MikeTech

Pre-release and some more info

Well, just as I was getting my upload schedule back on-track, I got demolished by the early arrival of allergy season... You probably heard the beginning stages of it in my most-recent video. Not wanting to immortalize my stuffy-nose voice cost me two uploads... Luckily, I'm mostly back to normal now so we get to have a video release this weekend! Had these mid-late '90s Compaq desktops staring...

Hardware sales!

The time has come... Time to start getting these systems and components out of my garage and into the hands of the retro computing community. Of all the posts and videos I've made, this one easily has me the most nervous... I wish it weren't necessary to sell them, but right now it's the best way to help secure the channel's financial viability. I want to create a rolling fund for future hauls....

Pre-release: '90s Desktops!

There's been a lot of Pentium systems lately, so I figured it's time to roll back to a time when the 486 was king. These systems usually present unique challenges, but boy was I not prepared for what I found... So glad to get this released for Saturday. Can't be competing with Taylor Swift winning the Super Bowl... Spending Friday night finishing it was definitely worth avoiding a Sunday releas...

Pre-release: The Odd Bunch

So you know I usually like to have a theme for the systems covered in videos. This week, I decided nah... Just grabbed some random ones. Very glad to have this one ready for Saturday release! Haven't had one of those in a while... Hope you like it! 

https://youtu.be/e9m2KX_14_0

Pre-release: Gateway Desktops!

Well the on-call week couldn't keep me down, but it sure tried! Had four evening PROD deploys... I'm so relieved to be releasing this weekend! I figured these Gateway desktops would make great subjects for a pressed week. You'll see how well that went LOL. I had a lot of fun making this one, which definitely kept me sane from the intrusive job obligations. I hope you have as much fun watching i...

Finally! Pre-release for the Micro-ATX video.

Ahh, the video that felt like it would never get done is done! Can't believe I've been making it since last year... Time to check out some of the little guys: Micro-ATX systems! Can't tell you how good it feels to finally get this one out. All of the recent tribulations here are settled, just in time for my on-call week next week LOL. The next one might also be a two-system video, but going to ...

Checking in...

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! I certainly did. Just want to check in and confirm that I'm still alive. Sure am! There's just been a tremendous amount of things demanding my attention lately, leaving little time for video work. We're not even two weeks into the new year and I feel like it's been two months... First, I had to put on my old auto mechanic hat and fix my vehicle. B...

Finally: Pre-release for the Micron video.

This one is shorter than normal, so I had to crank up the puns and snark a little. You have been warned! Figuring this holiday season (with on-call week thrown in) would be crazy, I decided to look at only two systems, and these Microns fit the bill.

Still no thumbnail or timestamps yet, just want to get this out to you. Hope you like it! 2023-12-22 00:14:25 +0000 UTC View Post

One million views!

We've hit a tremendous milestone: The channel has crossed 1 million views! We're only 12 days away from the 1-year mark since I started this channel, and it's unbelievable how far things have come in this short amount of time! I can't even imagine what 2024 will bring. Perhaps my dream of becoming the 'American Pickers' of retro tech will be realized sooner than expected!

Also,...

Pre-release for the iMac G4 video

Well, these systems are a different breed indeed... I decided it's time to stop overlooking them and check them out. I'm not the most highly experienced with Macs of this era. The deepest I've ever been into the Mac world was working on the Performa 575 machines in grade school. I do own a 2012 MacBook Pro which I bought about 8 years ago to do iOS development, but never so much as re-installed...

What am I thankful for?

YOU! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving! For those who don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you're having a wonderful day as well. By the way, can you guess which machines I'm working on this week? 

Pre-release: Packard Bell Towers (and one desktop)!

It's that time of week again! I decided to finally crack into these Packard Bell 'Designer' towers. Also threw in a Packard Bell Multimedia C115A desktop so that we could have the usual three systems. 

Also, for those interested: I finally started tracking how long it takes to make each video (hoping this leads me to better time management). This video took about 30 hours ...

Pre-release: Custom-built systems from the 2000's!

I've been on a 2000's kick lately... Decided to take a look at some mysterious custom builds from that time period. It was a wild ride, but I won't spoil it! So glad to be making a Saturday release. My previous Saturday release had the best first-24-hour performance of any previous video by a WIDE margin! If this video is able to replicate that performance, I might make Saturdays my new target....

Pre-release at last: HP bubble systems!

It feels so good to finally get this video out! I've conquered the human malware successfully. I'm never, ever skipping a flu shot again! I decided to take a look at these HP 'bubble' systems. I hope seeing these instantly recognizable systems brings back some fond early memories of computing for people. These are the quintessential 'my first computer' systems due to how cheap and available the...

Just checking in...

Since I missed a release, I just want to check in with everyone. Last week's on-call duties were particularly brutal. Deployments galore... I was barely able to get anything recorded (couldn't even get through system 1). Because of that, I decided I needed to get away for the weekend and relax. While relaxation was had, it was a trap... I picked up some human malware (specifically Influenza B) ...

Severely late pre-release: 2000's systems!

Work reared its ugly head this week and wrecked my video-making time. I'm not even on-call (that's NEXT week). So, we're doing a Saturday release... Decided to look at these two-tone early-mid 2000's systems. The AMD Athlon XP has a special place in my heart as the first CPU I ever bought brand-new! Hope you like the video!

2023-10-14 04:07:08 +0000 UTC View Post

Pre-release for the second Giant Towers video!

We have a fresh batch of giants to explore from the second Franklin eWaste haul! Also giant is the video length - My second one to exceed 1 hour. Clearly there was a lot to love inside of these cavernous cases. Can't believe I was still shooting video only a few hours ago. Sure wish I had more time to cover more of these beasts. One day...

Hope you like it! 

2023-10-06 07:24:22 +0000 UTC View Post

Pre-release for the first from the second e-waste haul!

You know I couldn't resist the baby AT systems from the second e-waste haul! Had my eye on system 1 since the day I was sent pictures of the lot! Yup, the second haul is already yielding some gems! Hope you like the video! 

https://youtu.be/Bk9M_aKPrME

Pre-release for the Acer/VCFMW/E-Waste haul video!

I'm back from Tennessee, the second e-waste haul is unloaded and I've finally finished the next video! This one covers the funky teal Acer Aspire 575LB. I've also added some bonus content at the end of the video which covers a bit of VCF Midwest as well as the second e-waste haul. It still made for a pretty short video. Hopefully it still does the trick! Still need to shoot the thumbnail though...

I'm up to something...

Sorry, I won't have a video for this week. Mostly due to spending 4 days traveling to and attending VCF Midwest. However, there's another reason: I've been working on securing a second e-waste haul! It won't be as large as the first one (estimated 50 systems), but it sure looks like there's some interesting stuff in there. I see a Trinitron monitor and more baby ATs! Although I'm still not even...

Pre-release for this week's video: More parts salvage!

I needed some teardown therapy. Uncovered more systems that appeared to be used for parts, so it's time to do some salvaging! 

Glad to get this one out on-time. I'm leaving for the weekend to attend VCF Midwest! Is anyone here going? If so, I hope we can meet!

Hope you enjoy the video! https:...

Pre-release: Resurrecting the Mitsubishi Lap Crusher

So my on-call week just happened to include the arrival of a hurricane... As such, I only had time to work on one system this week. I chose a very worthy recipient: The Mitsubishi MP 286L laptop from VCF West! It's a very short video, but I'd much rather release it than skip this week. Looking forward to Monday when my on-call chains are released!

2023-09-01 04:50:16 +0000 UTC View Post

Pre-release for the (first) video on the VCF haul

Burning the midnight oil to get this one out, but there's no way I'm missing another release! Taking a look at some of the systems I picked up at VCF Southeast and VCF West. Starting with the enormous Mitsubishi MP 286L "Laptop". Also cracked into the IBM Aptiva and the Gateway 2000 P5-166 tower.

I hope you enjoy it! 2023-08-25 08:27:53 +0000 UTC View Post

My VCF Adventures! VCF Southeast and VCF West!

I've finally conquered my jet lag. This video format is very new for me. Definitely took way longer to get together than I expected... I sure am glad My usual videos don't require scripts! Well it's finally done. My first VCF experiences were an absolute blast and I cannot wait to do it again! All the great people I met and all the awesome things I got to see... Unforgettable! I couldn't even r...

Still Alive!

Just letting you know I’m still alive. Survived San Francisco successfully! About to get on the plane. Sorry I wasn’t able to get the VCF video done in-time. It turned out to be a pretty lofty goal to do so while on-vacation. My laptop really hates being without its external GPU. Also, writing scripts turns out to be quite time-consuming. So glad my main video format is unscripted… Well I...

My First VCF Event!

VCF Southeast was a blast!! This was my first VCF event. There were many amazing systems, but the absolute highlight of the weekend was getting to meet Adrian Black and the members of the Atlanta Historical Computing Society! Getting to hang out with Adrian, Dan, Jamie, Earl, Bill and several other members all weekend was an indescribable experience. I'm so grateful for how friendly and welcomi...

Pre-release for the Legends video!

Well the hotel Wi-Fi managed to get it done. I am sorely missing my external GPU though. Rendering was painful, but the video is ready! Still need to add timestamps, but wanted to get this out to you before I fall asleep on the keyboard. Hope you like it! https://youtu.be/2TbH5G6wbUI

En-route to VCF Southeast!

Greetings from the road! Don't worry, I'm not driving (for this half of the trip) lol. En-route to Atlanta for VCF Southeast. I can hardly wait! I'm also going to do my best to make it to VCF West next weekend. Are any of you planning to attend either one? If so, I would love to meet you! Will try to get some videos out on the event(s). Hopefully I can manage to shoot some footage while trying ...

Pre-release for this week's video: The Salvage Operation!

This video is slightly different. These are some of the systems that are missing parts or otherwise damaged, so I wanted to see which parts were salvageable. Was going for a simpler project this week to save time, with the goal of getting a head-start on next week's video. However, it seems I'm totally incapable of doing that because I got a little carried away on this one - five systems! Glad ...

Pre-release for this week's video: Radio station systems!

Decided to take a look at these clone systems. All built into the same cases, branded Venus. Been wondering about these since the day I picked them up. Found they had a very interesting use-case: They were running a radio station! This video is shorter than I would have liked. Been an eventful week... Wanted to try and make some test recordings with system 1, but just didn't have time. I'll pro...