I so wish the IBM offering had included a cassette recorder option. It would have cost a thousand bucks, been built like a tank and had a 2 inch thick ring binder manual. And 40 years later LGR would buy one and sniff it.

@alternatelives8559

3 жыл бұрын

I laughed way too hard at the mental image of Clint sniffing a cassette recorder. Thanks for that; you made my night!

@ian_b

3 жыл бұрын

@@alternatelives8559 Glad to have made you smile :)

So... I am sitting here basically just listening to him reading out brochure items and talking about them... and I love it. Clint has to be one of the most likeable people on the web.

@pistool1

3 жыл бұрын

LGR is the boss.

@dalehadley3283

3 жыл бұрын

He has a very pleasing voice,and it's nice to listen to

When I was young, I used to make my own brochures about things I was excited for and print them out haha

@virus2003

3 жыл бұрын

That's awesome. Hopefully mom kept em in a box for you to look at as an adult ^^;

@Rubycon99

3 жыл бұрын

You actually reminded me that I used to do the same thing! I completely forgot. How nerdy :P

The airplane dude is back with a helicopter.

@m.wajihuddinkhan1857

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah remember that video 😅 but don't remember the exact name of it

It's hard to explain to people that weren't around in 1982 how exciting that time was. We can buy our own computer!!!!

@noelj62

3 жыл бұрын

I guess 1981 was even better. because it witnessed my personal birth into this world 😉

LGR: _Sees images of room decor & PCs from 1983..._ LGR: *"I've got to have that room."* ☎️📻📺 👀🤯

@arokh72

3 жыл бұрын

Now all Clint needs is a Mrs Clint, if he doesn't have one already, an 11 or 12 year old daughter, and a similarly aged son haha, just to complete the image. Edit: What would really be cool, is if one of the models from that image got in contact with Clint.

@ThunderClawShocktrix

3 жыл бұрын

houses just looked better back then

@TerrisLP

3 жыл бұрын

@@arokh72 bruh they’d be like 70

@arokh72

3 жыл бұрын

@@TerrisLP what? Sure the adults might be over 70, but the kids were close to my age at that time, slightly older, so they'd be just a little older than me, and I'm 48. I turned 11 in late 1983.

@TerrisLP

3 жыл бұрын

@@arokh72 Didn’t even think about the kids lol god I’m tired my bad

Every tech youtuber: RYZEN RYZEN RYZEN! LGR: Let's have a look at an old brochure. Loving it.

@ToxicKlay

3 жыл бұрын

well I mean I'm not sure what you expected from a channel dedicated to legacy tech.....

@ahandsomefridge

3 жыл бұрын

I hardly know what a Ryzen is

@TheGangCraftOFFICIEL

3 жыл бұрын

@@ahandsomefridge It's a type of cheese

@ahandsomefridge

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheGangCraftOFFICIEL Nice, I need to fry one of those some time soon!

@Doobie3010

3 жыл бұрын

The Ryzen 5000 series are for his 80th birthday episode!

"...a family of a particular status..." As a former early 80's kid from a family NOT of particular status, I can say without doubt there was a certain social status requirement to be a part of the "IBM family"...

This is what I like so much about LGR: the little bits of computer history that were not part of the software programs but accompanied them.

I like the posed family with the classic fox hunt painting. I wouldn't mind a painting like that.

When I was a kid I used to save all brochures, and cut out ads from magazines. Then I'd paste them to printer paper and put them in a 3 ring binder lol. I liked looking through the binders later and dreaming about owning all of it. Yes, I was a giant nerd.

Peachtree is still around, BTW. Called Sage, these days.

@kylerutherford9760

3 жыл бұрын

It's also awful. Lol. So sick of fixing Sage for people.

@DanielKuhne1976

3 жыл бұрын

@@kylerutherford9760 it's called corporate strategy... Awful then, now and in the future 😆

@LOVE-jq9fr

3 ай бұрын

Judge Dredd: *_Inhabitants of Peach Trees, this is Judge Dredd._*

These days I'm finding catalogues and merch just as interesting to look at as the computers and gadgets that they advertised. It's always fascinating to compare what kind of "future" they were expecting to what ended up actually being the case.

I've always wondered if anyone actually had a computer as the key part of an 'entertainment center'. Carefully selected of course...

@ian_b

3 жыл бұрын

It goes next to the pong console.

@dereketnyre7156

3 жыл бұрын

@Nicole King or maybe an Atari 2600

@Dr.Quarex

3 жыл бұрын

My Atari 800XL was set up in my parents' entertainment center for about a week until my father got sick of me wanting to use his television to play Jungle Hunt and I got gifted the entertainment center for them to buy a nicer one. The end.

"This looks like a family of a particular status" is an incredible roast of IBM's self-image/marketing strategy in this period

Clearly, the Airwolf crew is buzzing Clint's house because they need to upgrade its systems from 1986.

LGR always has something interesting when he uploads a video.

I could either watch the latest high octane multi-million dollar Netflix/Disney thing. Or this really cool guy with a voice of gold read old IBM brochures. I've chosen wisely.

Good stuff. Many times I have read articles about computer history with a phrase like "The PC Jr. was IBM's first attempt to sell a home computer...". No it was not. IBM hedged their bets by making the 5150 available in a low enough spec (with color graphics) to be affordable in the home. They just didn't have to sell to that market because they found plenty of buyers for the more lucrative business market. These brochures are proof that the common narrative is wrong (like so much computer history) so thanks Clint.

LGR always sounds a lot more calm and laid-back when he's doing blerbs.

Man I could watch this all day. So relaxing.

Yes pleeeeeeaaaaasssseeee! Recreate this living room scene for us! 😂

gotta love those descriptions of the photos. these leaflets are as old as me darn

VWestlife is awesome! Great old school tech channel and great if you like dry/sarcastic humor.

Clint has so much passion when he talks. He could make anything interesting.

I'm not saying this for the first time man but your love of (and quest for) artistry and technical excellence are always such a great component of your videos.

As I recall, the tray on the keyboard was an old IBM mainframe feature that initially was intended to hold a pen or pencil. By the time of the PC, they would have had a lot of experience with in-the-field usage.

They used to retouch photographs by hand using transparencies and other methods, one was much like making very delicate adjustments via painting onto the transparency, or precisely cutting out unwanted parts of the photo.

@Sassybng

3 жыл бұрын

that’s really cool! here’s tonight’s rabbit hole

There was no "ah, cool!" at IBM. Everything was deliberate.

1981 I was 11 years old. My how the world has changed!!!!!!!!

@johnstreetman1803

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah I turned 13 in 1981

@Sassybng

3 жыл бұрын

it’s cool you were able to experience it when it happened! i was born in a year that starts with 2 to expose my age a little, but retro tech is one of my interests :)

Funny how you pointed out the book placement above the keyboard. I remember specifically doing this with books with my family's PS/2 computer when I was young in school It was a good placement, especially with a small desk like we had. Kinda thought at the time it was meant for similar usage.

Those were awesome days!!!!

I love the shout out to vwestlife. He's awesome, even though a few vinyl snobs disagree with him.

5:17 Easy Writer!!!! Born To Be Wired!!!!!!

@derHutschi

3 жыл бұрын

good one :D

The card with the kid and his parents strongly reminds me of that classic happy family Quake ad from around '96

Hi LGR! Peach Tree is still around! they're known for their tax program called Sage, I work with it frequently in cloud hosting applications, primarily tax software.

@bitwize

3 жыл бұрын

Peachtree, along with just about every other accounting package, was acquired bt Sage Software aeons back who rebranded it under their own name.

@LOVE-jq9fr

3 ай бұрын

*_Peach Trees, this is Ma-Ma._*

1982 When I was a year old.

@JohnSmith-xq1pz

3 жыл бұрын

@Tarpon Vashon Glad I'm not the only old person in the comments lol

@JohnSmith-xq1pz

3 жыл бұрын

@Tarpon Vashon lol

I used to pore over those things back in the day.

@Doobie3010

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah before the web,Reading was a ‘thing’ & the main way we found out about our tech.

@ironcito1101

3 жыл бұрын

@@Doobie3010 Reading is still a thing, perhaps even more than back then. It's paper that's going away.

@Doobie3010

3 жыл бұрын

@@ironcito1101 Probably for the best,saving the planet before Elon Musk nukes it from space!

A few years later, when the basic IBM PC, had changed from two floppy drives with one for your program (Typing, Excel, etc.) and the second drive to store your data to a model with a built-in Hard Drive and a single floppy, I had a co-worker ask me what was the best personal computer to buy for use in their home. Said that, well lots of companies have made different models of systems over the year's for use in the home Radio Shack, Commodore, etc. and many of them are no longer around. However, out all all of these companies the one firm still around from the start is Apple Computer and this is still true in the year 2021.

Love the kids Ken Burns haircut on the first brochure

So many sweaters.

Seeing these, 9 and 10 year old me is getting excited, then disappointed at the resounding no from my father.

This seems weird to dumb kids on youtube, but the idea of a "serious" home computer was still pretty new. People would have been using minis and workstations back then. The home computers available then were very expensive toys. Having a computer than could actually do serious work at home... in the lab... at the beach... wherever was a selling point. The growth of computer processing power at home would change things even more. I think the 386 was seen as the home system that rivaled the power of a minicomputer. Just imagine how much work you could do with the equivalent of a refrigerator sized computer on your desk at home!

@MrKurtHaeusler

3 жыл бұрын

I don't know if you can compare serious "home" computers to minis and workstations. Actually workstations were arguably even newer at this time than both the PC and serious home computers (apollo had maybe 1 machine out, sun was still in development). I would consider many of the CP/M machines just prior to this time to be as much in the category of serious home machine as the IBM PC, especially things like the TRS-80 series from 1977, but arguably also things like the IMSAI or Sol-20 etc also in this category (whereas machines from e.g. cromemco were decidedly more serious and less home, so perhaps a slightly better comparison to the minicomputer). I think the PET and Apple II deserve to be in this category too. Perhaps considering some of the later machines from commodore, atari and e.g. the coco to be some of the first less-serious home machines.

@4jp

3 жыл бұрын

@@MrKurtHaeusler Not a comparison. This is the point where computing is still shifting from big stuff to micros. Home micros were still marketed largely as toys at this point. Look at ads from this period where games are the focus. Productivity might be mentioned, but the selling point is all the great gems you can play. Business micros did exist, but they were marketed to businesses. IBM positioned its computer as something that would have a place in the real world and the home. The computer would benefit institutions and businesses while also being a tool for the home.

its funny how entertained the kids looked in these old computer ads and pamphlets, when it came to educational games! i highly doubt todays kids would be in that much awe over a math game!! 🤣

It looks like the office dude's lady boss is about to rack up some 1980s style H.R. violations lol

My BAE: Honey, I've got something to show you... Me: Won't be long, just watching someone read a 1982 IBM PC brochure.

All the sweaters do help to make the computer seem more "personal". Warm, fuzzy IBM.

That keyboard lip usage quip was super neat! i would love something like that nowadays, not that it would make any sense, but like, where do i put my notepad from meetings when im at work so i can still reference it! They had it all figured out back then and we lost it!

Please do a video on DigitalResearch! It is such an interesting story about Gary Kildall's company.

@kevinchester0533

3 жыл бұрын

I'd love this

@KarlBaron

3 жыл бұрын

He already has! "LGR Tech Tales - How Digital Research Almost Ruled PCs" kzread.info/dash/bejne/mn6Cw6OAYqW-n9o.html

@LGRBlerbs

3 жыл бұрын

I kinda have, though not the whole story! kzread.info/dash/bejne/mn6Cw6OAYqW-n9o.html

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME COMPUTING?!?!?!??!?!

At :50, kid in brochure's name is Niles. He graduated from Charlotte Country Day School in '87, went on to pre-med at Duke, couldn't make it, ended up slumming with the peasants at William and Mary. Clerked at his dads law firm, couldn't pass the bar. Tried law enforcement, but they only accepted IQs below 70. Eventually became day trader with Enron, taking a low salary, in lieu of stock options. No need to explain how that turned out. By mid 2000s, divorced, split custody of 3 kids (Whitaker, Bronwyn, and Teague), a huge mortgage, and hawking penny stocks from a boiler room in Myers Park, Niles felt like his world was falling apart. He longed for the good old days, when his only concern was whether to play "Zork" or "Executive Suite" on his IBM 5150, while his mom and dad creepily smiled down at him, his dad with that derisive look that told Niles, "You'll never live up to my expectations, and you'll never wear a blue sweater as well as me". Niles dad was right.

well, my grandpa (was on the team and helped develop the original IBM 5100) used to use that lip on the keyboard for his books and stuff, and I did too, so I would say the lip on the keyboard was definitely designed for that purpose.😉

Why am I seeing the Seinfeld where George sells computers out of his garage????

That's incredible. Those are as old as me :p

Ooff, this just makes me aware how long things took to come to my country back in the 80s... By the time my dad paid an arm and a leg for a brand new PC-XT, I was already old enough to play games and start learning code - DBase III Plus... xD So, more like in the late 80s. Before that I think my dad had some version of a TRS-80 or something... I remember it being darkish blue, connecting directly to the TV, and using K7 tapes as mediums, with Zaxxon 3D being the first game I've seen. I think I was around 6 yrs old, so mid 80s. ...aaand it's still not exactly instant. Probably due to crazy importation taxes and currency exchange, but you get into say... Dell's local website and they'll have models listed with 4yrs old specs and whatnot, prices as expensive as current models. Oh boy...

If Clint could maintain historical lobby displays for the local IBM and the like, the setup of those would make cool videos. He's sure got the gear to make such displays.

Clint I basically have a basement like that. Kept it like that on purpose. All you need to bring is the IBM.

Coated paper, new roman like typography, satin photos, cloth suits, shoulder pads, fluffy hairstyles..etc ;)

That OG htpc, though!

I miss the way all these pc manufactures use to market there systems those day's and the pc mags we could buy as well when we just looked at the pc's & the overall hardware configurations and the look of systems , now no hardware or pc vendors which you do not see much in that way anymore is that no one try's anymore

It's so weird to think that the original IBM PC was (partially or fully?) developed in Boca Raton Florida. As a Floridian I always thought of it like an old persons snow bird type of town north of Miami yet IBM has a huge facility. The whole Gary Kildall story is such a tragedy. I highly recommend folks to watch the Computer Chronicles tribute to his life. An extremely important figure that is often forgotten but deserves praise as a innovator and decent person.

I have the exact same encyclopedia set from the classroom picture that's wild

Let's get these brochures on a tray...NICE

I had my yellow screen and CGA2, games really did look a lot better when I got a colour monitor though! 😁

very cool 😎

That kid on the cover can fit right into Stranger Things.

I only recently found out that IBM made Rifle barrels, I think for the M1 Carbine. I'd call that an 'output device'.

I think I remember seeing someone who had researched the 16k no-floppy PC and they couldn’t find any evidence that more than a handful of them were ever sold. Even stripped down the 5150 was too expensive for the home market of the time.

That’s got to be the worst position for using a computer, laying on the floor looking up is bound to give you neck problems in a short time.

@nickwallette6201

3 жыл бұрын

I always wondered what was wrong with me when I would see people do that in literature or TV shows / movies. I could never get comfortable, but the photo models always looked so darn casual!

@Justin-TPG

3 жыл бұрын

I did that for years as a child playing the ZX on the TV. I think a lot of us did it back then before the days of ergonomics anxiety. Also, children are a lot more flexible and resilient than we are now.

Microsoft Adventure's "Giant Oysters" are an interesting choice for the product description.

I remember cutting my teeth as a wee little one on the NCR Burroughs b 20 series. My Dad worked for NCR and was one of the first techs in San Antonio to get trained on NCR's workstations in the early 80's. He was sent because he was the new guy and everyone else in the office thought computers were a fad. Ohhh NCR and you wonder why you floundered got bought by ATT gutted and spit out the other side.

This video gave me full happiness, surprise, and anger. And TEETH!

The lip on an IBM Keyboard was originally made as a pencil tray.

How far the mighty have fallen. IBM used to be the front-runner, now they're a dinosaur in an age of spaceships.

That fox hunt print is the best! A hotel I used to stay at (Comfort Suites in Madison WI) for work had that same print. One of the hunters is jumping over a fence on a horse, and is totally biffing it. Serves you right hunter!

That software cover needs to be made into a poster ASAP!

I wanna see that re-creation!

1:58 It's as though they were trying to say "expandable... but only as long as it's among our approved options and that you stick to IBM branded products" :-P

I think that use of that lip on the keyboard is more of an afterthought

Expand was in quotations so people did not take it literally. You’ve got to think about at the time most people are using a computer for the first time or it’s a relatively new thing to everyone

Strangely, that was realy entertaining.

Always fun to see documentation like this. Do you have anything for a Packard Bell? My love of that brand seems to have no bounds.

4:02 Typical 80's computer/console demo picture with zero cables from the PC to the TV

My computer lab in 1994 wasnt too far off from this model...:/

Hey it's that kid from The OMEN.

I think it's "expandable" in quotes as the functionality is expandable through add in cards, but the case itself does not expand... maybe that's what they were going for.

@nicholasbenjamin3826

3 жыл бұрын

You mean in contrast to the TRS-80? Where al expansion was housed in an extension to the case?

Why does he always release these during big launches. :D

@LGRBlerbs

3 жыл бұрын

Why are there always big launches interrupting my retro fun times?

@prinzvalium242

3 жыл бұрын

AMD smash🤣😂

@aserta

3 жыл бұрын

@@LGRBlerbs Yeah, how dare they!!!

Even by early 80s standards I've got to imagine trying to run a PC on 16KB RAM would have been painful.

Love that 80s brochures ❤️😆 special hint: try Tupperware advertising stuff of that era. Thank me later 😂

I can see it now... "Tonight on the 10 o'clock news: Small suburban family kidnapped by local computer enthusiast and forced to stare at a computer screen for hours. one of the children describes the ordeal, 'the computer wasn't even doing anything, we just had to sit there and stare at it. it was sooo boring, my face still hurts from all the smiling!' ..."

In 1982 I took a high school computer class with IBM computers. It was difficult to understand. Like trying to make sense of a cross word puzzle written in schematics.

I used to have c64 game catalogues that got more and more tattered as the years went by, eventually falling apart

Forget OG VisiCalc, I want to see you hook up a cassette recorder to an IBM PC purely because I've never seen it done to a PC.

Would've had to've been a pretty affluent family to afford an IBM PC in the early eighties, those things cost as much as a car back then!

Helicopters? Hah!! Got blummin' fireworks here right now, sounds like a bleedin' warzone outside... :P

SimCopter1 reporting heavy traffic.

IBM police at the corner street smashing your window "Hey, wanna buy a computer?". < updated for current times.

2:34 This footnote indicator is called a dagger en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagger_(typography)

10:47 I guess this supposed to be cut during editing

3:42 This living room/TV setup screams to me that they were trying to compete with Atari and possibly the then-new Commodore 64