Hardlimit Museum

cobito

Well, in the end I've spent some time creating a museum of the gadgets I'm disassembling. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time and as a hobby it's entertaining. You can visit it at museo.hardlimit.com.

There's still quite a lot to do, like enabling file downloads, creating new sections and other things I have in mind. But the essence is already there: it consists of having a hardware repository where components are related to each other (for example, the disk controller that comes with such and such a PC or motherboard) where a description, images, videos if any, drivers, programs, datasheets, manuals and, ultimately, all the material that can be collected about each thing is included.

In general, it's something small that doesn't need much maintenance. Perhaps the best thing is that if I ever get bored, what's there won't become obsolete.

Of the content that exists at the moment, I have almost everything from the Compaq and I haven't finished with the Epson yet. In the end, it's something that can be done in the spare moments since introducing loose things takes a few minutes. Nothing tedious, really.

Anyway, as always, suggestions are welcome. Those of you who are into retrocomputing and want to contribute something, just say so. No commitment whatsoever; this is something I'm taking calmly.

Change log

ver. 3.2.0 [251204]

A new universal header is introduced, which changes buttons to tabs and includes the turn menu.
The loading of magazine pages has been improved to the point that they are practically instantaneous.
Thanks to the loading speed, it has been possible to create a new simple, fast and much more practical magazine viewer than the previous one:
Now the entire magazine is shown on a single page, avoiding the need to turn pages.
Pages are shown in pairs at full width of the browser window.
It is still possible to enlarge pages to full screen.

ver. 3.1.0 [251026]

All versions (including pre-releases) of Windows 95 executables in v86 have been added.
All versions of MS-DOS executables in v86 have been added.
Thumbnails have been added to the emulated versions.

ver. 3.0.0 [250928]

Software and hardware sections have been migrated to MariaDB.
A 301 redirect to new URLs is made.

ver. 2.6.0 [250912]
· v86 is updated to 4251ac1 (250908)
· All virtual machines have been updated.
· Compression is now used to accelerate loading.

ver. 2.5.0 [220520]
· A file search has been added.

ver. 2.4.1 [220319]
· A "video library" section has been added to the library.

ver. 2.4.0 [210421]
· Software collections are added. We start with the TDC-17.

ver. 2.3.6 [210213]
· The following magazines have been added:

Super Juegos
Hobby Consolas
The Adventurer
Zero Magazine

ver. 2.3.5 [210118]
· The following magazines have been added:

Computer & Video Games.
The One.

ver. 2.3.4 [210117]
· Some disks from the PC Actual have been added.

ver. 2.3.3 [210115]
· OCR has been redone for the third era of Micromanía.
· The following magazines have been added:

Super PC along with some diskettes and a CDROM.
Dragon User.

ver. 2.3.2 [210108]
· The author of the scan of the magazines for which such information is available and of the CDROM rips is now shown.
· The following magazines have been added:

MSX Extra
PC Player

· The CDROMs of the PC Player have been added.

ver. 2.3.1 [201220]
The following magazines have been added:
· Rendermania
· Netmania
· Acorn User
· Mi Computer

ver. 2.3.0 [201218]
· It is now possible to download and run floppy disks and CDROMs of PCManía in the browser.

ver. 2.2.2 [201213]
7 new magazines have been added:
· Amstrad Accion
· Atari Explorer
· Club Commodore
· Club HNOSTAR
· Game Over
· Game Developer
· Input Commodore

ver. 2.2.1 [201212]
· The first editorial of most magazines is now shown.

ver. 2.2.0 [201206]
· A pager has been added to the search page.

ver. 2.1.3 [201205]
· 3 new magazines have been added:

3D World
48k
Amiga World

ver. 2.1.3 [2012012]
· The first editorial is now shown on the page of each magazine. It usually presents the editorial team and usually makes a statement of intent.

ver. 2.1.2 [201205]
· Page enlargement in the magazine viewer has been improved.

ver. 2.1.1 [201128]
· A problem with the magazine index has been solved.

ver. 2.1.0 [201127]
· A bug in the search engine that prevented results for most queries has been fixed.
· The loading speed of pages and searches has been improved.
· Search results can now be sorted by date or by number of appearances.

ver. 2.0.0 [201124]
· First documented version
· Code is more orderly and better structured
· Aesthetic changes
· New material
· New sections
· Improvements in response time
· End of the VIP zone MSX ExtraSuper Games

Sylver

Well I love the idea, really, and I know of some other heavyweights in the forum who will also love it

I have yet to see how I will organize myself to contribute photos or data of my gadgets, especially with a complete move just around the corner, but what I see as great and most useful above all is the idea of bringing together drivers for old hardware, which will almost certainly have already disappeared or will be very difficult to find. Those of us who are always tinkering with old hardware will find it wonderful, and it could also be a very useful way to reactivate traffic around here.

As I settle in I will contribute little things as I see fit.

Best regards!

cobito

As for the content, on the museum's homepage you can see much of my processor collection. There are still details missing in the card for each component, but it will be done gradually. From here on, I will be introducing new components as I test them, which involves analyzing the gadget in question (as has been done so far, it will be done without haste but without pause).

As for functionality, I still have some important things left to do. For now, you can check the information of the downloadable files, but you can't download them. I have organized everything and there are new categories. Over time, all those less relevant ones, such as chipsets, will disappear from the homepage.

Have a great weekend!

amd125

@cobito There are several processors with which I have wet dreams hahaha

As a possessor of a K6-II 400 MHz that K6-II 500 MHz I like a lot. Also the Pentium MMX at 200 MHz.

By the way, a while ago I started looking for the equivalent in AMD the K6 200 MHz that surpassed the Intel micro in some aspects, and it was not very easy to locate.

Very good the 486 DX 4 100 MHz that poor thing came out almost at the same time as the Pentium and was relatively ignored.

A time when my love for tinkering began and as I was a student without a job, I couldn't afford those components, but a time of which I keep magnificent memories.

cobito

@amd125 Well, I didn't know that they had made k6-2 at 500MHz until I scrapped the PC that came from that years ago. About the 486 DX 4, you can see one from the house in action here. Now that I see it, I forgot to put it in the museum.

I also started tinkering with a 486 (SX2) but back then I was afraid of breaking something and didn't give it much attention

amd125

@cobito I did remember the K6s at those speeds. It sounds to me like there was a K6 II+ at 550 and even one at 570 but I don't remember seeing the latter for sale.

Then the K6 III came out but these are still selling for a pretty penny these days for what they are.

I will upgrade my K6 to a faster one some day, just for fun. To be honest, back then I was using a 133 MHz Pentium that I inherited from my brother's girlfriend and I was happy. Before that I had a 486 sx 25 MHz but it was tough seeing how after 2-3 years my friends were using Pentium 1s and I was still on the 486.

It was a time I remember fondly, when I started getting into this hobby, because before that I had a tape-based Amstrad but I went years without using a PC until I got the 486.

cobito

I have added the abandonware section. You can see how little there is at the end of the cover. For now, it is not possible to download anything; only to view the information of the files. If anyone wants something, they can ask me.

During this weekend, almost all the programs and games that have been tested will be added.

And related to the museum but extendable to any field, tomorrow a new and juicy functionality will be announced on Hardlimit. Stay tuned to your screens

_Neptunno_

@cobito a question, can we send you some photos of some CPU for the museum? I say this in case, when I have time I can send you the one of some old CPU like K7 or Pentium III.

Best regards!!

cobito

@_Neptunno_ Si, claro. Todo lo que tengáis y queráis compartir me lo podéis enviar a correo

_Neptunno_

@cobito Let's see if I have some time to look for those photos and send them to you

cobito

I said I wouldn't add more things until a new analysis, but boredom got the better of me. You can now see my almost complete collection of RAM memories. There's nothing exotic because it's the only thing I have here, but the cool stuff will arrive soon. Until then, you can see the memories in their corresponding museum room.

cobito

The museum's library is now open. At the moment there are 5 publications that total more than 900 computer magazines from 1975 to 2013. The engine is a bit slow, so the visualizations take a while to load (I'll try to optimize that a bit). The viewer still has work ahead. For now, reading is limited to the first 5 pages, although I am getting closer to the formula to share all the resources without too many problems.

Yorus

@cobito said in Museo Hardlimit:

The museum's library is now open. At the moment there are 5 publications that total more than 900 computer magazines from 1975 to 2013. The engine is a bit slow, so the visualizations take a while to load (I'll try to optimize that a bit). The viewer still has work ahead. For now, reading is limited to the first 5 pages, although I'm getting closer to the formula to share all the resources without too many problems.

How great those MicroHobby were, what memories... a mix of leisure and technical magazine... for me it was perfect.

cobito

More magazines have been added to the repertoire, totaling 12 publications composed of more than 1600 copies altogether.

On the other hand, after a week of doing OCRs, the search has been enabled. The search takes a few seconds to show results but it seems to work more or less. For the moment, it does not point to the text on the page where it was found; it only shows the page where it appears and the number of times it was found.

In addition, the performance issues that caused the pages to load slowly have been resolved. The loading speed is now much more reasonable.

cobito

The Hardlimit Museum 2.0 for Windows 3.1 is here! (Available on 3.5" double-density diskettes for only 19.995 pesetas)

General new features

A new aesthetic in line with the rest of Hardlimit pages
The VIP area has been removed
New software and hardware with more images and videos
A new menu with new categories for both software and hardware.
A navigation bar at the top of the page.
Numerous internal changes have been made to facilitate maintenance.

New features in the software section

You can now use practically all programs, games, and operating systems from the browser without having to download or install anything.
Downloads are enabled for everything considered abandonware. For more information, visit the leame.txt
In each tab, the program mentions in the magazines we have are shown next to an image of the page and a link to it to view full screen.
New categories that total up as follows:

Operating systems
Games
Tools
Window managers
Office
Multimedia
Internet

New features in the hardware section

The three computers we have at the moment have new photos and videos.
There are now new categories. In total, we have:

Computers
Processors
RAM memories
Graphics cards
Controllers
Chipsets

New features in the library

A new magazine viewer: two-page view and the possibility to enlarge them by clicking on them.
A new search engine in magazines that is much faster.

New content

Sheet of the Satellite 230CX
Sheet of Windows 3.x with emulations and downloads of numerous versions, from the first betas to Windows 3.11 FWG
The sheet of the Prince of Persia has been completed with many versions that can be played from the browser.
New games: Need for Speed 2, Quake 2, Broken Sword 2, Age of Empires and GTA 1.
The category Tools has been created with programs that will help you tune up and manage your latest generation PC.

Limitations

There is a limit of 10 daily downloads. Emulations count as one download.
Certain games and programs are not available for download even if they are considered abandonware.
At the moment, downloading magazines is not possible.

What is coming next?
The vast majority of new features will come in terms of content: new software, new hardware, more magazines and completing most sheets with more downloads and emulations.

If you see any errors, don't hesitate to comment. Updates will be sent to subscribers on diskette by postal mail.

Yorus

Great job!, and I love the magazine viewer. I have a few saved in case you are interested.

cobito

@Yorus ¡Gracias!

Cualquier aportación es bienvenida. Elige la forma de pasármelas (gdrive, dropbox o como sea). No se si instalar Owncloud o algo así para este tipo de aportaciones.

PD: He solucionado un fallo que hacía que el buscador no arrojara resultados para la mayoría de las peticiones.

Yorus

@cobito said in Museo Hardlimit:

@Yorus Thanks!

Any contribution is welcome. Choose the way to send them to me (gdrive, dropbox or whatever). I'm not sure if I should install Owncloud or something like that for this type of contributions.

PD: I have fixed a bug that caused the search engine to not return results for most requests.

I got most of the magazines from a Torrent, but then I had to make a selection because I don't have much disk space and there were about 900Gb. I can look for that Torrent or see if I can also share what I have on a USB drive connected to the NAS.

cobito

We have three new magazines in the library!

3D World

This is a publication that was alive from 1997 to 1999 and dealt with topics related to the creation of "synthetic images" and animations. As can be read in a fragment of its first editorial:

Behind 3D WORLD there are several dozen people in love with 3D and computer design. Many of them, working in production companies, advertising agencies, multimedia development companies, games, and others, simply trying to make a living in this little world, going from company to company, with the ZIP of animations in one hand and the curriculum in the other. The common denominator of all of them is that they want to end up (and of course they will) living from 3D and computer design, as surely, many of our readers will also do. Because fortunately, this is an expanding sector.

48K

A magazine aimed at Spectrum users that saw the light in 1985 and was published for a year. In its first editorial they said this:

Hello friends, first of all, congratulations, you have in your hands, THE MAGAZINE, not a magazine, but THE MAGAZINE.
Well, seriously, the most logical thing is to tell you our approaches, we intend to make a “new” magazine, but with a lot of experience, since if we are not pioneers in this of magazines for Spectrum, we are in the Spectrum itself, because we know it thoroughly, and you will see it issue by issue, time will prove it to you. This magazine, yours from now on, you won't know why you will buy it, perhaps because of the game, which every month will be a real STAR-MACHINE-CODE, perhaps because of the magazine, whose content, as you will see will be of unsurpassed quality, perhaps because of everything together, perhaps because it only costs 375 pts., perhaps... who knows?
We hope that the magazine will like you as much as we like making it, that's why we thought that you would like to keep it and for that, every 12 issues, we will issue some covers, for that, to help you organize a little bit all that paper that it has: Well friends, I don't keep you entertained any longer, I leave you in the hands of our collaborators; expert hands that we are sure will make you spend unbeatable moments. Until next time.

Amiga World

Well, that's it, a publication for the users of this alternative to the PC. It was out from 84 to 90, although some issues are missing from this one and the truth is that the dates are not entirely accurate. In the next iteration, we will try to complete the collection as well as we will look for more precise dates. In its first editorial they presented themselves as follows:

Many readers will be waiting for the announcement of the continuity of Amiga World. But for now, this zero issue is a harbinger, a sowing for the future the seed that we all hope to see become a flower. The content says it all, from the most varied listings for the avid programmers, to the deep test benches, passing through the articles on graphics or game reviews, this issue has all the ingredients to entertain and teach.

More coming soon!

cobito

This week the image quality of PC Magazine has been improved, although it still leaves something to be desired (the quality of the originals is quite poor).

A problem with magazines without a cover (like PC Actual) has also been solved, where some issues come with a cover and others without. Now the two-page view is displayed correctly in any case.

In addition, the OCR of the first era of Micromanía has been improved, so the search results will be better for terms related to that magazine.

On the other hand, the first editorial of each magazine (in almost all publications) is now displayed, where a declaration of intentions and a presentation of the editorial team are usually made. The truth is that when reading them, one gets an idea of the "historical" context in which the publications were born. At least to me, some seem quite interesting.

To finish with the changes and improvements, the search is now divided into several pages when there are more than 20 results and a couple of minor bugs have been fixed.

As for the content, we have no less than 7 new magazines:

Amstrad Accion

It was published from 87 to 89 and was a magazine aimed at CPC users. In its first editorial we read this:

Dear readers: we would be delighted if this first issue of “AMSTRAD ACCION” were of your total interest. We would like to offer you, and that will be our purpose, a magazine brimming with current events, good programs and above all practical from beginning to end. With the help of all of you we hope to achieve this desired goal, we are aware that no magazine can survive without the support of its readers, without their collaboration. We can all contribute something to “AMSTRAD ACCION”.

Atari Explorer

I don't know if I only have the first 5 issues or if it lasted little. What we have was published in 85. In its first editorial they said this:

It may seem initially absurd to start an activity that consists of placing a new computer magazine in the apparently saturated Spanish kiosks. However, this publication, which arises after an exhaustive market analysis, does not have among its purposes to compete with any. It is also complementary with its more prestigious colleagues and self-sufficient in that it fills a great gap: no one until now has dealt exclusively with Atari users.

Club Commodore

A magazine for VIC and CBM users that apparently was alive from 82 to 84. In a fragment of its first editorial it read this:

CLUB COMMODORE is our small contribution to the promotion of this communication. Among several thousand users, ideas, programs, subroutines, etc., are born that can benefit all others. We would like our motivation, YOU, VIC or CBM user, to make it yours by becoming our editorial partner. You surely have ideas that other users have not come up with. Don't deprive us of them.

Club HNOSTAR

Directed at MSX users, it started being more of a fanzine than a magazine. In its more than a decade of existence with a rather inconsistent periodicity, it ended up becoming a full-fledged magazine. Of this one we are missing the first 6 issues, so we don't have the welcome editorial.

Game Over

It was alive for a year and a half, from 98 to 99. It is sister to 3D World whose first editorial says this:

From the newly created editorial of GAME OVER we want to welcome all those who, like you, have passed by the kiosk and have been attracted by our brand new number one. We are sure that you will not regret having bought it since, as our cover announces, it is a magazine made by and for the video game professionals. This guarantees that its content has been prepared by authentic encyclopedias of the video game who enjoy analyzing and commenting the latest releases and the most succulent novelties of the current panorama.

Game Developer

In reality it is a supplement of Game Over, but being a much more technical publication, I have decided to separate it as if it were a different magazine. Its welcome message says this:

I welcome all passionate about video games. GAME DEVELOPER has been developed by the most qualified professionals of the national panorama to illuminate your minds eager for knowledge and guide you through the intricate paths of video game development. For those more versed in the subject, I guarantee that one never knows enough about anything and that one can always know more about everything. So if you want to reach a state of evolution superior to those around you, read GAME DEVELOPER carefully and you will discover what is good.

Input Commodore

To finish this week (which has already been well nourished), this magazine from the mid-80s (85-87) has been included. With its title, it doesn't need much description and in its first editorial they said this:

One more magazine!, will be the reflection that many readers will make. Indeed, that's the case, we go out to the street to expand the offer available in the kiosks. However, we are born with pretensions, summarized in a single objective: to be the center of your preferences. We will try to achieve it issue by issue. We have created various sections that we suppose will be of interest to most of you. Special mention should be made of the one titled Education. In the first issues it describes Logo and its use, but we will deal with other topics related to that theme.

More coming soon!