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pseydtonneI suppose I should be talking about plenty of other stuff. That way, those of you not into the computer modification scene won't get bored or skip to someone else's "Quizilla says I'm a box of hammers in a drain pipe!" Then again, for the first time in a while, I don't really care. I feel a wellspring of nonchalance, the kind I've been needing. I'll admit it -- it's nice not to feel angsty and have to repress it. I don't feel angst, pain, or any of the other heartache. This is good.
So now, without further ado...
I have an i-Opener!![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tkitch picked up a display model back when he worked at a certain chain electronics and computer store. He wasn't using it and I have a specific use for it: it'll be a terminal for testing a Net Room setup for Arisia. I can finally get started on this task!
What, you may ask, is an i-Opener? Back in 2000, a company called Netpliance started selling these devices for $99. It has an LCD screen, a keyboard with a pointer built in, two phone jacks and a power supply. You plugged it in, had it dial out to their servers, and soon enough you were set up for surfing the Web and getting email. The assumption was that you'd subscribe to their ISP for $22 per month in return for never having to learn how a computer works.
Geeks from that era quickly figured out that this device was a real computer -- a slow one, but a real one. It has a WinChip 180 running at 200 MHz (really the equivalent of an MMX 133 MHz, so we're not talking a speed demon), 32 MB of RAM (upgradeable to 128 MB using normal notebook memory), 2 MB of video RAM, a fairly normal Award BIOS, a USB port, and a 16-MB SanDisk (much like the kind now slid in and out of digital cameras but this one is soldered onto the motherboard). It also had the one piece necessary for this kitchen-table chatbox to turn tricks: a 44-pin IDE port to plug in a notebook-sized hard drive.
Mind you, there are qualifications here. You have to open up the back of this pup and remove the giant passive heatsink to get any work done. Oh, and unless you remove that big heatsink permanently, there won't be a place to put the hard drive (unless you take out the dial-up modem but even then you'll overheat something). There is one fan-based replacement heatsink with a low enough profile to fit in the case (it's called the Lasagna because of all the layers of metal).
Keep in mind that the height of interest in this box was four years ago, when even a cheap computer cost a lot more than one does now and the idea of a $99 computer was very appealing. This was also a time when the machines you could get from a dumpster were too dated for real Net activity, whereas these days people throw out P3 boxes that can play the Strongbad email without a hitch. The idea of $100 in mods (heatsink, USB-NIC dongle, etc.) to a $100 computer meant ta-da!
Netpliance got angry. They started selling the units with goop on the BIOS to stop people from popping out the existing BIOS for flashing. Then they started requiring a three-month service contract or a penalty for "non-use". Then they start lopping off the IDE pins. Next they changed the price to $400. Keep in mind that this was the height of the Dotcom Wave, when bad business models permeated. This company would've lasted a couple extra years if they'd required a three-month contract at the start instead of taking a loss on $400 worth of computer for $99. They were backlogged with orders for i-Openers (some people were waiting three months) but most of the orders were from geeks wanting to mod them, not from future subscribers. They eventually sold their ISP operations to Earthlink, changed their name in an attempt to dodge lawsuits, and became an "Internet security company". Tough story for some kids in Austin with a good idea but no adult supervision.
By the way, I got most of my information about this from Expanding the i-opener by Fred Maxwell. This is also a good place to see a picture of an i-Opener, or at least one with its motherboard superimposed on the screen.
Here's the rub: plenty of these boxes are still around. Most geeks wouldn't bother hacking one today because it's too much work. You need to get a special hard drive ribbon because the pins on the motherboard are reversed (pin 1 is where pin 2 should be, pin 2 where 1 is, then 3 and 4 are swapped, and so forth). I have yet to find a store in Boston that sells even a normal notebook drive ribbon, since those tend to be soldered straight into laptops.
I did have one great stroke of luck yesterday. The people that sell the Lasagna are still in business. In fact, the business is in Reading, about ten minutes from me. In fact, the business is just one guy. So I called him. He wasn't "equipped" to let me pick up the Lasagna at the shop but he dropped it off at my apartment after he ran some errands for the day. I put in my order at 11:42 am (the order number was a time stamp) and he dropped off the box by 3:30 pm. What a score! (Then again, Fred Maxwell had problems with the Lasagna but it's a place to start.)
Now all I need is the ribbon. I still want to use this pup after Arisia as a bedside typing terminal. It's too cute not to use it that way. I hope this laptop won't get jealous. I may even try putting a different socket-7 chip on there, such as an AMD K6-2 333 MHz.
Then again, there are many more constraints on this box than there would be even with a laptop. The power supply is only about 35 watts, limiting what can be running or upgraded.
I see this box as the bonsai of computer modding. You must trim the roots to keep it in working order (nothing unessential, only careful wiring work and patience). Otherwise, it's just another doorstop on its way to the curb. I still think it'll be worth it as a learning tool.
While I've been writing this, clouds have filled the sky. I should get outside before the heavens erupt again. This has been a rainy December. I should also call a certainhakamadare and see whether he's keen to geek out a little.
-feeling pretty damn good, Dante
So now, without further ado...
I have an i-Opener!
tkitch picked up a display model back when he worked at a certain chain electronics and computer store. He wasn't using it and I have a specific use for it: it'll be a terminal for testing a Net Room setup for Arisia. I can finally get started on this task!What, you may ask, is an i-Opener? Back in 2000, a company called Netpliance started selling these devices for $99. It has an LCD screen, a keyboard with a pointer built in, two phone jacks and a power supply. You plugged it in, had it dial out to their servers, and soon enough you were set up for surfing the Web and getting email. The assumption was that you'd subscribe to their ISP for $22 per month in return for never having to learn how a computer works.
Geeks from that era quickly figured out that this device was a real computer -- a slow one, but a real one. It has a WinChip 180 running at 200 MHz (really the equivalent of an MMX 133 MHz, so we're not talking a speed demon), 32 MB of RAM (upgradeable to 128 MB using normal notebook memory), 2 MB of video RAM, a fairly normal Award BIOS, a USB port, and a 16-MB SanDisk (much like the kind now slid in and out of digital cameras but this one is soldered onto the motherboard). It also had the one piece necessary for this kitchen-table chatbox to turn tricks: a 44-pin IDE port to plug in a notebook-sized hard drive.
Mind you, there are qualifications here. You have to open up the back of this pup and remove the giant passive heatsink to get any work done. Oh, and unless you remove that big heatsink permanently, there won't be a place to put the hard drive (unless you take out the dial-up modem but even then you'll overheat something). There is one fan-based replacement heatsink with a low enough profile to fit in the case (it's called the Lasagna because of all the layers of metal).
Keep in mind that the height of interest in this box was four years ago, when even a cheap computer cost a lot more than one does now and the idea of a $99 computer was very appealing. This was also a time when the machines you could get from a dumpster were too dated for real Net activity, whereas these days people throw out P3 boxes that can play the Strongbad email without a hitch. The idea of $100 in mods (heatsink, USB-NIC dongle, etc.) to a $100 computer meant ta-da!
Netpliance got angry. They started selling the units with goop on the BIOS to stop people from popping out the existing BIOS for flashing. Then they started requiring a three-month service contract or a penalty for "non-use". Then they start lopping off the IDE pins. Next they changed the price to $400. Keep in mind that this was the height of the Dotcom Wave, when bad business models permeated. This company would've lasted a couple extra years if they'd required a three-month contract at the start instead of taking a loss on $400 worth of computer for $99. They were backlogged with orders for i-Openers (some people were waiting three months) but most of the orders were from geeks wanting to mod them, not from future subscribers. They eventually sold their ISP operations to Earthlink, changed their name in an attempt to dodge lawsuits, and became an "Internet security company". Tough story for some kids in Austin with a good idea but no adult supervision.
By the way, I got most of my information about this from Expanding the i-opener by Fred Maxwell. This is also a good place to see a picture of an i-Opener, or at least one with its motherboard superimposed on the screen.
Here's the rub: plenty of these boxes are still around. Most geeks wouldn't bother hacking one today because it's too much work. You need to get a special hard drive ribbon because the pins on the motherboard are reversed (pin 1 is where pin 2 should be, pin 2 where 1 is, then 3 and 4 are swapped, and so forth). I have yet to find a store in Boston that sells even a normal notebook drive ribbon, since those tend to be soldered straight into laptops.
I did have one great stroke of luck yesterday. The people that sell the Lasagna are still in business. In fact, the business is in Reading, about ten minutes from me. In fact, the business is just one guy. So I called him. He wasn't "equipped" to let me pick up the Lasagna at the shop but he dropped it off at my apartment after he ran some errands for the day. I put in my order at 11:42 am (the order number was a time stamp) and he dropped off the box by 3:30 pm. What a score! (Then again, Fred Maxwell had problems with the Lasagna but it's a place to start.)
Now all I need is the ribbon. I still want to use this pup after Arisia as a bedside typing terminal. It's too cute not to use it that way. I hope this laptop won't get jealous. I may even try putting a different socket-7 chip on there, such as an AMD K6-2 333 MHz.
Then again, there are many more constraints on this box than there would be even with a laptop. The power supply is only about 35 watts, limiting what can be running or upgraded.
I see this box as the bonsai of computer modding. You must trim the roots to keep it in working order (nothing unessential, only careful wiring work and patience). Otherwise, it's just another doorstop on its way to the curb. I still think it'll be worth it as a learning tool.
While I've been writing this, clouds have filled the sky. I should get outside before the heavens erupt again. This has been a rainy December. I should also call a certain
hakamadare and see whether he's keen to geek out a little.-feeling pretty damn good, Dante
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no subject
Date: 2004-12-12 10:28 pm (UTC)rawk!
Date: 2004-12-13 12:57 am (UTC)If that really tall Kitsh guy with whom I saw Team America for the third time ever runs across another one of those, gimme!!