The Computer Chronicles - Windows Enhancements - Hardware (1992)

Special thanks to archive.org for hosting these episodes. Downloads of all these episodes and more can be found at: archive.org/details/computerch...

[@chubbycatfish4573]

The TV board was pretty neat, especially for 1992.

[@matthewweng8483]

I love the J Mouse guy... i kept expecting him to say 'just press T and your keyboard will function as a time machine'

[@daehawk9585]

I like how the Viewsonic man said fricker flee,

[@joaogoncalves1149]

Flicker "flee" on a CRT, ha!

[@higfny]

I'm watching this on a 4k screen. Felt pretty great until I remembered that someone will comment on this 10 years from now on their 100k screen.

[@higfny]

@Saber SMAW som only a 1080p?

[@allentoyokawa9068]

Japan invented HD/4k in the 90s

[@AcornElectron]

Already watching on 8k. Resolution looks shocking though since it’s only a 480p upload.

[@BaumInventions]

Hello here is the future. We have gone back to FullHD because graphics cards are so expensive that we started to use the previous generations again...

[@filipkogut8533]

I think 4k will be the standard for some years just like Full HD was. Most people nowadays use small screens anyway, where there's no need for such high resolution.

[@rendermanpro]

The time when in the same amount of memory that used by few Google Chrome "tab" you was able to load 20 whole working Windows XP

[@nyccollin]

Yes, computing was more efficient back then. Not sure if you’re saying you agree with the amount of memory needed for one Chrome Tab or not lol.

[@rendermanpro]

I mean that Windows XP (WHOLE), was about 200Mb RAM footprint, and about 700Mb installed (if clean it, as I remember). Way less than "modern" one single Chrome tab. I don't get how one tab can eat more memory than whole running Windows. People rendered movies VFX in 2000s at computers that will not be able to run one Chrome tab while run out or resources... And it is not about how fast modern computers is, but "programmers quality"

[@mustachesally4134]

0:40 that environment in the background is what I remember the most about computer isles at a store such as compusa.

[@Murphistic]

That TV tuner card is massive :) .

[@zorinlynx]

Wow, were they actually taping this during the 1992 World Series?? I remember that series well! :)

[@MagicCarpetRide8669]

Wow I'm really impressed by that TV tuner... looks much better than video on computers 10 years down the road. Think about that, in 1992, running Windows 3.0, and you have 30 fps video on your computer. Very, very cool! I wonder how much it cost at the time?

[@blackneos940]

"One step forward and two steps back!..."

[@kentuky1233]

I had it in the year 2000 for about 2 hundred dollars. It was still a novelty back then. It must has been mind blowing in 1992.

[@oldtwinsna8347]

This didn't work the same way tv cards work today where the video goes across the expansion bus and into the video card. Instead, this card just shot out a de-interlaced TV signal into VGA format (which was neat in itself) to which you can see the VGA port on the card... that output had a special cable to use when hooking up to the system video card. The software correctly positioned the computer generated black box to fit the output of the video card so it aligned and looked like a natural output from the video card. You can tell particularly since this appears to be an 8 bit card, there was no way to get that video bandwidth across the bus and this kind of stuff required pentium level processing. Cards that came out in the mid 90s operated differently, on a direct bus since hardware encoders became available to make it feasible to fully digitize the video.

[@AndyXiong]

"Fricker flee"

[@Appleboy78165]

Spoonerisms!

[@nyccollin]

Andy Xiong Timestamp much?

[@cbw56]

@@nyccollin 11:16

[@fnordist]

The Logitech Trackball was great, i used it until 2005 in my garage

[@drygnfyre]

I've always liked trackballs, once I got used to them. Logitech still has some modern offerings. Or you could probably even use the one featured in this video with a USB adapter.

[@mhmrules]

Got myself a Logitech Trackball when I upgraded my PC. I've always been fascinated by it, and boy I enjoy using it!

[@kentlisius7675]

We have this fantastic brand new one that is being released and is available on all products except high-end adult processors. It's called Tunnel Falls system on chip and it affords the user an eye into any data in the drive any time in the computer's time line affording us advanced software that would never be available until the computer was about to turn 18!

[@wallacelang1374]

When I chose to upgrade to a Windows PC I decided to go from my DOS 2.0 Computer to a Windows 95 PC by acquiring a whole new machine altogether that was originally built as a Windows PC already. I know that I could have bought either a 286 or a 386 PC and using upgrade components, but that would have cost me almost as much money as buying a built for Windows PC.

[@PaulMarriott]

2:06 So THAT’s where Apple got the force-touch-move-the-text-cursor-in-lieu-of-keyboard-arrow-buttons-hack idea from!

[@drygnfyre]

J-Mouse was also very similar to the IBM TrackPoint (i.e. the red nipple). J-Mouse was common on Zenith Data Systems notebooks that lacked the TrackPoint but wanted to offer something very similar.

[@connclissmann6514]

You might want to trademark that handy name you created?

[@gerakore8948]

i remember buying that video card. went from 256 colors to 16k colors (24 bit). The math co-processor was the coolest part as it allowed floating point operations and enabled virtual reality software to run. I also had that huge TV tuner card that did not fit into my case. cut my hands pretty good on that trying to install it. amazing now that i am on dual 43' 4k 144hz monitors. i couldn't imagine doing what i do on 13' 640x480 like i used to have

[@HikikomoriDev]

0:43 lol he says it like it's a good thing or something

[@beakt]

Dave Winfield facing Tom Glavine in the 1992 World Series! They were recording this episode while the game was live? It's Game 1, second inning. The game started at 5:30 p.m. Palo Alto time on Saturday, October 17, 1992. So I doubt it was live. Unfortunately, on this recording the title card doesn't show the recording date, as it often does! And in the news, he mentioned Novell buying UNIX (first announced in December 1992), IBM releasing the ThinkPad "eight weeks ago" (released in October 1992). And he's talking about what's coming up in January. So clearly this was videoed in December, and the guy used a VCR or something to emulate live TV. But, wait! He flipped through several channels! And, the World Series was on Channel 5, which is CBS up there, and CBS broadcast the World Series that year. So maybe they did plan to come in to the studio on a Saturday night just for that segment so the World Series could be on.

[@JaredConnell]

They probably taped the main segments and the news at different times with the news being later so that the stuff they talk about would always be up to date. And maybe they worked the main segments taping around different people's schedules so it ended up being on a Saturday evening this time. Or maybe they always did it that day, who knows? But i doubt they planned it around the world series, that just happened to be on tv at that time.

[@elaborate-press]

that's awesome!

[@liquidalloy]

@19:21 Dave Winfield baby!!! yes!

[@mrflamewars]

Its a shame they couldn't genlock those monitors so they look steady on TV. Genlock means make them run at exactly the same rate and exactly in time with the 60hz TV Cameras. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genlock

[@daehawk9585]

Back in the mid 90s I edited my startup files so windows didnt load and I was in DOS with loads of free memory and speed for gaming. Of course win95 ruined that.

[@todaysgrailtomorrowsbeater]

Zach Galifianakis invented a mouse button back in ‘92.

[@connclissmann6514]

Windows 11 has a simpler plan: throw out your perfectly good Windows 10 PC and buy a new PC. This boosts OEM revenue and Microsoft have a simpler life, by not supporting older hardware.

[@AngstFisch]

23:17 Kid Pix sounds wrong

[@bassblaster505]

AngstFisch LOL that made my day

[@deadsi]

Didn't know they made mice with one button in them days

[@Maskddingo]

@3L!5.. Wait... so they are upset about having to upgrade their 286's in order to run windows in 1992? Why are you still using a 286 in 1992 in the first place?

[@tcpnetworks]

Because they were still on the ground - and being shipped. Fairly obvious, really.

[@AiOinc1]

@@tcpnetworks You could still get the Commodore 64 in 1992. That doesn't mean people *did* get them. Small notebook computers existed in 1990 with 386SX for cheap too.

[@anonUK]

Let's say I want to run some old games from 2005-ish, ie. Pentium 3/4 era XP machines. UK charity shops don't sell old computers because of GDPR and pron; and compatibility modes on my modern Windows 10 64-bit laptop aren't always reliable. So, if I've got some old software I want to hold on to, I may need to shell out for an old spec computer one day. If I had been in that position 25-30 years ago, I might have been looking for a 286 to run my old stuff which would complement my up-to-the-minute 486DX PC which could run the new stuff.

[@Maskddingo]

anonUK i think i said "in 1992".

[@anonUK]

@@Maskddingo 25-30 years ago, yes.

[@TheEternitySnow]

Logitech won

[@a9udn9u]

They got that evil trackball technology back then??

[@michaelmcconnell7302]

You've got to buy, ornyou GET to buy 🤠

[@Clay3613]

Why didn't that keyboard/mouse become common in laptops?

[@ferrreira]

Usability. The early laptops had trackballs and they were not very good as well. I think Apple pioneered the use of trackpads on their 90s PowerBooks.

[@drygnfyre]

@@ferrreira They did. The PowerBook was the first to use both a trackpad and place it below the keyboard. Most other laptops at the time had a trackball side-by-side, or it clipped on as an optional accessory. There's actually another Computer Chronicles video about the PowerBook line where they show cross-sections of trackpads and trackballs.

[@gerakore8948]

ever seen the red mouse button in the ibm thinkpad laptops? i guess it was called the trackpoint : www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2020/6/30/21292182/thinkpad-trackpoint-mouse-nub-button-trackpad-challenges-design-user-input

[@ssokolow]

The J Mouse? Because you still have to press down the J key once before you can tilt it. What became popular instead was pointing sticks like the IBM Thinkpad TrackPoint series. I can't be sure, but I seem to remember that it was the push to give smartphone users as similar a pointing experience on laptops as possible that banished them to a tiny niche... and, as someone who grew up on Thinkpads with pointing sticks, I'll never forgive them for it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointing_stick

[@medes5597]

Zenith notebooks used it briefly. I don't remember it having much of a following.

[@sideburn]

Fricker Flee?

[@LionheartNh]

My j key mouse isn't working.

[@DataWaveTaGo]

A great time to sell upgrades.

[@AcornElectron]

How to spend money on hardware because the people that make software can’t optimise. For 40 years.

[@johnbrown92]

Watch TV to cool just recently got my Comcast tv through the internet with their latest plan lol.

[@IkarusKommt]

How great it is that those terrible CRT monitors and their flickering and distorted images had finally gone.

[@Banzeken]

When viewing these old CRT monitors with your own eyes the flickering is not perceivable. It only looks bad in the video because the video camera’s shutter speed and monitor’s refresh rate are not matched, hence why you see the horizontal lines flicker on the monitors.

[@straightpipediesel]

@@Banzeken You can most definitely notice the flicker on a color monitor at 60 Hz. As they said, you have to run them at 75 Hz or better 85 Hz for a flicker free experience. Another issue was with fluorescent lighting, the differing frequencies between the screen and the lighting flicker would make it much worse.

[@Banzeken]

@@straightpipediesel In my recent experience with looking at and filming my Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 200 CRT monitor at a 60hz refresh (I have mutliple newer videos of my channel covering an old Pentium 90Mhz and Pentium II 400Mhz computer) I have not been able to pick up anything resembling flicker outside of tiny camcorder-related scrolling line imperfections, and certainly nowhere near the level of flicker as seen in this Computer Chronicles video. Same can be said for my tests at the same refresh rate with a Sony Trinitron CPD1730 from 1993 although it sadly started acting up (due to age-related issues) some week after I bought it 2nd-hand, therefore I have no videos on it. I’m sure someone out there might possibly perceive some minuscule flickering but my eyes have not been able to perceive anything resembling distracting flickering using these two monitors.

[@straightpipediesel]

@@Banzeken It's bad precisely because they're running the monitors at 75 or 85 Hz, while they're filming at 59.94. The cameraman can also compensate with one monitor by tweaking the shutter speed, but with two monitors at slightly different speeds and phases, they can't. Also, the resolution matters, you're probably running it at a lower resolution than normal. Lower resolution = larger electron beam = more intensity = phosphors fade out longer = less flicker.

[@tHeWasTeDYouTh]

0:47..... "spend hundreds of dollars' you mean thousands of dollars

[@Roman-nu1om]

72hz is far from flicker free, needs at least 85Hz!

[@modmutt]

I never knew Luke from Linus Tech Tips had a dad who works for ViewSonic, or is it his older twin brother, or maybe he's just a time traveler...

[@2lotsill]

Was poor growing up. Didn’t have a home computer till ‘98 or so.

[@user-dq2fi2vc5j]

I LOVE USA!

[@AnimalHouseVetVideos]

Thank fuck I found this video. I've been searching for days for any info on how to upgrade my Core i7 system to make it good enough for Windows 3.1. Typing this from my jmouse keyboard as we speak. I've also duct taped some ISA cards into my computer case and written 80386 on the side in black sharpie. I think I'm all set guys. See you in... THE FUTURE. *puts on shades, wipes Windows 7 partition, crams Windows 3.1 diskette into Blu-ray burner*

[@hamtaro126]

Plus the Volume Quality is suck on these videos, Also, Hi RougeAmp!!!

[@alexsmith6607]

Dose anyone know where i can get 486to586.EXE 3DFX.exe Qumm Doctor screen. 486to568 idk if it work`s was on this old 486 i found 3dfx.exe did emulate 64 megs of ram for your video card like a swap file , is there anything like this today? Qumm Qemm Would take 256k and make it 640k take 4megs and make it 8megs mac had the same thing. it had a swap file type mode to have like 128 megs Doctor screen not the right name it would scan your video card if the mode did fail it would emulate the mode so the game would run on video card that did not support. It was on a GateWay 486 the huge one that was like 4 feet tall but the hard drive did turn into files like AZBA78A BA79Z9A7 C9ABA883 and so on so i lost it all.. Is there a site for old dos/win toons?

[@johnbrown92]

+Alex Smith You are looking for Qemm for an older 486? There is nothing like this for new machines because it is not needed. Since AGP video cards can use system memory. The other thing was a vesa emulator I bet I used to use one lol. Just google QEMM memory manger download in google ;-)

[@cesaru3619]

Im sold! where can i buy that great "trackball", that's right Nowhere, no one use that crap anymore...

[@parkerlreed]

... /s? Trackballs are still alive and well. I use an MX Ergo daily at work.

[@serajeemdtoriqularman5955]

OK Intel 😂

[@Maskddingo]

DERP!

[@aris95]

Clickbait woman at 12:50 :)

[@Maskddingo]

Seems like PSU can't handle their own tech. Shameful. Glad I turned them down for my CS degree.

[@alexsmith6607]

I wish Microsoft had giving us a choice , Windows GIU are , Command Line Windows no gui , just think how great it world be , even ver of windows eat`s up more of your computer with useless colorful windows that dont help to make them system run better

[@drygnfyre]

Windows Server has an option to boot directly into a command-line interface and not use a GUI at all. Even the 9x releases had an option to boot into MS-DOS if you preferred.

[@jsan4108]

Or just download linux server edition and bam all cmd

[@RighteousBruce]

6:15 Im now using a View Sonic 4K 150Hz 28" monitor lol