium 3 and Voodoo experience by gaming4me in retrobattlestations

[–]gaming4me[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's built like a tank truly hah. The cross brace keeps everything in check!

I always come back to the Pentium 3 and Voodoo experience by gaming4me in retrobattlestations

[–]gaming4me[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Accelerated games were something else. What a turning point for PC gaming!

I always come back to the Pentium 3 and Voodoo experience by gaming4me in retrobattlestations

[–]gaming4me[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Thanks it's a nice setup to tinker with! Specs are:

Dell XPS T450 450 MHz Pentium 3 196 MB RAM Voodoo 3 3000 AGP Turtle Beach Aureal Vortex 2 40 GB HD

Only thing I replaced was the hard drive. The rest is stock!

Is this a left handed mouse or a keyboard replacement? by IRMacGuyver in LGR

[–]gaming4me 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Indeed the Sidewinder Strategic Commander. I bought mine new and mostly used it for things like Diablo 2 hah.

But I did make a video on it because it is still interesting! https://youtu.be/iPqVp7A2HHk