Blast from the Past - Mini Celebration Contest!

[Renegade]

️ Blast from the Past - Mini Celebration Contest! ️

Hello TechEnclave fam!

We’re kicking off the first of many mini celebration contests here on TE, and it’s time to take a stroll down memory lane. The theme for this one is “Blast from the Past.”

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How to Participate:

1. ️ Dig out your oldest tech relic – the one that’s been lying around, forgotten but cherished. It could be:
   - Your first mobile phone
   - An ancient CPU
   - A floppy disk or cassette
   - That trusty old Walkman
   - Or any tech from the good ol’ days!
2. Post a picture (only one) of your relic in this thread (with your username and current date). Feel free to share a short anecdote or memory related to it. Maybe it was your first tech purchase, a hand-me-down from a loved one, or a device that sparked your love for tech!
3. The post with the maximum likes by 15th March 2024 will be crowned the winner. So don't forget to like the posts by others and spread the love.
4. Only one entry per member.

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What’s in it for you?

- Bragging rights as TE's Keeper of the Relics!
- And of course, an exciting prize for the winner. (Details coming soon!)

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️ So, what are you waiting for? Start digging through those drawers, closets, and storage boxes! Let’s rediscover and celebrate the tech that shaped us into the enthusiasts we are today.

Good luck, and may the oldest (tech) win!

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Contest ends: 15th March 2025, 11:59 PM IST
Winner announcement: 16th March 2025

Let the nostalgia begin!

 

[?dOuBtFiRe?]

Let me begin the festivities!
Was free this new year, taking care of my elderly people in my family while the rest enjoys the break. Here we go.

PC Transformation:
About This:
News Article
Made and assembled by Wipro. This machine had 15in CRT Monitor, Pentium Processor II MMX, 2GB HDD and Unknown RAM. We later upgraded to 10GB HDD. Remember it came with a game CD POD and DK Interative Human Anatomy
I remember my father bringing home this setup in 1997-98. This one had all the markings for proper gaming setup. we used to play that game POD all the time and our annual test scores tanked by 3 ranks which made my mother break that CD to pieces. Anyway remember using it to learn Word, Excel and Lotus software. This one was the one which started it all for me.
I bought my father this i3 8th Gen NUC before Covid. SOrt of coming a full circle.

Mobile Transformation:
Many of you remember the CDMA phone from Reliance for INR 500.
Well my father was one of the early adopters of this Mobile. He had got stuck for INR 20k. I still remember his anger over the company. Years later on I got my first mobile Nokia Brick and Airtel and later moved on. I got him S23 2 years back.

TV Internet Transformation:
I am pretty sure no one would have heard of this device from Samsung. It was used to connect our old CRT, Flatron TV and transform it as a computer. Nevertheless it was a flop. My father had bought it in '99. The biggest drawback was it was meant to connect TV, operate it from far off No Wifi, Just old 56kb Landline Modem, No Mouse, Lovely KB but that is all. It came bundled with IE and we were supposed to browse using the above. No way. We promptly bundled it back and tucked it in the loft.
Years pass I got my family Zidoo X10 and we watch it connected to TV.

Updated the post as per rules.

 

[Renegade]

Yes only one entry per member. Put everything you have in one post/picture if you want.

Here is my entry from 2007!

Bought these in 2007 or 2008, Half Life Orange Box and Command & Conquer Tiberium Wars. Back when we didn't use to buy games. Still have these lying around with me. I like discarding things fiercely but just can't let go of these.

The entire Half life series was by far the most engaging game that I grew up with. The sound of empty wall mounted Health and HEV suit chargers still rings through my ears.

Command & Conquer was another series which had me hooked. This Tiberium Wars demo I played for the first time at @BIKeINSTEIN home. Just had to buy it after that.

They had even come out with an FPS CnC: Renegade in 2002. Thoroughly enjoyed that as well. I got my username either from that or from the song Renegades of Funk by Rage against the Machine. Or Both.

My origin story.

 

[Renegade]

Come on people. Use the weekend to dust up your hidden treasures that you have been hoarding.

 

[Rezep]

Come on people. Use the weekend to dust up your hidden treasures that you have been hoarding.

I feel like if this was pinned on top of what's new it would be better. Highlight it, make it shine. Like around here

So that it always remains on top. Just my suggestion. I didn't notice this thread was still there until I saw the title on the right side of the screen

 

[Heisen]

This is the ATI X1950 XT DDR3 512MB, a treasure I picked up back in 2007. It was my second graphics card, marking the true beginning of my PC gaming journey after the nostalgic days of NES and SNES.

The last time I checked, it was still running. I have such fond memories with this card, back then, my entire world revolved around graphics cards. I loved diving into every new game, mesmerized by the real time graphics rendering. It was all so fresh and exciting, with stunning games and dazzling shaders that completely hooked me.

 

[dpandey]

Damn! I wish this thread was created a month ago. I was forced to clean up my apt in 'Dec' to accommodate more people. Had to throw away parts of a 25 years old PC (Bought from IIRC Madan Street, Clarion Comp). Three button mouse (no wheel, actual ball) that connected to serial port, motherboard with an ISA bridge, Ethernet card with a BNC connector and a Cirrus Logic sound card ... all dumped into the e-waste bin.

For the kids on TE. In the last century, hard disks used to get the respect they deserve. You could buy them in the nice big boxes with a lot of conductive foam. (prob bought in Aug 1999).

Also a 64 MB pen drive (~2003).

 

[soulweaver]

Who else remembers installing Office using floppies?

Here’s is my yet unopened pack of Office for Windows 95. Installed a bootleg version back then keeping the original for later use. 30 odd years later, I am still to use it!

 

[bssunilreddy]

Its Called Voigtlander Vito C from Germany

Bought around 1980's by my Uncle who studied in Germany in the 1970's & Worked in Sulzer there.
It has retractable viewfinder and was compact to hold. It runs on 2 pentorch cells & normal film.

 

[arup]

Some tech items but non-electronic ones.
Hope this qualifies the contest criteria.

PS- Don't try to activate windows using the product keys.

 

[rsaeon]

^ I remember fondly of the hours and hours that I peered through TTL books finding cool and interesting chips by the window during the monsoon because we had no power.

PS- Don't try to activate windows using the product keys.

I hid mine

My origin story.

Ha!



Okay so to keep things fair, I've limited this to stuff that I purchased 20 years ago AND intentionally kept safe over the years. So no recent nostalgia purchases or stuff that I forgot about under my mother's bed.

That's a Virgin Webplayer, an internet appliance from 1999. After the bios password was found out, I bought at least four of them between 2000 and 2002, and I still have two of them today. I used them as internet radio stations, listening to podcasts up until around 2008, when the screen finally died. Got a mini-PCI wifi card for them too, it's around here somewhere. One of these days, I'll make a homage to these useful devices with an ipad screen and a mini pc. This is also where the my love of single-purpose computers truly became a thing of its own. Before this, I was hoarding 386s and other junk.

All of those discs laid flat are from the greatest gaming series ever, Command & Conquer. I was a patient gamer, I played through the demo version of the first Command & Conquer for an entire year until the game dropped to a price where I could afford it. Same with Tiberian Sun, I bought it after Firestorm came out and ebgames.com had it for under $20. When I finally got it, I spent two weeks playing it non-stop and was forced to repeat an entire semester of med school.

Then there's Quake III Arena. It took two weeks of downloading an hour a day on dialup just to get the demo version from cnet's download.com. Then about a year later, I found the full version on sale at a book store of all places. It was an absolutely thrilling game.

 

[Renegade]

All of those discs laid flat are from the greatest gaming series ever, Command & Conquer. I was a patient gamer, I played through the demo version of the first Command & Conquer for an entire year until the game dropped to a price where I could afford it. Same with Tiberian Sun, I bought it after Firestorm came out and ebgames.com had it for under $20. When I finally got it, I spent two weeks playing it non-stop and was forced to repeat an entire semester of med school.

OMG all my favorite games just lying there.. Yuri's revenge. Man those mind control tanks and those prism tanks in RA2, build 10 of them and just obliterate everything in the path. Where can I play these on a mac (or even windows) now?

 

[vishalrao]

My OG Moto Razr from way back in 2005

 

[ashish]

My OG Moto Razr from way back in 2005

View attachment 219746View attachment 219747

Is it really yours?

 

[ememm]

1) My Sony Ericsson k750i with new housing case, M2 card and adapter. My first phone with own earnings, so saved it for posterity. Had splurged one whole month's salary in 2005. Today I charged for 5 minutes and switched it on after maybe 13 years. To my utter surprise it turned on and showing 64% charge and working just fine.
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2) My first Android phone - Spice CSL Mi 410. Bought on launch around mid 2011, now not working. Not sure, but highly likely that I had gone through this TE thread before purchase

Thread 'Spice Mi 410 smartphone. 1Ghz snapdragon | 4.1" | Froyo | 5MP | 15K'

May 10, 2011

Wait till you read this.

Spice is coming up with their latest offering of Spice Mi 410 smartphone

* Powered by a 1Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor
* 4.1" Capacitive touchscreen
* 2.2 Android Version
* 5 MP Cam
*** Oh the price tag is a cute little 15K.

Source >> Spice to launch Mi 410 smartphone in June

• abracadabra
• Replies: 1,501
• Forum: Mobile Phones & Tablets

Came across XDA and dabbed in a lot of custom ROMs. A lot of fond memories associated with this one.
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3) My first media box - WDTV Live Plus. Bought from US around 2011end. Should be working - had installed WdLxTv homebrew firmware. Had spent an eternity downloading and organizing movies and music videos to play on my plasma TV. Nostalgic!

 

[rsaeon]

Is it really yours?

Very likely it is, it's not powered on, ha. Also I have the same dusting cloth from a pack I got on Amazon.

OMG all my favorite games just lying there.. Yuri's revenge. Man those mind control tanks and those prism tanks in RA2, build 10 of them and just obliterate everything in the path. Where can I play these on a mac (or even windows) now?

I really don't want to look it up, I just know I'm going to be sucked in (playing on a mac). Maybe in the summer. I heard there was a browser version and just had a quick play:



Most of the original Westwood Studios developers left EA and formed Petroglyph Games: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/PG/ and they've remastered the first C&C and RA in 4K!

There's a discord dedicated to this series: https://discord.gg/FqcekyQT