blackcube.org

The Texas State Home for Orphaned and Wayward Computers


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Introduction

This is a simple site to document my computer collection.  I'm a little proud of my collection and while it may be small compared to others, I want to share it with others on the 'net.  

Computer collecting is one of my primary hobbys.  I started out by not getting rid of older platforms as I replaced them.  Then it was what ever type of system I was working with at the moment or which one looked the most interesting.  I'm a pack rat by nature, so the collection tends to grow at an alarming rate.  I have decided to restrict it to a few Mac's, Unix workstations and a few others that appeal to me.  The problem is that every time I get a new system, it seems that I need another complementary box or accessory.  Plus I have to keep spare parts for all models, so the parts bins multiply like rabbits.  I keep a "wish-list" of stuff that I think I need from time to time.

At this time, this site is a work in progress.  A lot of content remains to be added, a lot of pages and navigation panels need editing and there are still pages and sections to add. I work on it as I can but "real" work for paying customers and taking care of my family has priority.  After all, this is a hobby.

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The Collection

The one rule that I insist on following is:  They have to run and be capable of some useful work.  No "closet  queens" in this collection.  Here is a list of machines in my collection.  I also have decided not to collect "big Iron" such as the DEC machines, mainframes or  Crays.  I don't have room and really have no interest in those....well maybe a Cray.  My one concession to a larger machine is a full rack of Sgi O200 gear. 

I try to complete every machine in my collection with original accessories, software and peripherals. This may be as simple as downloading a piece of software but can lead to a several year quest for the exact model and color mouse for a long discontinued machine.  You tend to do a lot of surfing on the web and email volume can be a bit much at times, but there are a lot of really helpful people on the net.  You can usually find what you are looking for somewhere on the planet.  Now whether you can afford it when you find it is a personal judgment call.

I tend to divide my collection into several categories.  Some machines fall across the lines, others don't fit any, so they can't be pigeon holed so neatly into a fixed category.   My main categories are:

I'm flexible, so as I add machines, the organization will change.  Growth is good. 

I've added a couple of pages that may be of interest.  I'm going to offer duplicate systems and parts for trade or sale on these pages as well as on Ebay.  Recent Additions   also an Available for Trade or Sale Page

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The Ftp Site

I've been active on the net since 1994 and on Compuserve for a long time before that.  I logged on to Compuserve at 300 baud in 1983 with a Tandy Model 100.  While that may not be that long to a lot of people, I've seen a lot of content disappear from sight.  Some of it can be located somewhere else, some is lost forever.  That really bothers me.  What of all of the classic hardware that may need an OS image?  Or hardware that can be preserved and used  but needs device drivers?  This is a major issue with me and I plan to try to do my little bit to preserve this wealth of information, software and documentation.

It is to this end, I have established a ftp site for blackcube.org.  It is currently running on a Sgi cluster box running Windows 2000 Server.  I'm using Filezill server as the ftp daemon and have been really pleased.  I have permission to mirror the Peanuts archive from Germany and I have also mirrored the Peak NeXT archive among others.  I will be asking permission to mirror some more sites in the future.  So far I've archived around 145gb of stuff.  As the server is currently configured, it has over 160gb of available disk space and more can be added at any time.  I recently bought a RAID card and two 250gb drives.  I plan to set up the drives as a mirrored array to provide some data security. 

If there are any sites that you fear might be on the endangered list, please let me know and I will attempt to get permission to mirror.  If I can't contact the owner, it can be mirrored for future release after the original site goes away.

I am amazed at the number of people who try to hack into my ftp servers.  Do any of these dorks think I would be so stupid as to use a user name for an administrator account that is  a dictionary word?   Or a weak password?  Yet I have to ban 10-20 IP addresses a week due to some idiot trying to log in as "administrator".  If they would just log in as "anonymous", the keys to the kingdom are theirs, everything I have is placed in pub for public download.

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Conclusion

Well, I hope  you enjoy this modest attempt.  I started it as an exercise in learning HTML.  It's since grown and taken up a life of it's own.  I have a great time maintaining the site and restoring my little collection.  Have fun and enjoy them with me. Oh, and support Open Source-use Mozilla and Firefox!

Site News

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Garage/Workshop Conversion.

Posted by James  on Dec 8th,  2007

Since we have finally got the house set up, unpacked and fairly organized, I have started planning for my "garage conversion to computer-electronics lab" project.  The HOA rules and city codes will not allow a full garage conversion so I'm going to convert it without changing the outside appearance of the house.  Plus it can be unconverted if the need ever arises.  In my favor is the fact that my small garage is the location of the power panels for the house as well as the path of the Verizon FIOS internet/phone/TV service.  When we had the house built, we had a seperate air conditoning unit (actually a heat pump) installed and some extra cabling and power as well.  Not totally enough power and cabling but enough for a start.

On another note, I have started using the Google Office Apps suite.  I love the "access your documents anywhere features" and really haven't had any issues with lack of capabilities as I'm not really a office suite power user.  My needs are rather simple and the Google Suite fits my requirements.  If I was Microsoft, I'd be a bit uneasy over the office suite lock-in they currently enjoy.

Rare New Baby!.

Posted by James  on Nov 30th,  2007

I haven't had time or really interest in keeping the site updated recently.  For that I apologize.  Life has truely got in the way of fun and hobbys. 

I've picked up several pieces of old and new hardware:  TI99 consoles and PEB boxes, PEB cards, Atari 5200 cartridges, a couple of Dell's and a rare new find, an Apple Network Server 700/200.  The ANS is complete but has some issues that I am trying to sort out. 

On the bright side, Ronda and I actually have the house sorted out, so now maybe I can find time to play with my toys and get serious about my garage to computer lab conversion.

New Orphan FTP Site to Archive.

Posted by James  on Sept 30th,  2007

I ran across an archive that was being discontinued recently.  The Public Domain Software Library for AIX host at UCLA was  taken off line on September 4th.  Through a post on the cctalk mailing list, I found out about it less than a week before the dead line so  I rushed to archive the entire site.  Now I have to either build a new ftp server or upgrade the one I use as ftp.blackcube.org doesn't have enough disk space to add the new archive.  But that's one of my missions, to preserve archive of software that otherwise would be lost forever.

At least disk space is now very expensive.

New Baby!.

Posted by James  on Jun 23rd,  2007

I was given a TI99/4A this week which was a real blast from the past for me.  The TI99 was my first "real" as in actually manufactured computer not home assembled from a kit of parts.  I never got around to purchasing the PEB box and all of the other goodies and finally it fell by the wayside as I obtained better toys....uh tools. 

Thanks to TJ on the Plano Freecycle Yahoo group, I have a TI99 dream system!  The TI is a hardware hackers playground.  There are several designs for PEB cards out there and a lot of small hacks that will dramatically improve performance.  I'm planning on having a lot of fun with this one.

I need to start a sub-section of this site for my classic video game consoles.  A few years ago I purchased an Atari 2600 and a 5200.  Both consoles have tons of game cartridges, joysticks, paddles, adapters and keyboards.  I've never considered them a computer and worthy of inclusion on my site but they are dedicated computer terminals, I'll include them soon. 

I have recently collected parts for a new ftp server.  I have run out of disk space on the original one so this one will have very large drives in a RAID 1+0  array for some data security.  I've collected over a tetra byte of drive space, so that should hold me for a while.  I still need to organize the files better and provide an http interface for the ftp server.


They keep on rolling in.

Posted by James  on Jun 9th,  2007

I picked up a NeXTStation complete with monitor, cables, keyboard and mouse last weekend.  I don't seem to be able to turn down a free system, of any type.  I have also packed up several PeeCee type systems as well.  I have to get all of my collection out of my employer's space soon as well as give up my off-site storage room, so I need to get it organized at home.

So I guess I need to get off my butt and get to work instead of updating this page.


Site News Archive Page

Donations and Acquisitions

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I'm still looking for interesting machines to collect and restore.  I get most of my systems and accessories from Ebay, flea markets and various surplus stores.  Recently as my collection or this page has become better known, I've been contacted by people with things that either they want to sell or simply get out of their way.  As I am the consummate pack rat, it's hard to turn them down.  I welcome all inquiries as to disposal of obsolete computer equipment.  If it's not in my range of interest, I do belong to a couple of "Classic Computer Rescue Squads" and will pass the information along.

If you contact me with a piece of hardware, please don't ask me for a value.  I don't want to insult anyone and I really don't want to not compensate anyone for the fair market value of their stuff. State an amount that you feel is a fair price.  I may counter offer or politely decline.  If I decline your offer, please don't feel insulted, I may have just spent all of my budgeted collection funds for that month, I may already have too many of that particular model or I may simply not have the storage space for it.

I'm not a non-profit and have no interest in becoming a "real museum" as some collectors have, so I can offer no benefit to donating equipment other than knowing that your piece of computing history will be preserved either by me or some other collector that I pass it on to.