Andrew (R.S Admin) @ajroach42@retro.social

I want a computer that runs on AA batteries, has an SD Card reader or microSD card reader, standard I/O (USB, HDMI or Display Port, wifi)

I currently keep my omnibook 300 in my Media Bag because it is the perfect machine for writing. It runs for weeks on 4 rechargeable AA batteries, it's blazing fast (as a writing machine and literally nothing else) and it has standard, if outdated, I/O making it easy to integrate in to the rest of my setup.

I use it to write scripts, make zines (#zinestation) and publish web pages.

But it certainly can't edit video, or audio, and can *barely* edit photos with a lot of patience.

(Yes, I own a computer that runs windows.

Three, actually. Well, no. Five.

One for printers and other Windows Only hardware at the maker space.

One for Win98.

One is my #zinestation running win31.

One is my wife's old laptop that we keep around in case I need old documents or whatever, that got pulled in to double duty as our media server.

And the last one is a GPD WIN 3 that I use for playing games.

I love the zinestation, and the GPD Win (although I'll probably install SteamOS on it, because Windows is pretty shit Outside of Steam on that formfactor), but otherwise, I am physically repulsed every time I have to touch one of these boxes.

Nothing works. Everything is broken and hidden and unfixable.

I think during the next show, we'll do a radio show read in front of the stage while the bands are tearing down between sets.

Something in the style of The Thrilling Adventure Hour.

Which means I need to write that, and also Flo's monolog.

I guess I'll be dusting off the #zinestation tomorrow.

I use my Omnibook as a wordprocessor, or specifically as a #zinestation connected to a dot matrix printer.

I use my mac plus as a development box in hypercard, I was previously using it as an email box.

I've used my c64 to connect to BBSs.

I have an amiga that I'm hoping to use as part of a video editing rig.

Do you design stickers? Do your friends?

I need a few dozen very small, weird, bizarre, artistic, or otherwise interesting stickers.

I was at an art show this weekend, and I got a bunch of stickers, but I need more.

I have too many pristine gadgets that I use on a daily or weekly basis. My #zinestation needs stickers. My Palm #m500 needs stickers.

It's time to sticker up the world.

Not having a real laptop with me is indeed frustrating. I have little palm top, and I think the #zinestation is here. Maybe I'll telnet in to the little box from the zinestation. Maybe I'll do something else entirely.

Personally, there's another facet to all of this:

I use and maintain computers professionally, and recreationaly.

Sometimes, I want to do something that doesn't feel or look like my day job. Unfortunately, most of my hobbies feel and look a lot like my day job.

To that end, I have some weird old computers that I keep around because they're useful and also because they're Vastly Different than the computers I use at work.

My #zinestation, mac plus, and palm pilots fall in this camp.

One thing that really frustrates me about this conversation is that it's basically the same one I have been having with myself for weeks/months.

So I need to add a couple of additional things:

- Printing. I print directly from my #zinestation from time to time, but mostly I prep documents in word on the zinestation and then transfer them to my windows 98 machine to print, or a prep them in markdown, then write CSS and print them from my main PC.

This can improve

So I'm seriously considering ... Converting all the pictures I want to use to bitmaps and doing the layout on my #zinestation

but the zinestation *really* sucks for working with images, and I don't love Publisher on Win31, but it outperforms the other options by a Wide Margin, and I also don't know how I/if I could migrate the files from whatever DTP I use on the zinestation to something more modern for print.

If it's not on that list, I'm probably not thinking about it right now.

I mean, except for my #zinestation, I'm always thinking about that.

And #fakedTV, I'm thinking about that too. But I can't make any progress on either of those until I get some other stuff off my plate.

@ajroach42 the mouse on this one is a lot more reliable than the mouse on my #zinestation, which will make using Windows 3.1 apps easier.

Now to find the best windows 3.1 apps that'll run in a low ram environment.

Suggestions welcome!

Alright, I wanna talk about my current projects for a second, so that I can keep a record of what I'm working on, and update anyone who's been following along.

Threaded for my ease of referencing. I'll try to keep it short.

Current projects:
#MountainTownToys
#JupitersGhost
#ZineStation (and accompanying omnibook work)
#ExpeditionSasquatch`
#fakedTV
Everything else

A friend found another omnibook, the same as the one I use in my #zinestation and is sending it to me.

Normally, I would not need a spare and I would give it away to someone else, but in this case I am keeping it for a few reasons: 1) It has some cosmetic and physical flaws which mean that I'm going to have to do some work on it, and once I've done that work I know I'm going to want to keep it. 2) It's a gift from someone I don't see much.

So I'm going to have a spare HP Omnibook 300. (thread)

Anyone have any leads on a version of SSH2DOS that supports modern encryption methods?

Or tips for any other way to make a secure internet connection from my #zinestation to home server? (I guess I could run a Tor proxy hotspot on my phone...)

I've noticed that I tend to take a lot of pictures and make a lot of posts during the early exploratory phases of a project, and not as many during the final implementation.

This is largely unintentional. It's just the way my brain works.

I haven't, for example, talked about the #ZineStation in a while (although I use it just about every day, it's what I write on at the coffee shop, and I print pamphlets and newsletters with it regularly.)

1 - Expedition Sasquatch: is going well. I have several episodes, a hat, t-shirts, and stickers for the show. Feedback has been largely positive.

2 - #ZineStation: is done? I have a good workflow. I can do wireless file transfer from Windows 3.1 and DOS to windows 98 or Linux. I can write a lay things out on my AA battery powered HP Omnibook, or I can do layout on Windows 98, or even on my modern linux rigs.

Alright, I'm getting ready to release some zines from the #zinestation and I have some thoughts that I want to explore:

Specifically:

- Newsletters
- Brochures
- Legal sized paper

I've done a few dozen individual issues of multi page zines on this setup, and it works pretty well. the results look good. It's not a *huge* amount of effort, and my error rate for misfed sheets is low enough that this is still the cheapest way I've ever printed anything.

(in other news, the #ZineStation has reached what will likely be its final form and workflow. Expect a few zines a month starting next week.)

I got one more omnibook (an 800CT)

This will be my last omnibook for a while, I imagine.

This one was cheap, and damaged, but repair was really simple and now it boots to a clean install of Windows 98.

It has a pentium MMX at 166MHz. It can play Opus files without any issue, and it appears that the included battery even has some life left in it.

This one is going to serve as part of my #zinestation, and has served as a good demonstration that #floppycast works on a pentium MMX.