Yes but the labeling on the packages clearly states that you can use both
Then in high school we had the Apple IIc in my algebra class (loved it), my typing class had IBM PS/2s, which was the class where my typing teacher thought I was making threats against her because in my free time I was typing and printing out Star Trek parodies, oh, and our computer programming class had just got in brand new Power Mac 5200s, which our programming teacher would stay with us after school and we'd play Warcraft II over LAN. I wanted a Power Mac SOOOOO bad!
In our schools in my Province, we had a unique networked system called the Unisys ICONs. They were essentially custom unix boxes developed for the classroom via a government program. They had a fairly big monitor built into a big beefy keyboard with a built-in trackball. But they were soooo slow to use and were expensive for the school boards, and eventually the program was scrapped. But anytime we used them in our computer classes, we would look at the IBM PCs in envy.
Interesting fact about about the ICON is that they ran on a version of Unix called QNX, which eventually formed the basis for the Blackberry.
More info on it here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICON_(microcomputer)#Origin
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What a handsome system! I like everything about it except the left shifted keyboard. I do feel you, though. When I found out about 80286s, my Commodore 64 didn't seem so powerful anymore (still one of my favorite computers, though).
I still love unibody construction, though these days that makes it harder to service.
The 286.. 16 bit powerhouse with a dash of weirdness, protected mode was hardly ever used because of its limitations so for most of its life it was just a really quick 8086, later on most XT owners would start to hate it just because of a lot of games giving you the "286 or higher" message if you tried to run them on your XT, my brother and I partially got by that by upgrading our Philips NMS 9100 with the almighty NEC V20 
a lot of games couldn't make heads or tail of that chip so a lot did run.. even something really heavy like Dune II it was sort of playable since the XT has a VGA graphics card but after the third level CPU speed was too slow and it also ran out of memory..
a lot of games couldn't make heads or tail of that chip so a lot did run.. even something really heavy like Dune II it was sort of playable since the XT has a VGA graphics card but after the third level CPU speed was too slow and it also ran out of memory..
They were definitely tough as nails, very rugged and meant to last, though sadly when the program was scrapped the government ordered them destroyed and there are only a few of them left in existence. They updated the design late in its lifecycle with a higher-res color monitor, resembling more like that of the Mac, and standalone keyboard with a PS/2 connector. The redesign resembled more a typical computer of the time, though the keyboard was still fairly big and bulky and retained the trackball.
The thing about this system is that it was a file server system, with no local storage. Everything had to be done by accessing the hub server named the LEXICON, which is why it was so slow. So even if one were to be able to obtain one of these, it wouldn't really function without a link to the server unless of course you happened to have one of those too. Or at least you wouldn't get very far with it as you wouldn't have access to any of its programs. You'd only get as far as the login screen.
One neat classroom aspect to these computers, that possibly was a first, was that the teacher, logged in a superuser, could mirror a workstation's screen on their own, to see what their students were doing, which was quite advanced for its time. If a student was having trouble doing something, or complained about something on their system, the teacher could switch to their view of the screen, or in some cases vice versa where the teacher wanted the students to see what the teacher wanted everyone to see something as he explained it. I think this kind of functionality has only been recently revisited with digital blackboards. Something not shown or mentioned anywhere else is that the OS used a GUI for the student workstations.
Sadly, because of its exclusive nature, there isn't much known about it, and most of what is known are via former teachers and students who've had hands-on experience with it. Otherwise, you'd never know it existed. The only other use I know of is of our local science centre using them for awhile in the mid-90's.
The baseline behind the idea is that the Ontario government wanted a standardized computer system for the classroom, and that teachers would be trained to use them and maintain them. But fact is, they were very slow and very expensive. You could network up to 32 systems in an entire school. In the end, because they were so expensive, the government ended up losing the money invested in them. Scandal of the day, I tell you.
You can get a good look at the revision model here:
http://www.poprewind.com/it-came-from-canada-unisys-icon-computer/
More here in general about the ICON:
https://jasoneckert.github.io/myblog/icon-computer/
Yep, saw that last night as I was looking to see if there was anything I could post. The same guy goes through a fairly lengthy overview of the OS and commands.
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I love the updated look! I really liked the unibody designs of the mid-1990s Power Macs, and you're right, they seemed to copy that style. The only thing is, yeah, that keyboard looks rough with the trackball built in. Ergonomic, it is not.
Still, what a terrific piece of electronic antiquity, it's such a shame most of them are gone.
The 286.. 16 bit powerhouse with a dash of weirdness, protected mode was hardly ever used because of its limitations so for most of its life it was just a really quick 8086, later on most XT owners would start to hate it just because of a lot of games giving you the "286 or higher" message if you tried to run them on your XT, my brother and I partially got by that by upgrading our Philips NMS 9100 with the almighty NEC V20
bill gates famously described the 286 as braindead.
All very well for it to have a protected mode, not so good that you needed a reboot to get out of it.
I worked with 286 hardware but never actually had one one my desk (well next to it given the way my bedroom was laid out). Went from a v30 in an NEC APC III to a 386SX though dad had 286 system.
Don't think I had an original Pentium based system either.
I love the updated look! I really liked the unibody designs of the mid-1990s Power Macs, and you're right, they seemed to copy that style. The only thing is, yeah, that keyboard looks rough with the trackball built in. Ergonomic, it is not.
Heh, they certainly aren't ergonomic, that's for sure. And yeah, despite the fact that they were so slow, I still have a fondness for these machines. I don't think designers were thinking much of that back then, and it was more about usability in the classroom.
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True. Our keyboarding classes had the IBM PS/2s (I mentioned them before). For anyone else curious, they looked like this:
Except it had two disk drives (you had the boot disk in one drive and the program disk in the other), and the lettered keycaps on the keyboard were all missing, and all you could see were gray buttons. I loved those damn computers. I remember seeing them for the first time and saying "wow, two disk drives!"
Yeah, that looks like the ones we were envious of. See, our computing class had two rooms, one half full of ICONS, the one next door was full of IBM PCs, or at least clones. In fact, I remember quite clearly that a few of them were Commodore branded PCs! Depending on the use case of the class and what we'd be doing with them, we would be using either one. We did lots of programming on the ICONS. So, even while the government wanted a standardized system, our school still ended up with IBM PCs as well. See how well that turned out?? Go figure!
Man, really takes me back talking about these
Man, really takes me back talking about these
Man, really takes me back talking about these
right back to 2018 when they were discussed in here (I though it was more recently but maybe that was on reddit).
Yeah, we've discussed them here once or twice before, in this same thread perhaps too.
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I know how you feel. I love old computers. I do have a preference, though. The computers built in the 1980s into the early 1990s are my jam. Sturdy. Reliable. Powerful for their day.Yeah, that looks like the ones we were envious of. See, our computing class had two rooms, one half full of ICONS, the one next door was full of IBM PCs, or at least clones. In fact, I remember quite clearly that a few of them were Commodore branded PCs! Depending on the use case of the class and what we'd be doing with them, we would be using either one. We did lots of programming on the ICONS. So, even while the government wanted a standardized system, our school still ended up with IBM PCs as well. See how well that turned out?? Go figure!
Man, really takes me back talking about these
I used to own a Zenith 286. Windows 3.1, DOS 5.0, Commander Keen, Cosmo's Cosmic Adventures, Jill of the Jungle, Heart of China, and Space Quest. Oh, and the 2400 baud Practical Peripherals modem that let me dial in to our local BBS.
You and me both! I grew up with computers in the 80's and 90's, an era which saw lots of development. They were exciting times. I kind of miss the days of when things were simple. Sure, you'd often have to tweak things to get a game working properly, but there was something special about games back then that evoked more imagination due to graphics being more primitive. I got started on adventure games with King's Quest II, and back then we had a monochrome monitor, and even played Police Quest II on it. Wasn't until later that we got a colour monitor. But, they were some of my favourite memories. So much so, that back on a trip to California, I managed to spot Sierra's old HQ on our way to Yosemite!
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Exactly. Still, I guess as I've gotten older, the magic of computers has become mundane. Modern computers don't really catch my attention, and I just want everything to work without issue.
When I was 13, I was installing FOSSIL drivers and setting IRQs for sound cards, spending hours creating my own bulletin board system piece by piece, and I loved it. Now, at 42, I'm like "why is Firefox taking so long to open up?! Just load, dammit!"
Yep, I just want my computer to work now like it should. Doesn't help the fact that I really need to upgrade but that scarcity issues have driven prices way up. Those cryptominers sure have a way of messing things up for everyone else.
Yeap, my present PC is the one i built back in 2015, Haswell i7 core, 16 gig, and same mobo, all i have changed since then was my mechanical hdd to now two 240 gig ssd drives, and i removed my GTX1080 and put in a GT1030 simply to get the whole thing to run under 65 watts, which it does great, and moreso in these insane utility prices........but even without this energy crisis i would not have upgraded because a once nice little bang for buck pc building hobby has been ruined by many factors, one being now everyone and their granny wants to build a pc.......i want to go back to a time when it was only us building pc and you got a strange look when you went to your local newagents and picked up a copy of PC pro and pc format magazines. Lol
