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c. staley
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:46 pm |
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Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2002 7:26 am Posts: 4839 Location: In your head rent-free Been Liked: 582 times
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MtnKaraoke wrote: No, I am not using ad-hoc networking. I am using a software hot-spot in windows 7. The network connection is reliable (barring interference) almost all of the time.
The network was still working fine. The problem was that when CH shuts down, the server for the kiosks also shuts down, the kiosks don't handle that very well and have to be re-booted. Even if I was printing tickets, that wouldn't be possible until I restart CH, restart the Remote Request Server and then restart the kiosks.
I am using old (5-7 years) Panasonic ToughBooks for kiosks. They do have touch screens and rubberized keyboards. I found them on e-Bay for around $70 each on average. I use D-Link usb adapters so that the older XP systems can "talk" to the current wireless N secured network. I've also used, and had customers use Iphones, Blackberries, and HTC Droids. They still have to use a kiosk to enter their "performer profile" but after that they use their devices instead of my kiosks.
When the time comes that 10" tablets drop below $100 in price (kindle is already $139), I'll go book-less and have singers "check-out" my songbooks. Maybe I'll just keep a hard copy of the master list. eww... that sux.... It seems to me like CH is using a DDE connection (Dynamic Data Exchange) to the kiosks... Been there, done that and it's good for access to the database, but as you experience, completely dependant on the "server" or hosting program being present and connected. Lose that connection and wham-o! Game over. The scheme I use for my kiosks are a little different: They contain the song listing database locally and are not dependent on the hosting program. So even if the hosting program were to go down completely, I can still print tickets all night long.
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simpmech
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:54 pm |
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Joined: Sun Mar 06, 2011 11:35 am Posts: 432 Location: Indiana Been Liked: 40 times
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Ok, I'm curious on the kiosk you guys are using. do they need to be hooked up to the host computer directly? or do they have wi-fi capabilities as well? I'm suffering specifically to the touch screen units some of you have been referring too . And if so, what are some of the model numbers and makes ?
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c. staley
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:57 pm |
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Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2002 7:26 am Posts: 4839 Location: In your head rent-free Been Liked: 582 times
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simpmech wrote: Ok, I'm curious on the kiosk you guys are using. do they need to be hooked up to the host computer directly? or do they have wi-fi capabilities as well? I'm suffering specifically to the touch screen units some of you have been referring too . And if so, what are some of the model numbers and makes ? These are 2 different types of kiosks: Sandman uses one that comes with Compuhost and I use Karaoke Songfinder which is a standalone kiosk program. Both can be run wirelessly or wired. With a good wireless network adapter, you should be able to go 300 feet from the host machine with no problem. Don't confuse "Wi-Fi" with "wireless" because they are 2 different animals. Wi-Fi requires a "wi-fi router" (special equipment) and wireless can use a standard router (infrastructure) or peer-to-peer (computer-to-computer) doesn't require a router at all. My preference is Infrastructure because in 6 years, I've never had a hiccup. (and I MUCH prefer D-Link brand to Linksys any day) Sandman uses Panasonic (?) "Toughbook" laptop computers that he bought used. I use an old win '98 machine with a 15" lcd touchscreen on an adjustable 2-wheeled cart.
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mckyj57
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:35 pm |
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Joined: Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:24 pm Posts: 5576 Location: Cocoa Beach Been Liked: 122 times
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c. staley wrote: simpmech wrote: Don't confuse "Wi-Fi" with "wireless" because they are 2 different animals. Wi-Fi requires a "wi-fi router" (special equipment) and wireless can use a standard router (infrastructure) or peer-to-peer (computer-to-computer) doesn't require a router at all. My preference is Infrastructure because in 6 years, I've never had a hiccup. (and I MUCH prefer D-Link brand to Linksys any day)
What documentation do you have to support that statement? Wireless networking == Wi-Fi == 802.11. There aren't two different things supported by every laptop. It's all 802.11, aka wireless networking, aka wi-fi. Yes, it has an infrastructure mode and an ad-hoc mode, and there are many differences in security layer and speed depending on the iteration of the standard. But they are all the same thing.
_________________ [color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color] Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them. -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
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c. staley
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:05 pm |
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Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2002 7:26 am Posts: 4839 Location: In your head rent-free Been Liked: 582 times
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mckyj57 wrote: c. staley wrote: simpmech wrote: Don't confuse "Wi-Fi" with "wireless" because they are 2 different animals. Wi-Fi requires a "wi-fi router" (special equipment) and wireless can use a standard router (infrastructure) or peer-to-peer (computer-to-computer) doesn't require a router at all. My preference is Infrastructure because in 6 years, I've never had a hiccup. (and I MUCH prefer D-Link brand to Linksys any day)
What documentation do you have to support that statement? Wireless networking == Wi-Fi == 802.11. There aren't two different things supported by every laptop. It's all 802.11, aka wireless networking, aka wi-fi. Yes, it has an infrastructure mode and an ad-hoc mode, and there are many differences in security layer and speed depending on the iteration of the standard. But they are all the same thing. If you want a wi-fi connection that your patrons can instantly connect to with their smartphones, good luck with regular router. I Mistyped what I meant.... rather than "wi-fi router" I should have said "wifi Hotspot" I believe what this person is looking for is a way for others to connect to a karaoke system with a smartphone... However, these kiosk systems are NOT "hotspots" you can access with your phone. (You can make them into one... but what a pain in the arse!)
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toqer
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:26 am |
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Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2004 11:15 am Posts: 907 Location: San Jose CA Been Liked: 33 times
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autokdj's new kiosk system (and android app) cache the database locally. If there is a change (such as a song downloaded) the changes are sent to each kiosk.
The kiosks in turn function as servers for the android app users. They just connect to our wifi.
Downside of this is database sizes, and corresponding hash for each song in your database creates a bootyload of data for the small devices.
We use comcast business for internet. I tried mapping a DNS entry to our static IP (then forwarding port 80 and 443 for autokdj communications) This way my customers could queue songs from anywhere.
Found one issue though. Seems the major carriers are blocking comcast IPs. From my IT experience, it's because the largest number of infected, spammy machines come from comcast (no joke)
_________________ Living my life as Robert Cortese, 162 E. Jackson St, San Jose CA.
It's like the difference between high and low budget toilet paper, it really doesn't matter in the end. -exweedfarmer
Which is smarter? Just sticking to making/selling karaoke, while people all over the world create software FOR FREE that helps you sell it, or trying to compete with them and keeping it a closed loop while you blow your money into an industry (software) that you(the karaoke manu) knows nothing about? -me
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mckyj57
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:14 am |
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Joined: Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:24 pm Posts: 5576 Location: Cocoa Beach Been Liked: 122 times
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c. staley wrote: mckyj57 wrote: c. staley wrote: simpmech wrote: Don't confuse "Wi-Fi" with "wireless" because they are 2 different animals. Wi-Fi requires a "wi-fi router" (special equipment) and wireless can use a standard router (infrastructure) or peer-to-peer (computer-to-computer) doesn't require a router at all. My preference is Infrastructure because in 6 years, I've never had a hiccup. (and I MUCH prefer D-Link brand to Linksys any day)
What documentation do you have to support that statement? Wireless networking == Wi-Fi == 802.11. There aren't two different things supported by every laptop. It's all 802.11, aka wireless networking, aka wi-fi. Yes, it has an infrastructure mode and an ad-hoc mode, and there are many differences in security layer and speed depending on the iteration of the standard. But they are all the same thing. If you want a wi-fi connection that your patrons can instantly connect to with their smartphones, good luck with regular router. I Mistyped what I meant.... rather than "wi-fi router" I should have said "wifi Hotspot" I believe what this person is looking for is a way for others to connect to a karaoke system with a smartphone... However, these kiosk systems are NOT "hotspots" you can access with your phone. (You can make them into one... but what a pain in the arse!) It's not that hard any more -- there are pretty standard pieces of software that create a hotspot out of a PC. But it isn't just turning things on, as you note. You have to have a DHCP server and have some sort of IP forwarding to perform the router function. It is far easier just to install a little wifi router, which you can get for $30.00.
_________________ [color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color] Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them. -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
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MtnKaraoke
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:56 am |
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Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2010 1:40 pm Posts: 1052 Images: 1 Been Liked: 204 times
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I use Win7 and a FREE hotspot called Connectify. The system works reliably and has done so since December of last year. The problems with the hosting software's server are separate from the network
_________________ Never the same show twice!
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exweedfarmer
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:55 am |
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Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2006 7:34 pm Posts: 1227 Location: Completely Lost Been Liked: 15 times
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...or you could just run a couple of wires out the COM port.
_________________ Okay, who took my pants?
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mckyj57
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:18 am |
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Joined: Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:24 pm Posts: 5576 Location: Cocoa Beach Been Liked: 122 times
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exweedfarmer wrote: ...or you could just run a couple of wires out the COM port. Most PCs don't come with COM ports any more. Much less the software that allows you to easily use them.
_________________ [color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color] Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them. -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
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simpmech
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:40 am |
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Joined: Sun Mar 06, 2011 11:35 am Posts: 432 Location: Indiana Been Liked: 40 times
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after reading these responses, and physically looking at different netbooks (all P.O.S. in my opinion) I am on my search for some used and very cheap wi-fi ready laptops. Hitting ebay, amazon and local pawn shops. I like the idea of at least a 12" screen and a full keyboard. The kiosk ideas are great, but my OS (i run on a mac) will not support the windows programs you are using. And I have a KJ program for Mac that I really like already. So, I am going to make it as simple and user friendly as I can. Any further comments, good or bad are welcome
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toqer
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 10:20 am |
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Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2004 11:15 am Posts: 907 Location: San Jose CA Been Liked: 33 times
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mckyj57 wrote: exweedfarmer wrote: ...or you could just run a couple of wires out the COM port. Most PCs don't come with COM ports any more. Much less the software that allows you to easily use them. I think he was being sarcastic. There's a ton of USB>Serial stuff out now that lets you use com ports all day long. Man, I so don't miss the days of switching jumpers for port 3f8 and irq 4 and ooh wait, my sound blaster card is using irq's 7 and port 220, gotta make sure there's no conflicts. Oh what was that VGA irq again? 3? Can't use that. So much easier these days.
_________________ Living my life as Robert Cortese, 162 E. Jackson St, San Jose CA.
It's like the difference between high and low budget toilet paper, it really doesn't matter in the end. -exweedfarmer
Which is smarter? Just sticking to making/selling karaoke, while people all over the world create software FOR FREE that helps you sell it, or trying to compete with them and keeping it a closed loop while you blow your money into an industry (software) that you(the karaoke manu) knows nothing about? -me
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Alex
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 10:31 am |
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Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:40 am Posts: 1094 Songs: 1 Location: West Palm Beach, FL Been Liked: 53 times
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toqer wrote: mckyj57 wrote: exweedfarmer wrote: ...or you could just run a couple of wires out the COM port. Most PCs don't come with COM ports any more. Much less the software that allows you to easily use them. I think he was being sarcastic. There's a ton of USB>Serial stuff out now that lets you use com ports all day long. Man, I so don't miss the days of switching jumpers for port 3f8 and irq 4 and ooh wait, my sound blaster card is using irq's 7 and port 220, gotta make sure there's no conflicts. Oh what was that VGA irq again? 3? Can't use that. So much easier these days. LOOOOOL!!!! I remember that!!
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mckyj57
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 10:32 am |
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Joined: Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:24 pm Posts: 5576 Location: Cocoa Beach Been Liked: 122 times
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toqer wrote: mckyj57 wrote: exweedfarmer wrote: ...or you could just run a couple of wires out the COM port. Most PCs don't come with COM ports any more. Much less the software that allows you to easily use them. I think he was being sarcastic. With weed, you can't be sure... Quote: There's a ton of USB>Serial stuff out now that lets you use com ports all day long. Man, I so don't miss the days of switching jumpers for port 3f8 and irq 4 and ooh wait, my sound blaster card is using irq's 7 and port 220, gotta make sure there's no conflicts. Oh what was that VGA irq again? 3? Can't use that.
So much easier these days. It is, which is why I am glad I stopped working for the serial-port-maker I worked for in the 1980s and 1990s.
_________________ [color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color] Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them. -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
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exweedfarmer
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:15 pm |
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Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2006 7:34 pm Posts: 1227 Location: Completely Lost Been Liked: 15 times
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Oh that's a good laugh on me. I wasn't being sarcastic and it just goes to show you how old my karaoke machines are. I never even looked for a COM port on the little Windows 7 moster I'm typing on and now that I do... well, there isn't one. Look to the west, that bright red glow is me.
_________________ Okay, who took my pants?
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c. staley
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:57 pm |
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Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2002 7:26 am Posts: 4839 Location: In your head rent-free Been Liked: 582 times
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exweedfarmer wrote: Oh that's a good laugh on me. I wasn't being sarcastic and it just goes to show you how old my karaoke machines are. I never even looked for a COM port on the little Windows 7 moster I'm typing on and now that I do... well, there isn't one. Look to the west, that bright red glow is me. Happens to me too.... and that's because we grew up with computers with cranks in the front to get 'em going.... These days, you're obsolete in 3 months.
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toqer
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:47 pm |
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Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2004 11:15 am Posts: 907 Location: San Jose CA Been Liked: 33 times
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My computer you had to hold down the OPTION Key to disable the built in basic.
_________________ Living my life as Robert Cortese, 162 E. Jackson St, San Jose CA.
It's like the difference between high and low budget toilet paper, it really doesn't matter in the end. -exweedfarmer
Which is smarter? Just sticking to making/selling karaoke, while people all over the world create software FOR FREE that helps you sell it, or trying to compete with them and keeping it a closed loop while you blow your money into an industry (software) that you(the karaoke manu) knows nothing about? -me
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theCheese
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:10 am |
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Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 11:02 am Posts: 485 Location: third stone from the sun Been Liked: 2 times
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My first computer was a Trash 80 model I, circa 1978.. then a few years later i'd eagerly await the next issue of Compute! magazine to arrive so I could see what kinds of cool programs I could type in that month.. first on my trusty VIC 20, then on my Commodore 64.
I cut my 'online' teeth logging into BBS's at 300 baud, and who could forget the great D-Dial seven line systems run on Apple II hardware.. seven people chatting at the same time.
I remember getting my first 1200 baud modem in the mail that i'd ordered from one of those cornball 'Protecto Enterprises' ads.. although there were very few local systems I could dial into that supported that high a speed.
The good old days.
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Thunder
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:19 pm |
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Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:36 am Posts: 1066 Location: Madison VA Been Liked: 0 time
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theCheese wrote: My first computer was a Trash 80 model I, circa 1978.. then a few years later i'd eagerly await the next issue of Compute! magazine to arrive so I could see what kinds of cool programs I could type in that month.. first on my trusty VIC 20, then on my Commodore 64.
I cut my 'online' teeth logging into BBS's at 300 baud, and who could forget the great D-Dial seven line systems run on Apple II hardware.. seven people chatting at the same time.
I remember getting my first 1200 baud modem in the mail that i'd ordered from one of those cornball 'Protecto Enterprises' ads.. although there were very few local systems I could dial into that supported that high a speed.
The good old days. I didn't have that experience, my first computer was in "95", an HP (which was on the recall list ) had AOL phone line connection with a blazing speed that could download a program in 24 to 36 hours. The funny thing is that computer is still in use today!
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exweedfarmer
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 1:50 pm |
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Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2006 7:34 pm Posts: 1227 Location: Completely Lost Been Liked: 15 times
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Thunder wrote: I didn't have that experience, my first computer was in "95", an HP (which was on the recall list ) had AOL phone line connection with a blazing speed that could download a program in 24 to 36 hours. The funny thing is that computer is still in use today! ...And it has a COM Port!!!
_________________ Okay, who took my pants?
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