{"id":102,"date":"2004-07-16T19:12:37","date_gmt":"2004-07-16T18:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.randomwire.com\/2004\/07\/16\/nostalgia\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T13:34:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T12:34:04","slug":"nostalgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/nostalgia\/","title":{"rendered":"Nostalgia"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:11280,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/nerds\\\/timeline&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20250826081216\\\/http:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/nerds\\\/timeline\\\/&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-02 20:28:39&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-03 11:19:20&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-17 20:31:35&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-22 16:07:24&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-29 17:34:01&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-03 07:16:29&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-07 12:26:37&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-10 16:24:23&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-02-15 12:09:45&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-21 06:58:44&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-25 03:34:34&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-25 03:34:34&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<p>A colleague at work discovered some pretty archaic computer kit in the bottom of one of his desk draws today with stuff from as far back as the late 1970s (well before I was even born!). It&#8217;s amazing to see how things have moved on since then and just how clunky things were. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The classic example of this was the &#8216;acoustic modem&#8217; which was a box with two speakers on to which you pressed the telephone handset so that it could dial-up and transfer data. For its day this was cutting edge and even considered portable but wasn&#8217;t particularly reliable (so I hear).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"310\" class=\"wp-image-69099\" src=\"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/oldcomp1.jpg\" alt=\"Old Computer\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Connected to this is a &#8216;Tandy 400 Portable Computer&#8217; with a 9&#8243; mono screen and about as much computing power as an average wristwatch has today. Incredibly when it was plugged in it all started up fine &#8211; it was only when the smell of burning electronics was detected that we realised that the power adapter being used was the incorrect voltage and it was switched off pretty quick! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another piece of computing history that was discovered was a boxed copy of Windows v1, straight from the early beginnings of the Microsoft Empire. The graphics may not have been as fancy as they are today but you can defiantly still see the similarities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-69163\" src=\"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/oldcomp2.jpg\" alt=\"Windows\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If all this nostalgia has sparked your interest take a look <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/nerds\/timeline\/\">this site<\/a> about the history of computers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A colleague at work discovered some pretty archaic computer kit in the bottom of one of his desk draws today with stuff from as far back as the late 1970s (well before I was even born!). It&#8217;s amazing to see how things have moved on since then and just how clunky things were. The classic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[1341],"class_list":["post-102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech","tag-nostalgia"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101,"url":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/print-centre\/","url_meta":{"origin":102,"position":0},"title":"Print Centre","author":"David","date":"15th July 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"The other day at work I paid a short visit to the 'Thorpe Print Centre' which is the main press for Archant (formally Eastern Counties Newspapers) primarily to install a new printer in one of the offices. While I was there I took the opportunity to take a few snaps\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Photography&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Photography","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/photography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22239,"url":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/hachioji-festival\/","url_meta":{"origin":102,"position":1},"title":"Hachioji Festival","author":"David","date":"23rd November 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"For a few weeks every summer in Japan the streets of neighbourhoods around the country come alive with the sights, sounds and smells of traditional festivals (matsuri \u796d) usually sponsored by a local shrine or temple. Notable matsuri often feature processions including elaborate floats (dashi \u5c71\u8eca), which are pulled through\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Culture&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/hachioji-festival.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/hachioji-festival.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/hachioji-festival.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/hachioji-festival.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/hachioji-festival.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/hachioji-festival.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94217,"url":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/sakura-redux\/","url_meta":{"origin":102,"position":2},"title":"Sakura Redux","author":"David","date":"7th April 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Pictures of pale pink cherry blossom are all over Instagram again. Sakura season in Japan gets me every year. The whole country looks up at the trees for a week or two. People gather under branches with bento boxes and beer. Office workers sit on blue tarps in parks at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Germany&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Germany","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/europe\/germany\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_2478-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_2478-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_2478-scaled.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_2478-scaled.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_2478-scaled.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_2478-scaled.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48437,"url":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/return-to-shenzhen\/","url_meta":{"origin":102,"position":3},"title":"Return to Shenzhen","author":"David","date":"23rd July 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In April, I returned to China for the first time since the pandemic. From Tokyo, it was far cheaper to fly to Hong Kong than Shanghai back then, so we decided to take a long trip by high-speed train from Hong Kong to Shanghai, stopping at Shenzhen and Quanzhou on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;China&quot;","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/china\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7158-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7158-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7158-scaled.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7158-scaled.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7158-scaled.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7158-scaled.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28964,"url":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/fish-fed-plants-watered\/","url_meta":{"origin":102,"position":4},"title":"Fish fed, Plants watered","author":"David","date":"8th February 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Every month I travel to another city for work and book a place to stay on Airbnb. Staying in someone\u2019s apartment is a much more pleasant experience than beginning and ending the day at a soulless hotel and yet is also strange to be inhabiting someone else\u2019s personal space. An\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hotels&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hotels","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/travel\/hotels\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/airbnb-hong-kong.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/airbnb-hong-kong.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/airbnb-hong-kong.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/airbnb-hong-kong.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/airbnb-hong-kong.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31282,"url":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/passages-in-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":102,"position":5},"title":"Passages in Time","author":"David","date":"20th February 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I am a nostalgic person. I like walking around neighbourhoods where I used to live to rekindle memories of life as it was and routines that have long since changed. I like visiting places I used to frequent to see what\u2019s new, what\u2019s disappeared, and what\u2019s remained the same. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Culture&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6067-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6067-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6067-scaled.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6067-scaled.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6067-scaled.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6067-scaled.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83276,"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions\/83276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}