cbmeeks Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) Who would have ever thought it? Who could have ever believed an Apple IIe computer would still work all of these years later? Thanks to CNN's top-notch reporting, we now learned that there exists in this world...an actual working....Apple IIe. https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/17/tech/30-year-old-apple-computer-work-trnd/index.html Hey CNN....this just in....man drives 1970's era Volkswagen Beetle.....kid plays baseball with 40 year old mitt.....who'da thunk it!!! **EDIT** OK, sarcasm over....mother always taught me to look for the positives. OK...something positive....perhaps CNN's coverage of the Apple II would spark more interest in vintage computers? Wait, that might not be positive. Bad enough eBay scalpers have latched on... Edited February 19, 2019 by cbmeeks 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_a_parker Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I saw this, too, and I was really confused. It's a solid-state computer that's been stored indoors for 30 years. Why wouldn't it work? My coworker said he has a lamp that's 40 years old and still turns on, so maybe he should call CNN to let them know. :-) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbmeeks Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 I wonder if this would have made any headlines at all if it wasn't an Apple based computer? Don't get me wrong, I love my many Apple II's but if this story had been a Commodore 64 or a TI-99/4A, I doubt CNN would have given it the time of day. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_a_parker Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Yeah, I just shook my head when I saw that. And it was linked off of the CNN homepage, as if it was really news. What's really strange is that it looks like CNN basically annotated that guy's Twitter feed with some (inaccurate) color commentary. It's not even a real news article. And the emphasis seems to be on the fact that the Apple IIe still works, even though a quick web search reveals that there are thousands of these still out there and working. It's not like this computer is rare, either. If he had found an Apple I or something, that would have been different. It's not rare, it's not noteworthy, and the fact that it powers up is not unexpected. So where's the story? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChildOfCv Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Further breaking news: Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+nanochess Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Wow! I need to get all polite and clever and that. Reporters are going to show at my door anytime! I've tons of old consoles working!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Check out where it fits in this list of clickable headlines. Right in there between a story about ISIS trapping families in the last holdout, and a quick hit about the anniversary of the release of "The Feminine Mystique." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Adamson Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 This is the kind of original, honest, hard-hitting, unbiased reporting that I've come to expect from the MSM. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Looks like somebody in the newsroom said, "Quick, we need a distraction, ANYTHING! YOU! GO!" -Thom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masschamber Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Looks like somebody in the newsroom said, "Quick, we need a distraction, ANYTHING! YOU! GO!" -Thom I"m going to wager that they were actually amazed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonGrafx-16 Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 I can imagine them making and article in 2027 "Atari 2600 still works 50 years later". lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBreakout Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Holy crap my VCR still plays Cliffhanger! The world needs to know!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 in other news, the Atlantic Ocean is damp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 What I love is reading all of you jump all over CNN like it was flashed up on the television screen as a breaking news story. 1) It started up on Twitter as some guy's Twitter post. 2) It made the rounds of social media. 3) Someone at CNN's tech team went "well, we need to plug something into this part of the web page - why not this cute story?" And, CNN wasn't the only place I saw this story show up. But why let facts get in the way.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChildOfCv Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 "Man Discovers 30-Year Old Computer Still in Working Order" isn't even newsworthy, period. Working Apple IIe's are everywhere. This board has enthusiasts with working vintage electronics of all flavors. So yeah, even a techgasm over one more find like this is lampoonable. Also, the separate tech page I saw this on seemed to have the CNN story almost word for word. I rolled my eyes about that too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 I face palmed myself when i saw this stupid story. There are 100+ year old radios that still work and old em pinball machines and tons of other electronic stuff. They built things way better back then. You could probably hook up a computer from the 50s/60s and it would probably work fine too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serguei2 Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 Does it mean old diskettes still work after 30 years? Almost all diskettes I have are dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMaddog Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 Why not? These days you're lucky to find a modern Apple product that still works after a couple years.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 That's right. Today our youngsters don't expect such longevity from a product. So it could be real news to many. Go CNN! Go FOX! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 I saw this, too, and I was really confused. It's a solid-state computer that's been stored indoors for 30 years. Why wouldn't it work? My coworker said he has a lamp that's 40 years old and still turns on, so maybe he should call CNN to let them know. :-) Well CNN is 40 years old now, and they are barely function as well as they used to, so why wouldn't they be surprised? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacManPlus Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Does it mean old diskettes still work after 30 years? Almost all diskettes I have are dead. I must have been lucky then - I recently backed up all of my original Apple IIc disks from the mid 80s (I have about 50 of them)... Every one of them read, and I kept them in an attic on Long Island for 13 years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 I've imaged over 4000 disks to date and perhaps 20-30 had issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoestring Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Does it mean old diskettes still work after 30 years? Almost all diskettes I have are dead. Picked up a //e enhanced over the weekend and thought the same until I opened up the UniDisk and cleaned the head with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl. Good as new! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaFlicker Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 You guys realize this story was featured in the "just warm fuzzy slices of life" blog? It's only reporting on the guy's personal experience, and the warm memories his post brought back for some people. Then it has a cute kids moment, as they try to understand us older folk and completely fail. They've also reported on burning issues like a cop helping an old woman with her groceries. They do this, because some people enjoy learning about little bits of good news, instead of the usual 21st century clickbait desperately trying to make extinction level volcanic explosions out of molehills. (Or desperately trying to make molehills out of the things we should be worried about.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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