What makes the old computer setup look so fancy? It has a certain charm to it that I can’t describe and I like it very much.

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No-Sea-81@reddit (OP)

I finally got to have a setup like this, it’s not as messy as this one thank gosh. It mainly consists of the base monitor showing me the stuff, the keyboard, mouse, computer tower on the floor, a drawing tablet next to the screen and stuff, a small beige clock, a beige oscillating fan, and a tall lamp with a brown shade next to the tower. The OS is a high powered Windows 10, I modded it using Retrobar, Openshell, Winaero Tweaker, 3RVX, and WindowBlinds to have the Windows 98 look. It’s not 100% accurate, a little above 50 but it’s good enough for me. I use this machine everyday to surf the internet, make videos, and much more.

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WinDestruct@reddit

What a rich man, he also had a Libretto

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Huminerals@reddit

Look at all those distractions when you are waiting for a reboot!

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Nearby_Surround3066@reddit

I’m getting nostalgic for long boot times and maxtor fireball noises

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Jinnai34@reddit

Thought it was quantum fireball

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danmoore2@reddit

I think it's the knowledge that outside of that desk with it's focused computing setup, the internet and other technology that we have today didn't really exist. It is very purposeful, you went to the desk when you needed to use the computer/internet.

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Jinnai34@reddit

I agree, computer manufacturers worked hard to make the computer more and more commonplace and simple and cheap

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Vinylmaster3000@reddit

Yeah nowadays alot of these functions are streamlined - for instance, the tower and monitor will be there, sometimes you can have a laptop or docking station but you won't have a stack of CD's or a printer on the same desk, ditto with a landline.

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kriebz@reddit

Totally. It's the intentionality. The computer, the peripherals, the task-specific furniture. The little niche carved out of our homes. It's like a shrine.

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No-Sea-81@reddit (OP)

I really feel that setups like this made people look and feel professional and smarter, it could also show that they like to study and get work done.

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CzechWhiteRabbit@reddit

If you had a setup like that back in the day, you got s*** done! Lol.

Today, technology, is just integrated into our lives. Back then it was a purposeful activity, you didn't just go on the computer, which today is synonymous with internet. Everything is part of the internet today. Back then, you, told people I'm going to use the computer because I'm going online. Or I'm going to use the computer, because I need to print something up. The computer was the means of a task. Going on the computer, today, is just as benign as saying I'm watching TV. But there was a point in time, when you were say, let's turn on the TV, and watch The Ed Sullivan show, or I Love Lucy, or the 10:00 news. The TV was the means, but you were doing something that only the TV could bring to you. See my point? As I write this with my phone - again, the phone. There was a point in time, when the phone, was a purposeful activity. How many times, as a kid, using dial-up internet, where you told to get off the f** phone, someone's calling! Or, you would have your friends call you at home, and you get yelled at to get off the phone. And it's not a toy! You don't pay the goddamn bill! Lol. Anyone else? But my point is, the device, was the means to what you were going to do. Today, the device is now synonymous with the activity. Going on the computer, is an activity on its own. It's not a two-part activity anymore.

And don't even get me started on game consoles, while Nintendo back of the day did experiment with a modem, that was only in Japan - and I'm talking about NES. And then SNES. Day it's become a given, you need the internet to play your console systems now. And some of it's even at additional cost! Thanks Microsoft! You too Sony!

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SpreadFull245@reddit

It’s familiar, and helps you recognize your growth.

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plutoniumpete@reddit

Because you didn’t have google in your pocket

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cheezballs@reddit

I do not want to go back to this era.

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No-Sea-81@reddit (OP)

Why not?

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cheezballs@reddit

Just look at it. No desk space, single small monitor, nothing even remotely aesthetically or ergonomically designed. We have it much better now. I grew up my whole life my room looking like that and I never wanna go back. Monitor arms, Bluetooth, not having CRT frying my eyes all night.

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No-Sea-81@reddit (OP)

I guess it’s not for everyone, I personally like the look. Not the whole messy desk thing, but the systems and designs of the computer themselves.

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Doctor_Best@reddit

One word, CRT.

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YouFeedTheFish@reddit

It's not just the look. There was a smell, kinda like ozone. It came off the plastic and it was very distinctive to the 80's and into the early 90's. Must have been some chemical that's since been outlawed.

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Background_Yam9524@reddit

Maybe it's because all the equipment is so big. The fact that it takes up so much space makes it feel significant.

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mito@reddit

If they still sold consumer CRTs...I'd buy them.

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No-Sea-81@reddit (OP)

Me too

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ultimatebob@reddit

Interesting setup, but why would someone side mount a tower computer like that? Not only are you taking up more desk space, you're probably messing up the airflow as well.

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AlfieHicks@reddit

I'm fairly sure that's a desktop form-factor case. One of the 5.25" bays looks to be occupied, and it's seemingly facing the right way up, which wouldn't be the case if it was just a tower laid on its side. Regardless, it's not taking up desk space when they've clearly got stuff on top of it. If it was in a tower configuration, they'd actually lose desk space because you're not going to be able to comfortably reach anything you put on top of it.

As for airflow, this is clearly from the days when your entire PC could be effectively cooled by nothing more than an 80mm fan in the PSU and a 40mm one on the CPU, if that. Airflow was not a word that many computer users were familiar with.

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ultimatebob@reddit

You're right, it looks like a desktop case when you zoom in. A HUGE one, but still.

I wonder why they didn't just put their monitor on top of it? I used to do that on mine back in the day.

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AlfieHicks@reddit

It looks like, if they did that, then the keyboard would have been right on the edge of the desk, not giving them any room to rest their palms.

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GerlingFAR@reddit

PC with an upgraded CD-ROM multimedia package, cordless phone and an Toshiba Libretto mini PC sub notebook. Dude was rolling in it back in the 90s. 👍

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TableDuck@reddit

Can’t tell the model of the Libretto. Best guess a 50 or 70, but from the Intel sticker - 50?

I lusted after these for forever…

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RolandMT32@reddit

I think it looks cozy and organized, with the things you need to do your work (or gaming) right there at the desk.

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tapiringaround@reddit

This just makes me think of Encarta ‘95 and Math Blaster

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NightmareJoker2@reddit

The desktop PC case being off to the side instead of under the monitor is a bit odd. That desk is way too small to not try and save desk area this way.

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Albedo101@reddit

This is interesting, as it's a early 90s desktop case most likely running late 90s Windows 9x setup.

Also, it's set in Croatia - the very epic Croatian 90s LOTR edition on the top shelf, top right.

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feel-the-avocado@reddit

Its the speakers with incoming cellular call prediction that really give any computer desk the perfect finishing touch.

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Albedo101@reddit

LOL, thanks for bringing up the memories! I've completely forgotten about that!
I had the exact same speakers and the way they used to chirp right before the phone would ring... lol.

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mtest001@reddit

Yes, that was an interesting undocumented "feature" of those speakers.

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mikee8989@reddit

I love this sort of setup. I saw a full setup like this once while doing some urbex back in 2007. The place looked like everyone got up and left sometime in 1996

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Starshipfan01@reddit

I was thinking 96-98 :) mainly because this belongs in Neo’s room in “The Matrix” (99)

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The_Brofucius@reddit

Why am I hearing Sounds of Modem Connecting to Server...You Got Mail....

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gnntech@reddit

10 years before this picture, we had a similar setup but with a Commodore 64 as the centerpiece. It was a professional looking setup where my dad would pay bills online using Citibank Direct Access one day a week, and the other 6 days would be me and my brother playing games.

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XFX1270@reddit

Every day I wake up and kick myself for selling my Libretto.

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No-Sea-81@reddit (OP)

Sorry for your loss mate.

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Mortomes@reddit

Not gonna lie, that power strip right where your feet would be is stressing me out.

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canthearu_ack@reddit

Gotta add a little risk to the equation.

Will I accidently knock the plug out of my computer, with work I haven't saved in like 5 hours.

Now that is a core memory .... having to remember to save often because computers and software of that age were notoriously unreliable and would happy crash and ruin hours of work, and the chance of it happening was proportional to the length of time since you last saved.

These days though, my main desktop has been running for more than 50 days straight, playing games and work stuff, with barely a hiccup.

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weird-oh@reddit

The only word I can think of to describe it is cozy. I used to feel very comfortable sitting down at my setup, which looked very much like that.

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MarayatAndriane@reddit

One thing I think of is how each piece of equipment in this shot, including the lamps, would still be functional today or tomorrow, 30 years later, even if it had been used every day since.

probably.

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Liquid_Magic@reddit

It’s because back then you needed a whole bunch of extra shit to do anything. I love vintage computing but only because it’s a choice now. Back then it was just… pain. So much… pain.

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Shamanjoe@reddit

This is the answer. All the peripherals that were actually needed gave you a whole little ecosystem in your workstation bubble.

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DabblingOrganizer@reddit

Agreed. The computer is the whole picture. Every single thing on that desk has its own function as part of the magic. It all adds up unlike how you can have a computer that is literally as big as a can of sardines like my work computer.

Computer, monitor, power strip, keyboard, mouse, speakers, modem, printer, scanner… and when it was time to upgrade you opened it up and installed some awesome new fast CD-ROM drive or a sound card. It required work and knowledge, so we cherished what it could do for us.

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Fit-Rip-4550@reddit

This basically is the evolution of how research with computers was executed. Modern methods just have more monitors, but the books have remained in many instances. I suppose this could also be a prototype gaming rig.

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BoltLayman@reddit

The feeling of being involved into the huge microelectronics revolution where you can have similar setup to your big corporation office desk :-)

And that lasted pretty long from late1980s to mid 2000s when compactness started being a point.

On the other hand I degraded my black mATX PC case to an old beige ATX with 4x5.25" bays. and only 1 bay is used for a 3.5" spinning drive, another SATA devices are 2.5" SSD. mounted on .2.5"->3.5"adapters.

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redruM69@reddit

The little palmtop is a Toshiba Libretto. Quite collectable nowadays.

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CubilasDotCom@reddit

I had one for about a week.. left it on the schoolbus one day; we searched the bus barn and nothing

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IHaveSpoken000@reddit

I don't miss those heavy ass monitors though.

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No-Sea-81@reddit (OP)

Personally for me, I felt that older computer setups created a professional and scientific environment for those who are very into technology. I usually associate these setups with scientists, smart geniuses, and old people.

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