Zorin.org system history

Updated 9/22/2009

This is a history of all the main computer systems I've ever owned, going back to 1983 when I got my first system.

It is mostly maintained for nostalgic reasons.

• 1983 - Apple II+ acquired. 48K RAM, 1MHz 6502, 300bps modem. Total disk storage 140K per 5.25" floppy disk. First computer.
• 1990 - II+ motherboard fails. IIe acquired for $250 at yard sale as interim replacement machine. Interim extends three years. Ugh.
• 1993 - 486SX25 / 4MB RAM / 170MB HDD / 2400bps modem acquired. (first PC)
• 1994 - Above 486 receives various upgrades. Is eventually named SARABI (after Simba's mother, from The Lion King) when Internet access is first achieved in late 1994 and a hostname is required.
• 1994 - 2400bps modem -> 14400bps USRobotics Sportster
• 1995 - SARABI gets Linux installed for the first time. It is a 486DX2/66 w/ 12MB of RAM and a 730MB HDD at this point. Kernel 1.2.13 baybee!
• 1996 - MILVA (named after my girlfriend at the time) comes along: 386DX/33, 5MB RAM, 20MB MFM hard drive, CGA monitor. First dedicated Linux box. Ran Linux-On-A-Floppy very slowly.
• 1996 - 14400bps modem -> 33600bps USRobotics Sportster. I remember this shopping trip because Milva was present during.
• 1996 - Later: SARABI upgraded to Pentium 133 / 32MB RAM / 1.6GB. Old SARABI becomes new MILVA and obtains 260MB HDD. At this point it's a 486DX2/66 w' 24MB RAM, still with CGA monitor.
• 1997 - 17" AcerView 76ie monitor acquired to upgrade SARABI's display; 14" monitor goes down the chain to replace the CGA monitor on MILVA.
• 1998 - MILVA upgraded to Am5x86/133, gets bigger disk. MILVA later renamed HUSHPAD (after the character in Tailchaser's Song).
• 1998 - Modem goes X2 and eventually v.90. Life sucks slightly less.
• 1999 - BigAss(TM) case acquired, along with a ton of SCSI disks for HUSHPAD. This was my "SCSI KICKS ASS!!" phase. Six disks in a full tower case are NOISY. I'm glad I got over this.
• 1999 - Apple IIgs acquired. Transferred all important old Apple II floppies to disk images for eternal preservation.
• 2000 - SARABI completely replaced with DUCHESS (named after the cat in Disney's The Aristocats), Pentium III 600MHz w/ 128MB RAM running Windows 2000. HUSHPAD inherits SARABI's motherboard and thus becomes Pentium 166 (overclocked) with 96MB of RAM.
• 2000 - ISDN line installed. 128000bps. Modems retired forever.
• 2001 - HUSHPAD upgraded to Pentium II 233MHz w/ 128MB RAM. BigAss(TM) case retired. DUCHESS stagnates.
• 2002 - HUSHPAD CPU upgraded to Pentium III 600MHz. DUCHESS continues to stagnate.
• 2002 - Cat hair becomes a new contaminant to clean out of computers, due to the arrival of Lynxie the Highly Furred GreyTabby.
• 2002 - First flat panel, a ViewSonic VX900, is acquired. 1280x1024, 19", lousy refresh time (even for back then)
• 2003 - NALA (Powerbook G4) acquired. HUSHPAD's CPU fails. DUCHESS mobo+chip used to resurrect HUSHPAD. DUCHESS retired.
• 2003 - Samsung Syncmaster 21" flat panel acquired.
• 2004 - HUSHPAD motherboard fails. Good friend Rieshal loans a Pentium III 600 chip that fits in HUSHPAD's old motherboard.
• 2004 - DSL line installed.
• 2004 - HUSHPAD upgraded to P4-3.0GHz/512MB/160GB. Old HUSHPAD becomes SARABI (fileserver off-site).
• 2006 - NALA upgraded to Macbook Pro. Old NALA sold for peanuts since it had been dropped.
• 2006 - SARABI upgraded to AMD Sempron 2800+. Old SARABI collecting dust at the moment.
• 2006 - MEERCLAR (named after the cat goddess in Tailchaser's Song) (Mac Pro 2.66GHz / 2GB / 250GB) acquired. Replaces HUSHPAD as primary desktop system; HUSH
• 2007 - MEERCLAR upgraded to 4GB of RAM and ATI Radeon X1900XT.
• 2007 - Samsung monitor fails. Replaced with Dell 2407WFP.
• 2008 - NALA upgraded from 100GB to 200GB hard drive.
• 2008 - Video card in HUSHPAD fails, resulting in failure to boot. Nvidia GeForce4 MX harvested from previous SARABI to resurrect it.
• 2009 - SAVANNAH (MythTV box) acquired. Lil' Dell Optiplex 745 Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz / 2GB of RAM / 80GB HDD

Current systems:

HUSHPAD - Dell Precision Workstation 360 - Pentium 4 3.0GHz, 2.5GB RAM -- Home Linux server/router. Handles net connection, DHCP and local DNS.
MEERCLAR - Mac Pro 1,1 - Quad Core Xeon 2.66GHz, 8GB RAM -- Master workstation, dual head display; it's where I do most of my stuff when I'm at home.
NALA - Macbook Pro 1,1 -- Core Duo 2.0GHz, 2GB RAM -- Laptop, for computing on the go. Getting a bit long in the tooth.
SAVANNAH - Dell Optiplex 745 USFF -- Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM -- MythTV box. It's for watching TV. Runs Mythdora 10. So named because the huge expansive screen hooked up to it is like a savannah.
SARABI - Big ugly generic box -- AMD Sempron 2800+, 512MB RAM -- Zorin.org - Hosts this site. Colocated at work. Handles my E-mail too.