MikeTech

Pre-release: Compaq Presario 4240ES!

It's not déjà vu, it's another Compaq system! Guess I'm in a Compaq mood lately. This time a Presario 4240ES. It piqued my interest because it seems pretty wild for a machine of this era to have a DVD drive. I just had to check it out! Not givin...

Pre-release: Compaq Presario CDS 524 All-In-One!

At last, the video that felt like it would never get finished is finished! I'm steadily gaining some slivers of spare time back as my company's massive compliance push wraps up. I'll probably do the public release on Wednesday night, which means i...

Compaq all-in-one!

At last, after way too much time I am starting on this Compaq CDS 524 all-in-one. This is a machine that I've owned for about 8 years now, and haven't ever given a proper once-over. It mostly functions, but has a few notable issues. One being the ...

Pre-release: Leading Edge WinPro 486

Here's one of the systems from the fourth e-waste haul that piqued my particular interest: The Leading Edge WinPro 486. There seems to be something special about Leading Edge in general, because the prices always seem extra crazy. I used to have a...

Pre-release The Celebrity Tower!

This machine came as part of the fourth e-waste haul. I've just been dying to get into it! Not only is this style tower internet-famous as LGRs woodgrain 486, it's also one from my childhood. It was the one I hacked on the most, figuring out how t...

Pre-release: The HP Vectra Tower

What? I'm making a release!? Finally! I thank you all for your patience. New job has been pretty wild. It should be calming down now that we're out of peak season though. Our traffic explodes due to holiday online shopping (subsequently causing so...

The Fourth E-Waste Haul

Well hello! I can't believe it's been nearly a month... I do apologize for that. When they said this was peak season at the new job, they weren't lying... Between that and scrambling to get the house in order for the holidays (sooo many projects),...

Pre-release: Mid-2000s parts salvage, exploration and horrors!

So here I was thinking I'd do a nice, low-effort parts-salvage video in the interest of maintaining a schedule. Turns out that didn't work! This is apparently the busy season at the new job... Anyways, it's finally done! Just a couple of junky sys...

Pre-release: Tandy 2500!

At last, time to give this Tandy 2500 the love it deserves! Without spoiling anything, it was quite an adventure. These are some amazing machines!

Can't believe we broke the 1-hour mark. This machine could probably produce another 45 minute...

Time for the Tandy

Just in time to be late for #SepTandy, I've dug into this Tandy 2500. A machine like this requires a bit more love than the average system, thus is taking longer. I'm quite annoyed that I didn't hit the 4-week upload streak, but I suppose it's bet...

Pre-release: Some random '90s desktop called Telstar!

What? A consecutive weekly release?? We're getting closer! For some reason I've been feeling like digging into some desktop form-factor systems. This one did not disappoint! Not going to spoil it, but it got weird!

Thanks for being awesome....

Pre-release: The Pionex 486

Taking a break from the 2000's systems. Time to check out a good ol' 486. This system seemed like a promising subject. Case badge says Pionex, which I've never heard of. Googling reveals they're fairly well-remembered.

Hoping to get back to...

Pre-release: The AOpen CustomPC

Wow, I actually finished it? Felt like I was working on this one for a year... The mighty AOpen CustomPC has been gone through. These things really are impressive in their build quality.

Please enjoy this extended pre-release, as I'm not pu...

Questions about the AOpen CustomPC. Also, where the hell have I been?

Well, that month FLEW by... Feels like it's been about three months. Sooo, where have I been? I had to take some time off to finish adapting to recent life changes. In addition to moving, I've also switched jobs. Its been a whirlwind... Sorry to a...

Pre-release: 2000's system with windows! No, not those Windows...

Decided to conquer some curiosity and explore a system with some quintessential 2000's design elements. A window into its soul! Or guts maybe... This was originally supposed to be a two-system video, but I decided last night that it's best to fina...

Pre-release: Mid-2000s System Therapy

I cant even explain how good it feels to be getting a video out. Recording and editing is definitely the most normal I've felt since uprooting. Had some speedbumps in the process... I had to do a bunch of tweaking of the lighting. Never realized h...

Back in business!

The bench is back! I managed to replicate (almost) my exact setup. As you can see, the cat is far more settled in than I am. Hopefully getting back to recording/editing will help make the new place feel more normal. I'll be back at it (recording) ...

When you see it...

If you look carefully, there's a cat in the first picture. So where have I been? I've done the unthinkable: Decided to move house while hoarding 300+ computers. It's going exactly as well as you can imagine! However, the promise of a better garage...

Pre-release: The iMac cosplayer, and the Aptiva wannabe.

For this video, I chose two funky cases from a time where PCs were starting to get colorful! The iMac-ish 'Antec Gemstone' case and a strange-faced beige box with unnecessary purple. Also, I owe you a cat pic. Been a wild week. Glad it's over thou...

If an iMac and a PC had a child...

This is probably what it'd look like. This will be one of the subjects for the next video. Thanks to Wyatt for providing some much-needed background info on this case. It is known as an Antec Gemstone. It was not manufactured by Antec, but it was ...

Pre-release: The IBM PC XT (5160)

26 hours of editing... Countless hours shooting... It's finally done! The most-recent eWaste haul has graced my bench with a machine I've been hunting for years: The IBM 5160. These machines were super important for me, as I found them most-fascin...

Pre-release: Sony Vaio Systems!

Time to see what all the fuss was about with Sony Vaio systems. I can remember these commanding quite a premium over other pre-built systems of the era. That certainly put them out of my reach, so the systems in this video are actually the first V...

The furry one is getting brave...

Well, the XT continues to resist repair. Without giving away too many spoilers, I had to bust out the ol' SillyScope. Now I'm waiting for more parts to arrive. It is becoming quite a saga. I did start shooting another video in-between work on the ...

Pre-release: A Byte-sized video for a byte-sized system

I managed to eek out a single-system video this week. It's a short one, but I figured a short video is better than no video. Still waiting for XT parts, so I wanted to get something out for this weekend. For a little video, why not cover a little ...

Update on the XT. Also, cat pics!

As I alluded to in the most-recent e-waste haul video, I've started working on the XT immediately after unpacking everything. Well, that process is taking much longer than expected. This is partially due to me being incredibly busy (annual reviews...

The third eWaste haul.

Here's a disheveled mini-vlog of this weekend's eWaste haul. A sneak-peak at some of the systems as well as some mild complaining about the trip. Beware: May contain bad editing and questionable sound.

Doing it again!

Well I got a bit de-railed this week, but for a very good reason: A third e-waste haul! This one kinda snuck up on me. Had to act fast as the owner of the e-waste facility is moving locations. I had less than a week to organize the trip and get th...

Pre-release: Gateways From Space!?

I was doing my usual dithering, trying to decide which systems to look at next. Then the husband said "You should do the alien Gateways". Well I guess it was time to get these done! Working on these out-of-this-world Gateway towers was a nice repr...

eMachines Video Performance

This has me quite excited so I just had to share. What's more unusual than getting nostalgic for eMachines? The popularity of the video! It is officially my most-successful video in terms of performance in the first 24 hours. My benchmark for a go...

Pre-release: eMachines towers!

Who would have ever guessed one could get nostalgia triggers from an eMachines! My family actually owned one of these systems back when it was new, so maybe that's why. My brother (in-law) received one for Christmas in 2005 or 2006. This video was...