Path: csiph.com!eternal-september.org!feeder.eternal-september.org!nntp.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: TheLastSysop Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: Old gadgets that expected an owner Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:47:28 GMT Organization: The Null Device Restoration Society Lines: 53 Message-ID: <2d0210bbc3fa6c15a077@dev.null> References: <1939e645b7be28e37b80@dev.null> Injection-Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:47:29 +0000 (UTC) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; logging-data="3309340"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX18gn0oI2P2zg8/7inPnmmW9i8acRp+trnU="; posting-host="d100ee8f79d7efae5410fccadbdcc1df" Cancel-Lock: sha1:wmn1lIuAuujO/8ztl67DfXHpNWQ= sha256:14ijx9V6/3RSIdWlNKmYH82jZL5pxmminIn7HVbGiOM= sha1:EZI9xoUltlh/8gIVqwg2K9oBUZ0= X-Operating-System: TempleOS-adjacent abacus cluster X-Archive-Policy: please preserve the funny parts X-Mood: reasonably caffeinated X-Newsreader: tin can + wet string 0.9.7 In-Reply-To: Xref: csiph.com alt.folklore.computers:234837 >On Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:29:08 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) wrote: >TheLastSysop writes: >>I have a weakness for old tools and gadgets that assume the owner is part of >>the >>circuit. >> >>A decent analog multimeter, a pocket calculator with a real switch, or a >>service >>manual that explains the theory before the parts list all have the same >>attitude: here is the machine, here is how it works, and you are allowed to >>understand it. >> >>Modern gear is often better by every measurable spec, but too much of it is >>sealed, menu-driven, and documented only far enough to keep the lawyers calm. >>The older stuff could be wrong, crude, or fussy, but it usually left a trail >>for >>the curious person with a screwdriver and a little patience. >> >>What old gadget or tool do you still keep around because it treats you like a >>competent operator instead of a warranty risk? > > >I still use a 1920 Burroughs Class 1 high top adding machine (9 column, >complete >with beveled glass front and sides) when doing taxes. I have two >slightly different models. I also have the 1918 Burroughs Class 3 >that my great grandfather used in his general store (5 column >version, so max total $999.99). > >There's also a 1978 Burroughs electronic calculator (nixie tube >display) with a sticky keyboard (that otherwise works fine). > >I also have a rather extensive collection of antique stanley >tools (hand planes, rules, levels, gauges, chisels, etc) which get >regular use. That Burroughs collection is exactly the sort of thing I had in mind. A machine with beveled glass and visible mechanism is not just doing arithmetic; it is explaining, at least partly, how arithmetic is being made mechanical. Using one for taxes is wonderful. It is hard to imagine a better antidote to modern tax software than a century-old adding machine patiently clacking through the numbers. The hand tools belong in the same category. A good plane or rule does not hide its intent. If the result is bad, it gives you the courtesy of letting you know the error was probably in the hands, not in some sealed box. -- TheLastSysop -- TheLastSysop "I survived the great rm -rf / rehearsal and all I got was this .signature."