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  • Pocket386 is here!

    From AKAcastor@21:1/162 to All on Wed Apr 17 21:22:36 2024
    I received a Pocket386 today!

    For anyone who hasn't heard of Pocket386 (I have mentioned it lately, but who listens to me), it's a new small-form factor 386 notebook sold on AliExpress. New old stock - or possibly pulled, as in the case of these 386 CPUs - parts are combined with new parts to build a weird little retro PC.

    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005542582463.html

    Dimensions: 21x12x3cm

    386 SX 40MHz Ali M6117
    8MB DRAM
    VGA
    640x480 / 800x480 resolution
    CompactFlash storage
    USB storage (CH375B)
    OPL3 sound card

    There is an included dongle for a parallel port, and a dongle for VGA & 2x PS2 ports. The ISA bus is available on the back of the machine, adapter to plug in ISA cards is sold separate (or DIY).

    I just opened the box and turned it on for a couple minutes, my first impression of it is positive.

    First off, the printed manual in the box has the pages in the correct order - this is already an improvement over the Book8088 I received. :)

    Second, I plugged the power adapter in, turned on the machine and it booted right up to the DOS prompt. Typed 'win' and Windows95 started. There is a "built in mouse", the arrow keys on the keyboard can be used to control the mouse cursor - my first impression after trying it is it seems more usable than I had expected.

    Back in DOS, I checked the GAMES folder on the included CompactFlash card (drive C:) and Wolf3D fired right up, with Adlib sound, looks and sounds good. I didn't try DOOM yet but they've included it also.

    Things I don't like - I would have liked to see a serial port included, but at least it's possible to plug into the ISA bus so a dongle can be added. (I got the version 2 Book8088 with serial port built in and that's handy for BBSing of course.)

    I ordered the Pocket386 March 31 and it was delivered to me (Vancouver Island, BC, Canada) April 17.

    Now I have to spend some time with the Pocket386 and see how it holds up after the excitement of unboxing a weird little gadget wears off.


    Chris/akacastor

    --- Maximus 3.01
    * Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to AKAcastor on Wed Apr 17 22:48:14 2024
    I received a Pocket386 today!

    Isn't it the last 'open' CPU? Not old hardware, but new??



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From mary4@21:1/166 to AKAcastor on Thu Apr 18 18:22:21 2024
    I received a Pocket386 today!

    For anyone who hasn't heard of Pocket386 (I have mentioned it lately,
    but who listens to me), it's a new small-form factor 386 notebook sold
    on AliExpress. New old stock - or possibly pulled, as in the case of these 386 CPUs - parts are combined with new parts to build a weird
    little retro PC.

    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005542582463.html

    Dimensions: 21x12x3cm

    386 SX 40MHz Ali M6117
    8MB DRAM
    VGA
    640x480 / 800x480 resolution
    CompactFlash storage
    USB storage (CH375B)
    OPL3 sound card

    There is an included dongle for a parallel port, and a dongle for VGA &
    2x PS2 ports. The ISA bus is available on the back of the machine, adapter to plug in ISA cards is sold separate (or DIY).

    I just opened the box and turned it on for a couple minutes, my first impression of it is positive.

    First off, the printed manual in the box has the pages in the correct order - this is already an improvement over the Book8088 I received. :)

    Second, I plugged the power adapter in, turned on the machine and it booted right up to the DOS prompt. Typed 'win' and Windows95 started. There is a "built in mouse", the arrow keys on the keyboard can be used
    to control the mouse cursor - my first impression after trying it is it seems more usable than I had expected.

    Back in DOS, I checked the GAMES folder on the included CompactFlash card (drive C:) and Wolf3D fired right up, with Adlib sound, looks and sounds good. I didn't try DOOM yet but they've included it also.

    Things I don't like - I would have liked to see a serial port included, but at least it's possible to plug into the ISA bus so a dongle can be added. (I got the version 2 Book8088 with serial port built in and
    that's handy for BBSing of course.)

    I ordered the Pocket386 March 31 and it was delivered to me (Vancouver Island, BC, Canada) April 17.

    Now I have to spend some time with the Pocket386 and see how it holds up after the excitement of unboxing a weird little gadget wears off.



    i has the 4:3 book 8088 machine and i love my 16 bit binky!

    --mary4 (Victoria Crenshaw) the 286 enthusiast

    ... A PC a day keeps the Apple away!

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Datanet BBS | telnet://datanetbbs.net:23 (21:1/166)
  • From mary4@21:1/166 to paulie420 on Thu Apr 18 18:24:19 2024
    Isn't it the last 'open' CPU? Not old hardware, but new??

    the 486 to 686 (pentium ][) is open i think

    --mary4 (Victoria Crenshaw) the 286 enthusiast

    ... It said "insert disk #3", but only two will fit...

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Datanet BBS | telnet://datanetbbs.net:23 (21:1/166)
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to mary4 on Thu Apr 18 18:56:56 2024
    Isn't it the last 'open' CPU? Not old hardware, but new??

    the 486 to 686 (pentium ][) is open i think

    Now THOSE are systems that I'd love to see 'new options' for. My favorite platform of all time the the 486, but I'm looking to add something much faster this year - Pentium-II, Pentium-4, 686... something that runs the next generation OS and softwarez. :P



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From mary4@21:1/166 to paulie420 on Fri Apr 19 22:51:53 2024
    Now THOSE are systems that I'd love to see 'new options' for. My favorite platform of all time the the 486, but I'm looking to add something much faster this year - Pentium-II, Pentium-4, 686... something that runs the next generation OS and softwarez. :P

    yeah i love the 486 it is a great cpu and system platform! <3

    --mary4 (Victoria Crenshaw) the 286 enthusiast

    ... It said "insert disk #3", but only two will fit...

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Datanet BBS | telnet://datanetbbs.net:23 (21:1/166)
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to Spectre on Fri Apr 19 10:30:11 2024
    Re: Re: Pocket386 is here!
    By: Spectre to paulie420 on Fri Apr 19 2024 11:03 pm

    Although a 6502 guy, and have had any number of x86 boxes... I have a soft spot for a Mac IIfx, all those nifty nubus slots, it was like the Apple II of the Mac world.

    And the fastest Mac for a long time. You had to be a kick-ass creative guy to get a IIfx, the rest of us had to limp along with IIcis.

    Although, my IIci with a cache card, high-end graphics, a 1GB external HDD and DAT tape drive and a 15" Sony monitor was one of my favorite systems of all time.
    --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to paulie420 on Fri Apr 19 23:03:00 2024
    Now THOSE are systems that I'd love to see 'new options' for. My favorite platform of all time the the 486, but I'm looking to add something much

    Although a 6502 guy, and have had any number of x86 boxes... I have a soft
    spot for a Mac IIfx, all those nifty nubus slots, it was like the Apple II of the Mac world.

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: A camel is a horse designed by a committee. (21:3/101)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Apr 20 13:04:00 2024
    And the fastest Mac for a long time. You had to be a kick-ass creative guy to get a IIfx, the rest of us had to limp along with IIcis.

    If'n I recall right, came with an 030 cpu, and there were 040 upgrades around for it. Friend o' mine had one for years.. until after Nubus disappeared completely.

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: A camel is a horse designed by a committee. (21:3/101)
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to Spectre on Sat Apr 20 11:50:00 2024
    Spectre wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    And the fastest Mac for a long time. You had to be a kick-ass creative guy to get a IIfx, the rest of us had to limp along with IIcis.

    If'n I recall right, came with an 030 cpu, and there were 040 upgrades around for it. Friend o' mine had one for years.. until after Nubus disappeared completely.

    Now, I'm hearing that "bong" startup chord in my head.



    ... Socks are carcinogenic.
    --- MultiMail/Win v0.52
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)
  • From AKAcastor@21:1/162 to Poindexter Fortran on Sat Apr 20 13:44:30 2024
    If'n I recall right, came with an 030 cpu, and there were 040 upgrades around for it. Friend o' mine had one for years.. until after Nubus disappeared completely.

    Now, I'm hearing that "bong" startup chord in my head.

    Good day for it to come up - it's not the only bong sound being heard on this special day! Happy 4/20! :)


    Chris/akacastor


    --- Maximus 3.01
    * Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Apr 21 07:55:00 2024
    Now, I'm hearing that "bong" startup chord in my head.

    Chuckle, you ever hear an Interlink Voidax modem start up? Came out with exactly the same bong... It'd annoy a lot of the Mac guys no end, when you started saying "Welcome to Voidax" after they turned their pooty on. :)

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: A camel is a horse designed by a committee. (21:3/101)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to AKAcastor on Sun Apr 21 16:23:00 2024
    Good day for it to come up - it's not the only bong sound being heard on this special day! Happy 4/20! :)

    What is special about 4/20? Assuming its 20th o' April.... <boggle>

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: A camel is a horse designed by a committee. (21:3/101)
  • From AKAcastor@21:1/162 to Spectre on Sun Apr 21 01:48:34 2024
    Good day for it to come up - it's not the only bong sound being heard on this special day! Happy 4/20! :)

    What is special about 4/20? Assuming its 20th o' April.... <boggle>

    4/20 (April 20th) is a cannabis celebration day.


    Chris/akacastor



    --- Maximus 3.01
    * Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)
  • From mary4@21:1/166 to Spectre on Sun Apr 21 22:35:14 2024
    What is special about 4/20? Assuming its 20th o' April.... <boggle>

    cannabis day. fuckin blaze it

    --mary4 (Victoria Crenshaw) the 286 enthusiast

    ... A PC a day keeps the Apple away!

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Datanet BBS | telnet://datanetbbs.net:23 (21:1/166)
  • From Roon@21:4/148 to AKAcastor on Tue Apr 23 21:29:57 2024
    Hello AKAcastor,

    Answering a msg of <17 Apr 24>, from you to All:

    these are the guys who stole the open source bios ? :)

    Regards,
    --
    dp

    telnet://bbs.roonsbbs.hu:1212 <<=-

    ... Uptime: 0d 12h 53m 55s
    --- GoldED/2 1.1.4.7+EMX
    * Origin: Roon's BBS - Budapest, HUNGARY (21:4/148)
  • From AKAcastor@21:1/162 to Roon on Tue Apr 23 13:25:18 2024
    these are the guys who stole the open source bios ? :)

    Yes, the Book8088 uses Sergey Kiselev's 8088_bios, and did so without proper attribution.

    I believe the Book8088 has been brought into compliance after complaints were made, though I don't really know for sure if it's been dealt with to Sergey's satisfaction.

    Sergey's version does now "officially" support Book8088 machines, so the BIOS can be replaced easily with an official / updated version.
    https://github.com/skiselev/8088_bios


    Chris/akacastor


    --- Maximus 3.01
    * Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)
  • From mary4@21:1/166 to AKAcastor on Wed Apr 24 22:58:33 2024
    Sergey's version does now "officially" support Book8088 machines, so the BIOS can be replaced easily with an official / updated version. https://github.com/skiselev/8088_bios



    i gotta update the bios then!

    --mary4 (Victoria Crenshaw) the 286 enthusiast

    ... The caterpillar does all the work but the butterfly gets all the publicity

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Datanet BBS | telnet://datanetbbs.net:23 (21:1/166)