{"id":195,"date":"2007-02-05T23:59:10","date_gmt":"2007-02-06T04:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kenfager.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/archives\/195"},"modified":"2007-02-05T23:59:10","modified_gmt":"2007-02-06T04:59:10","slug":"the-talking-computron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kenfager.com\/wordpress\/?p=195","title":{"rendered":"The Talking Computron"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Computron!\"<\/p>\n

EDITOR’S NOTE – MARCH 24, 2009 – I get a lot of traffic to this story, a few e-mails asking questions, and great comments left for this blog entry. I’m really curious how you readers are finding this bit of text. Please leave a comment telling me how!<\/p>\n

Behold, puny mortals, my latest thrift store acquisition! St. Vincent De Paul got the shaft as I saved 50% off this $1 piece of raw computational power. The 1986 Talking Computron by VTel features a membrane keyboard, eight-character red LED alpha-numeric display, 20 built-in programs, cartridge slot, and even a real electronic voice! It is powered by 6 C batteries or a 9v 300mA adapter. On the top of the unit written on tape it says verbatim \u201cWURKS NEEDS BATTERYS.\u201d Because I do not have C batteries available to power the unit I am left to wildly speculate as to the true capabilities of this device. To put this all into perspective I will compare and contrast with another deus ex machina, the Sony PlayStation 3.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The Talking Computron has a built-in keyboard whereas the PS3 only has USB ports to plug one in. Advantage Computron.<\/li>\n
  2. Both systems have fonts on the side of the machine that demand your focused attention. Advantage none.<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cTalking Computron\u201d is 16 characters long while \u201cPLAYSTATION 3\u201d is only 11. Advantage Computron. Plus one for correct spacing for Computron. Minus one for PS3 for using CAPS LOCK.<\/li>\n
  4. Both systems produce an image that hurts to look at in low definition. Advantage none.<\/li>\n
  5. Talking Computron came with twenty built-in games plus a cartridge called \u201cDress Up and Theatre\u201d while PS3 came with the Cross Media Bar. Advantage Computron.<\/li>\n
  6. PS3 collects dust superbly on its shiny black surface. Talking Computron collects dust in impossible to clean edges. Advantage none.<\/li>\n
  7. PS3 can interface with the PlayStation Portable. The Talking Computron has unknown interface capabilities. Which is scarier? The known or the unknown? Talking Computron plus one.<\/li>\n
  8. I am drinking a tasty beverage responsibly whilst writing this. Plus one to me for responsible drinking and plus another for usage of \u201cwhilst.\u201d Minus one for drinking it alone.<\/li>\n
  9. Talking Computron features built in math software while the PS3 does not. Obviously people who blew $600 do not know the value of money. Advantage Talking Computron.<\/li>\n
  10. The PS3 and Talking Computron both lack rumble functionality. Advantage none.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    According to my rudimentary and lackluster American public education math skills the final totals come to Talking Computron with 6, PS3 with -1, and myself with a point. Not bad for a $0.50 investment.<\/p>\n

    September 3, 2009 Update: The Talking Computron sold for $23 on eBay sometime last month. I had no clue that it would fetch so much, let alone sell at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    EDITOR’S NOTE – MARCH 24, 2009 – I get a lot of traffic to this story, a few e-mails asking questions, and great comments left for this blog entry. I’m really curious how you readers are finding this bit of text. Please leave a comment telling me how! Behold, puny mortals, my latest thrift store … Continue reading The Talking Computron<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11,23],"tags":[115,117,535],"class_list":["post-195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gaming","category-geek","category-thrift","tag-computer","tag-computron","tag-thrift"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenfager.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenfager.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenfager.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenfager.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenfager.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kenfager.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenfager.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenfager.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenfager.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}