Change of Address

As of today, Archaic Online has moved to a new home at MOTD.

The new url is:

sparcipx.motd.org 

The reasons for doing so are many, but mostly comes down to issues of control... this way, I have access to all my logs, databases, and most importantly, the rights to my own content. There's also a lot more opportunity to get "under the hood" and see how things work.

Please visit the new site.

An Underground Renaissance

Last night, I did something I've been meaning to do since the mid 90s... I finally set up a gopher site.  (You'll need the Overbite plug-in for Firefox in order to view it if you're not Unix savvy.)

I'm nothing if not efficient!

It took me the better part of the evening to learn the basic syntax (now there's a word I haven't heard in ages!) in building a gophermap, but I got the hang of it after about an hour.  I honestly enjoyed setting the site up, and found it a great deal easier than HTML.

Dirt simple, if you ask me.

I also started a phlog (which is short for GoPHer Log, as blog is short for Web Log), which will serve to compliment this blog as far as detailing my various projects, etc.  Any spillover (or graphics-heavy content) will end up on my project webpage.

Trials and Tribulations

It's been a whirlwind couple of months...

Between moving my fiancée into my place, work, and general household drudgery, I haven't had much time to do anything, let alone post.  However, the blogging bug has bit me again, and as I've been writing on my "other" blogs, I thought it only right to update this one, so I could share with you my latest projects and plans.

First and foremost, I have been trying to determine which of my systems is my ideal mobile blogging solution. Back in the day, I used my Powerbook G3 Lombard to blog on the go, but that had largely fallen by the wayside as she's been broken so often that I stopped using her.  Since then, I have used a myriad of other devices, chiefly my TRS-80 Model 100 portable computer, but I have also used my shockingly well-equipped Handspring Visors (more on those in the future) with a good deal of success. More recently, I've been using my Palm Treo 650 smartphone to blog on the go, but its tiny keyboard isn't particularily well-suited for anything more than a short text message or tweet... trying to blog with the Treo is a painful experience! Right now, I am considering using my Visors & foldout keyboard to blog, or buying a similar keyboard for my Treo.

Of course, I could simply use my Lombard again, but I find the Visor or Treo to be especially handy considering I don't like lugging a laptop around with me everywhere I go.

Apart from my moblogging dilemma, I also have several computers, ranging from a couple of old Macs, an Amiga or two, and a few Sparc machines all requiring some degree of repair. I'll be delving into each machine as I begin working on them. First up will probably be my namesake... my Sparc IPX workstation!

Finally, I'm in the process of rebuilding my lab after years of neglect. First order of the day will be to clean it out, make a bit of room, then start building the network rack. After that, I'll need to track down a couple of pieces of equipment, work a bit of magic, and I'll be back in action.

The next few months should prove to be interesting!

FIRST POST !!!!1!!!1

So, it's been nearly four years since I first set this blog up, and I'm only now writing my first entry...

You're probably asking why I'd bother after so much time has passed..?  Truth told, I was asking myself that very question, as recently as this afternoon. I was going to hit the "Delete this Blog" button, but the Governor phoned in a last-minute "Stay of Execution", and an idea was formed...

I'd recently bought a 56k modem for my Handspring Visor, and I have a dial-up account at sdf.lonestar.org, so why not download a telnet app and have some fun?

That's exactly what I did. I've been all over the net, checking out my usual haunts on the web via lynx, pissing around on gopher, and visiting a couple of my favourite telnet BBSes... all on my archaic PDA from 1999!

I'll post a few pictures in the next day or so, and hope to show off some of my other hardware too!