Vintage Computing Files Archive is down???

[morundos]

I cannot access to VCFA on KDX cilent that I want to download System 7.5 Version 7.5.3 full CD. Even, the preterhuman.net does not have System 7.5 Version 7.5.3 full CD but only System CD that came from Apple Software Updates. I worried the Vintage Computing Files Archive.

 

[macgeek417]

Yeah it's only been down for like... months. :

 

[returningmacuser]

The guy's needed funds for the archive forever. His donation funds have been empty ever since he started the archive (at least to my knowledge), and all of the money's been coming out of his own pocket. Maybe if you have some spare cash sometime, you could consider, I don't know, hitting that big orange button on the main page that says DONATE perhaps?

Just a suggestion...

 

[MrMacPlus]

Also, System 7.5 can be downloaded free from apple.

 

[morundos]

I need full CD of System 7.5 Version 7.5.3 (that included OpenDoc, QuickDraw GX, PowerTalk and Disk Images with CD Extras). The System 7.5.3 from Apple does not have 7.5.3 in floppies. :b&w:

Also, give the link for 7.5.3 installation floppies, not multipart.

 

[ccmac]

Check out http://vcfa.890m.com/ for reason.

 

[morundos]

OK. I want to check the user "Dzave" that included the server backup. In preterhuman.net, the "MacOS 7.5.3.sit" has only multipart, not floppies. I need the floppies version of System 7.5.3. VCFA long lived, but I like VCFA.

 

[MrMacPlus]

The multipart is the full CD AFAIK, just decompress them all and double-click the first part. You can then make an ISO in Disk Utility. That's how I did it. If you don't have Mac OS X then maybe someone here with the server space can do it.

 

[morundos]

And then, where is the older version (http://vintage.tsfsc.com/the-archive/) of http archive in Vintage Computing Files Archive?

 

[ccmac]

An update on the status of the Vintage Computing Files Archive has recently been posted at http://vcfa.890m.com/. The problem has been narrowed down to a bad logic board. He is seeking donations to get a new server to bring the archive back online.

 

[Mike Richardson]

What kind of Mac is the server?

 

[MrMacPlus]

What kind of Mac is the server?

IIRC it was a Powerbook or iBook. Let me try finding the reference I remember.

Edit: I did remember correctly:

It's running on a old Powerbook whose keyboard has already gone and I fear that the rest of it may now be going too.

 

[Mike Richardson]

You can get an entire G4 tower for the same price as an iBook logic board.

 

[Cory5412]

Yeah, G4 towers are pretty cheap, but I also suspect he may be paying electricity on it, as it runs out of his home, in which case a G4 tower may be less desirable just because of the added power usage.

Right now, I'm hosting stenoweb.net on a mobile computer for kind-of similar reasons. (Heat, noise, and no need for anything more powerful than what the old ThinkPad has got.)

 

[Mike Richardson]

If the PowerBook uses 50W and the G4 uses 150W and he is paying 15¢/kwh:

$5.40/mo to run the PowerBook

$16.20/mo to run the G4 Tower

I don't think the G4 or even the PowerBook would be using that much though.

You can strip down the G4 some, unplug the CD drive and any unused cards, you basically want the hard drive, motherboard, video card, and PSU. Change to onboard ethernet if you use a card. If there's a backup drive make sure it spins down when not in use. Unplug USB devices when not in use.

You could probably get an entire PowerBook or maybe an iBook 500 MHz for $100 if you didn't care about the battery or screen anomalies. You could also get a G4 for $50 or less if you're looking in the right place. It might takes 5-6 months for the energy savings to catch up, but honestly if you don't have $10/mo to spare for more power or $50 to spare when the server dies then maybe running a server is not a good project for you.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

And to think, I'm in a 'greenie', super enviro-nut (yes, I drive a Prius, and I've had only compact flourescent bulbs since 1999; and am seriously looking at switching from THOSE over to LED bulbs, which are still $30 a piece...,) yet I'm in the process of replacing my G4 server with a massive beast... I must say, though, the thing makes an excellent space heater.

 

[returningmacuser]

And to think, I'm in a 'greenie', super enviro-nut (yes, I drive a Prius, and I've had only compact flourescent bulbs since 1999; and am seriously looking at switching from THOSE over to LED bulbs, which are still $30 a piece...,) yet I'm in the process of replacing my G4 server with a massive beast... I must say, though, the thing makes an excellent space heater.

Just checked the link... Itanium, eh? Nice to see that there's someone still "thinking different" from X86/X64, even if it's from Intel. :b&w:
In case you haven't noticed, I HATE the ubiquity of X86 processors in desktops/laptops these days. It's all too boring and the same for me. xx(

 

[Mike Richardson]

And to think, I'm in a 'greenie', super enviro-nut (yes, I drive a Prius, and I've had only compact flourescent bulbs since 1999; and am seriously looking at switching from THOSE over to LED bulbs, which are still $30 a piece...,) yet I'm in the process of replacing my G4 server with a massive beast... I must say, though, the thing makes an excellent space heater.

I don't think Prius is that good either. By the time you pay $5000 over a Corolla (or is it more or less now, I don't know), are you really saving money on gas for the lifetime of the car? I don't think you are. Especially when you have to buy new batteries after 5 years because yours are spent up and don't work well anymore.

However, CFLs are smart. They last 5x longer and use 4x less energy even if they cost twice as much initially. Just by the fact that they cost 2x more but last 5x longer, that's 2.5x the value over old bulbs on that one metric alone.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

I don't think Prius is that good either. By the time you pay $5000 over a Corolla (or is it more or less now, I don't know), are you really saving money on gas for the lifetime of the car? I don't think you are. Especially when you have to buy new batteries after 5 years because yours are spent up and don't work well anymore.

Being an ultra-geek, I created a speadsheet comparing the three vehicles we were looking at at the time. With my outrageously high estimate gas price of $2.00 a gallon as the average over ten years (hah! It exceeded that within 6 months of buying the car!) I was due to hit the break-even point vs. one alternative at the 5 year point, vs. the second at the 7 year point. The car is now 5 years old, and by my spreadsheet's calculations, I have already broken even against both. Sometime around the 150,000-mile mark, it will even have paid off compared to just keeping the SUV it replaced.

As for the battery, there are many reports of Priuses (Prii?) going strong on their original battery pack at the 200,000 mile mark. You get slightly worse gas mileage, (40 vs. 45 MPG) because the battery can't hold as much charge, but you still do much better than a conventional car. (A taxi company in Vancouver, BC, has used Priuses since 2001; and got over 330,000 km (205,000 miles) before he replaced it with a newer model; and it was running just fine. Another taxi company in BC used a 2001 Prius for over 435,000 km (270,000 miles,) before retiring it without needing a battery replacement. I may drive more miles than average (my five-year-old car has almost 80,000 miles,) but I'm nowhere near the wear-and-tear these cars experienced. (And a cab's stop-and-go usage is even harder on the battery than my mostly-highway miles.)

The Prius is a little bigger than the Corolla, enough that it was the smallest car (interior passenger room-wise) we were looking at. The Corolla was just too small. Had the Camry Hybrid been around when we bought ours, we probably would have gotten that. (Or even the Accord Hybrid, which wasn't very impressive...)

However, CFLs are smart. They last 5x longer and use 4x less energy even if they cost twice as much initially. Just by the fact that they cost 2x more but last 5x longer, that's 2.5x the value over old bulbs on that one metric alone.

Modern CFLs are great, the early ones (1998/1999) were horrendous. They all claimed a five-plus-year life, yet every single one I bought in '98/99 died within one year. Most of their replacements lasted barely a year as well. And, of course, back then, they were more like 10x as expensive.