What's a good MS-DOS computer for a beginner?

[What's a good MS-DOS computer for a beginner?]

I don't use it, but isn't that how some people use PCem?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCem

[New Evercade Handheld System]

Plus all the expense and inconvenience of physical media. I suppose that's a plus for some people, though. 

[Independent Amico Discussion Thread]

1 hour ago, digdugnate said:

Good to see this didnt turn into another Tommy shill thread.  🙄

I know ... so many threads have turned into the home shopping network.
 

I started out mildly curious, but thanks to mister hard-sell, I'm completely turned off from anything to do with it. I don't know how much money they've actually raised from investors, but the constant, desperate filibustering makes me question the judgment and competence of the whole project. 
 

If there's to be a big reveal at E3, I'm content to wait for that, without having to see dozens of rah-rah posts every single day. 
 

A discussion question about economics and pricing: 

Given that flagship smartphones cost more than $800, a fast food lunch is $10, a retro mini system approaches $100: what is a reasonable stating price for something that is trying to break in? Is $200 still the magic number, or has inflation allowed that to creep upwards? Or does value come from what is actually shown?

[Oculus Quest]

Wow, that's harsh. I was very impressed with it, but I never had a Rift or any of the others besides Cardboard so my expectations were different. The Star Wars game made me forget where I was. I just plugged a set of old phone earbuds into the audio jack for sound, and pulled the back strap over the back of my head for balance/support, and forgot about wearing the gear. 
 

I've got a third party link cable coming today and will check out the PC functions. I just have a 1050ti which is the bare minimum so I'm not expecting much, but if I can experience Polybius, Minotaur Arcade, and Rez as intended, I'll be happy. 
 

Still expensive for what we get but there's a lot of things to play with. 

[Here's a first: received an EMPTY package!]

That happened to me once too -- I sold a PS3 game that was lost during shipping, and the buyer just received a torn envelope like that. USPS uses mechanical sorters, this sort of stuff happens but it seems quite rare. I refunded the buyer's money, she didn't pay for an empty, torn envelope. 

[Oculus Quest]

I got one today, I'm a sucker but it seems really well done. I'm still not crazy about shutting out the outside world, but since that's kinda the point, I'll figure it out. Beat Saber is awesome. It came with Vader for free even though I thought the deal was over. 
 

My left controller keeps coming disconnected and says the battery is low. This was expensive and brand new, so that's disconcerting. 

[Oculus Quest]

so when you say "we," how do you share this very personal gadget with more than one person?

[Oculus Quest]

17 minutes ago, toneinblack said:

if you do go for 1 , then try get the 128 gig rather then the 64 gig,

If I were to jump in, I would definitely get the big capacity, because I hate running out of space. That makes it $500 instead of "just" $400. I'm still daydreaming about it, but finding the time for this is my limiting factor. 

 

I just googled Vader Immortal and see that the first chapter is almost 3GB. Have you run into space issues with all your sideloading? 

[Did any consoles/cabs use the 8086/8088 chip?]

That's a great thread. This seems particularly apt. 

 

Quote

The original 8086 was quickly overshadowed by the Z80, which was somewhat compatible but easier to work with as it required less support hardware. Also many arcade developers preferred the 6502 and derivatives, and then later the 68000 which was easier to work with on both the hardware and software fronts.

Another issue was that the development machines available for testing code were often 68000 based as well. One prime example was the Sharp X68000. A lot of game programmers of that era were self taught too, and for hobbyist home computer systems Z80 and 6502 dominated with very few using 8086.

Finally, the 8086 was much more expensive than the Z80, while offering no real advantages over it unless you were expecting to buy millions and sell a line of compatible computers for years to come.

 

[Did any consoles/cabs use the 8086/8088 chip?]

I found this. 

https://www.pcmag.com/news/son-of-pc-the-history-of-x86-game-consoles

 

The only one that specifically used 8086 that I know of would be the Konix Multisystem

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konix_Multisystem

(unreleased, but you can find pictures of Jeff Minter demo'ing it)

http://www.konixmultisystem.co.uk/

https://www.konixmultisystem.co.uk/index.php?id=games&content=amc89

https://www.denofgeek.com/uk/games/konix-multisystem/55479/konix-multisystem-the-british-console-that-never-was

 

 

 

 

[Can you hack a Wii U so it will play GameCube games?]

46 minutes ago, Rick Dangerous said:

I'm always trying to reduce clutter and redundant systems if possible; so if i can make this happen i would like to.  Since the Wii could natively play GC, and the Wii U contains Wii hardware, it should theoretically be possible?

I like the GameCube controllers and the GameBoy Player that sits underneath the Cube. If there's a system to eliminate, I'd flush the Wii, but not the Cube. That's what I've done, anyway. 

 

I'd be worried about losing the small Cube discs in the big Wii U tray, which I don't think is built to accept and spit out little discs. 

[Oculus Quest]

I got to try one of these the other day, and think it's really cool. I'm tempted but the fact that the promotion for the free Darth Vader game *just* ended is a buzzkill. 
 

Also I'm not sure how much uninterrupted game time I would get to enjoy it. I hardly play regular console games anymore for that reason as it is. 
 

Also, it's $500. 

[Emulation Vs all those classic machine releases]

2 hours ago, Class316 said:

and is basically free. 

"Free" as in "stolen," sure! The ROMs on commercial plug and plays have been licensed and the intellectual property owners get a cut of the sales. They're also convenient, and as others have pointed out, many of them are cute. 

 

Can't beat emulation for completion, convenience, and versatility, but plug-n-plays are not directly comparable with RetroPie, especially if you care about the ethics of copyright infringement. 

[Chris Cardillo interview]

Can someone summarize? I'm allergic to infomercials. 

[What's a good MS-DOS computer for a beginner?]

Part of "their" fun, not part of "our" fun.

 

I can see the appeal even though I don't do it myself.

 

I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow to the knee, yadda yadda. 

[What's a good MS-DOS computer for a beginner?]

Emulator timing isn't always perfect, and some people like to play with old hardware. The thrill of the hunt is part of the fun as well. 

[What's a good MS-DOS computer for a beginner?]

You guys are straining my memory, but I seem to recall Sony VAIO laptops, the little purple ones, as good for multimedia and maybe even games way back then ... the problem I remember was that they didn't have NT or Windows 2000 driver support so they were stuck in Windows 98-land forever. That was a dealbreaker for me, but for you, it's a feature. 

 

AMD K6 was indeed way cheaper than Intel, that's what I would use in my builds back in those days. 

[What's a good MS-DOS computer for a beginner?]

I agree that a desktop is the way to go especially for a beginner on a budget. Laptops from this era were very expensive and oriented towards business, plus expansion is much harder. 
 

I would hit the thrift shops, personally. (Actually personally I prefer emulation with DOSbox to ancient hardware, but that's not what was asked)

[More rumors of a KOTOR remake]

https://www.swtorstrategies.com/2020/01/star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic-remake-could-be-in-development.html
 

weaving the two single player games together and making the story canon? I'd buy that. 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

Can we get the empty box with POSTAGE DUE on it? 

 

Or maybe unpaid customs fees, like the folks who ordered a VCS T-shirt?

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

[Request for N64 subforum]

I lost some money on OnLive. Gone forever! Let's make a forum for complaining about how physical media is the best. OH WAIT WE ALREADY HAVE THAT.

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

[Is there a list of ignored topics (not users)?]

Boom! That's the ticket. Thank you. 

 

[New Atari Console that Ataribox?]

1 hour ago, Spriggy said:

Standby @Flojomojo.  I'll just find out for you.  👍

 

 

 

 

Oh, I think I just cracked the code. "Unprecedented levels of flexibility and control" means they will release updates whenever they feel like, it, while holding the backers' money. That's not what I thought it meant.