In 1994, I went to university in Sweden. I bought a used, dead IIfx, which was way too expensive but still about half the price of a working one. I was hoping the issue was just the batteries (and it was).
The student computer club somehow got approval to install Ethernet coaxial cables between about 3,000 apartments. I splurged the equivalent of around $150 USD, and another student came with a spool of coax, and together we did the work. Additionally, they repurposed a radio link, and we all shared a lightning-fast 128kbps (I think) connection to the internet.
I also found someone selling A/UX for about $300 USD in classified ads. Neither the IIfx nor A/UX were high-volume items (or fx RAM for that matter), so finding these items second-hand nearby is a kind of unique event. By the end of it, I had an A/UX machine connected to the early internet. I added Slirp and my trusty USR HST modem to the mix, making me a self-sufficient ISP whenever I needed internet access from elsewhere, like my parents' place.
Since this was my first significant computer purchase, I never had the heart to get rid of it (unlike the SE/30 with a graphics card and the Quadra 700, which I regretfully let go of). The IIfx still sits in a box that has moved unopened many times. I recently opened it to check on it, and it still looks great—not too dirty, with no battery damage.
I took out the disk and had a friend image it, setting it up on QEMU. Memories came rushing back. Does anyone else remember Jagubox and Jim Jagelski? Without him, my A/UX experience would have been very different.
Say hi to "bigmac."
The student computer club somehow got approval to install Ethernet coaxial cables between about 3,000 apartments. I splurged the equivalent of around $150 USD, and another student came with a spool of coax, and together we did the work. Additionally, they repurposed a radio link, and we all shared a lightning-fast 128kbps (I think) connection to the internet.
I also found someone selling A/UX for about $300 USD in classified ads. Neither the IIfx nor A/UX were high-volume items (or fx RAM for that matter), so finding these items second-hand nearby is a kind of unique event. By the end of it, I had an A/UX machine connected to the early internet. I added Slirp and my trusty USR HST modem to the mix, making me a self-sufficient ISP whenever I needed internet access from elsewhere, like my parents' place.
Since this was my first significant computer purchase, I never had the heart to get rid of it (unlike the SE/30 with a graphics card and the Quadra 700, which I regretfully let go of). The IIfx still sits in a box that has moved unopened many times. I recently opened it to check on it, and it still looks great—not too dirty, with no battery damage.
I took out the disk and had a friend image it, setting it up on QEMU. Memories came rushing back. Does anyone else remember Jagubox and Jim Jagelski? Without him, my A/UX experience would have been very different.
Say hi to "bigmac."
