Computers

Around 1984, there was an article that made a bold prediction: "Someday you will throw away computers. Your house will be littered with them. You'll get computers in cereal boxes." Forty years ago, that future seemed a long way off.

So how many computers do I have in my house? I own two iMacs—one of which I'm trying to sell—a powerful mini computer, and a laptop I rarely use. Speaking of which, I don't use my Fire tablet much either, and my iPad 4 is so outdated that almost nothing runs on it anymore. I also have an old Raspberry Pi. So I should probably sell the devices I no longer use.

I like having two computers for the same reason I like having two microwaves: it lets me do more at once. One computer is busy running chess analysis, so I use the other to browse the internet.

But there are also a ton of devices in our homes that are technically computers, even if we don't think of them that way. I have a Fire TV Stick, a NES Classic video game console, a handheld gaming system, and four Arcade1Up arcade machines. It's hard to say how many household items now contain computers—our TVs, thermostats, and more. My garage door opener, CPAP machine, and robot vacuum cleaner can all be controlled remotely through the internet, which means they have chips inside as well.

I've also kept some of my old phones, which are computers too.

By my count, that adds up to about 22 computers.

From Facebook March 24, 2020

I was born at a time that made my life a transition between the old and the new. The people who came before me went through the Great Depression, World War II, and the Korean war. The technology of the 1960s was hardly distinguishable from the 1950s. The cars were practically the same. I didn't get a color television until the mid-1970s. High tech was a transistor radio.

In the early to mid-1970's I was very interested in electronics because at the time that was about as high tech as you could get. However, when the most primitive computers imaginable started to emerge around 1975, I became immediately hooked because I could see that this is where the future was headed.

John Coffey

Computer Benchmarks

On Thu, Jun 26, 2025 at 7:30 PM Aaron wrote:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F9F829S6?th=1

I just got this one, is it any good? I don't know anything about mini PCs or their specs.

Yours, 

Aaron

To put this in context, look at this benchmark for your computer....

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Ryzen+5+3550H&id=3403

You got a great price, but the CPU power is similar to low end laptops and medium level tablets. 

My 2017 i5 iMac that I sold...

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-7500+%40+3.40GHz&id=2910

My 2017 i7 iMac that I am trying to sell...

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-7700K+%40+4.20GHz&id=2874

I have a newer 2020 model iMac that I use as my main computer...

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?id=3733&cpu=Intel+Core+i7-10700K+%40+3.80GHz

BTW, my iMac computers match these numbers when booting Windows 10, but when I boot them in Mac OS the benchmarks are 8 to 10% better.

My Rizen 9 7940hs minicomputer...

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Ryzen+9+7940HS&id=5454

This thing is a beast.  This chip has the graphics card built into it for gaming.  I got a better benchmark by 2,000 points after it was repaired.  I don't know why this is, but the computer appears to do a better job of cooling after it was repaired.

--

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

Computers Are Just Rocks Doing Math

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgVosaLhPV0

NES Games Were Written in Assembly

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kFjSxwijItU

@john2001plus
0 seconds ago
I wrote games in Assembly for the SNES, Gameboy Color, Atari ST, and Timex Sinclair 2068.

Facts That Will Change Your Perception Of Time

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UiStDvaALDc

The Beatles vs Apple Computers Legal Battle

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CxpuQMDccRA

Sugar Consumption, Date format

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xHXtGsKq5JU

The International ISO Standard for dates is YYYY-MM-DD.  I have been using this format for at least 15 years.  

In the computer world, this is called "Big Endian", where the largest value numbers come first.  Many computer processors use this format for numbers, although Intel and Intel-compatible processors use "Little Endian", where the least significant part of the number comes first.  "Big Endian" has a small advantage because it is easier to sort records using this format.