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So much of the big news these days is all about AI. AI advances, AI politics, AI corporate maneuvering, AI power usage … I was feeling a bit downcast about the prospect of writing yet another AI column when, in fact, there isn't that much I can say in one page that isn't either speculation or well-trodden platitudes. Then I noticed a news item that swung the other way, into the deep, retro past: Picture the oldest PC-style home computer you can remember, maybe the first computer your father brought home?
Dear Reader,
So much of the big news these days is all about AI. AI advances, AI politics, AI corporate maneuvering, AI power usage … I was feeling a bit downcast about the prospect of writing yet another AI column when, in fact, there isn't that much I can say in one page that isn't either speculation or well-trodden platitudes. Then I noticed a news item that swung the other way, into the deep, retro past: Picture the oldest PC-style home computer you can remember, maybe the first computer your father brought home?
The BBC website recently posted an article on contemporary uses for really ancient Windows computer systems [1], and I'm not just talking about people logging onto a home PC to write a letter. I mean actual production systems out in the real world. I've always had a low-tech, high-tech streak. I never liked it that I was supposed to throw out my computer and buy a new one because some hardware company (or software company) wanted to chalk up another sale. One of the things that attracted me to Linux was the idea that I wouldn't have to bow down to corporate timelines of planned obsolescence. But seriously, some of the examples in the article are a little mind blowing.
[...]
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