YSaC, Vol. 1429: Girls just want to have RAM.

2013 January 17

Packard Bell 13″ computer – $25


Packard Bell 13″ monitor and tower -works great previously owned by a girl. Please call Marie xxx-xxx-xxxx

That’s right, this computer was previously owned by a GIRL! You know what that means! It means that there’s none of that icky stuff that BOYS do on computers, like … well, wait a minute. That may actually be a selling point after all.

The potential to upgrade the computer to Windows 3.1, however, is probably not as big of a draw.

Thanks, BF!

49 Responses leave one →
  1. 2013 January 17

    It was a sad day when Marie Cavanaugh, curator of the National Museum of Ancient Computing, had to deaccession some of the museum’s storied collection of Packard Bells.

    Adores: 8
    • 2013 January 17
      mud "static noise" slicker permalink

      Is Packard Bells anything like Tubular Bells? Because I’d bet this computer needs an exorcism.

      Adores: 7
      • 2013 January 17
        CapnMac permalink

        Ask not who tolls for thee,
        It tolls for Packard Bell Cannon in D
        <kaboom>
        [segue into crescendo of 1812 Overture]
        {refrigerator}

        Adores: 8
  2. 2013 January 17

    That’s… just the monitor. Don’t tell me this is one of those PEBCAKs who thinks the monitor IS the computer.

    Adores: 7
    • 2013 January 17

      The computer is on the back side of the photograph.

      Adores: 7
    • 2013 January 17
      DigitalAxis permalink

      The stereoscopic effect isn’t all that great, either.

      Adores: 5
      • 2013 January 17

        If you move your face close enough to the screen and cross your eyes so the two pictures overlap, it looks really, really blurry 3D!

        Adores: 7
    • 2013 January 17

      D’oh. There actually was a picture of the computer (sort of) — *this* PEBCAK posted the same picture twice.

      Fixed now, which will hopefully make your comment look like YOU’RE the idiot. šŸ˜‰

      Adores: 10
      • 2013 January 17
        Demon Duck of Doom permalink

        Still no keyboard, but it is compatible with most pianos.

        Adores: 6
        • 2013 January 17

          I hope it has a serial port because I need something that I can use to download all the fan mail from my microwave.

          Adores: 7
      • 2013 January 17
        mud "static noise" slicker permalink

        I thought that thing to the right of it was either the furnace or the vortex into Hell.

        Adores: 4
        • 2013 January 17
          Tankerbell permalink

          It is.

          Adores: 3
      • 2013 January 17

        That’s okay, I like looking like the idiot. It makes me feel “special”.

        Adores: 3
  3. 2013 January 17
    DigitalAxis permalink

    USEFUL descriptions, please!
    “previously owned by a girl” <- Not helpful
    "system is still humming along" <- Slightly more helpful
    "hard drive has been replaced with a wasp nest" <-Very helpful

    Adores: 8
    • 2013 January 17
      Dan permalink

      http://xkcd.com/325/

      Adores: 6
    • 2013 January 17

      Actually, if you look closely, you can see a sticker that proclaims, Anthill Inside.

      Adores: 6
    • 2013 January 18
      Kaziganthi permalink

      ā€œpreviously owned by a girlā€ <- Not helpful

      Of course this is helpful it means the buyer who has been holed up in his parents basement looking at pr0n online may get to meet an actual live girl*!

      *make and model may very, may not measure up to pr0n standards, may not be an actual girl.

      Adores: 0
  4. 2013 January 17
    Ralph permalink

    O’er the RAM parts we watched….

    Adores: 14
  5. 2013 January 17
    One Moving Violation permalink

    Let’s see.

    1. My 13″ Bell has been Packard.

    2. My tower works great and has been monitored.

    3. I’ve been previously owned by a girl.

    I’m 3 for 3, guess it’s time to call Marie.

    Adores: 6
    • 2013 January 17

      So that’s why you laugh at foot-long hot dogs. 8)

      Adores: 6
    • 2013 January 17
      Tankerbell permalink

      :tries to be discreet while sliding snarkalounger closer to OMV’s:

      Adores: 11
  6. 2013 January 17

    The only Packard for this GIRL: My Packard

    Adores: 6
    • 2013 January 17

      1933? You don’t look that old.

      Adores: 4
      • 2013 January 17

        Windy, I don’t have to be “that old” to appreciate a fine Packard do I?

        Adores: 4
        • 2013 January 17
          CapnMac permalink

          (resists overwhelming urges to make “straight 8” in-you-endo; fails; refrigerator)

          (considers braiding “Inuit”, “Intuit”, and “Innuendo” into clever nerd pun of geeky glee, but fails roll for Initiative.)

          Adores: 6
    • 2013 January 17
      One Moving Violation permalink

      Ooh, Yeah!

      Adores: 3
  7. 2013 January 17

    As we age, both girls and boys get Random Access Memory. Why, just the other day I went into the yard. True story.

    Why am I sitting at this keyboard?

    Adores: 8
    • 2013 January 17
      Tankerbell permalink

      Wow, Windy. That’s very.

      Adores: 8
  8. 2013 January 17
    Tankerbell permalink

    From what I can see, this looks like the same model as the first computer I had. No kidding. It was a 486 with dial up AOL (You’ve got mail) on a modem powered by the juice of a lemon.* And I’m a girl. You don’t suppose..

    *all but one of these things is true. And maybe all. That would explain why I would read a book while waiting for pages to load.

    Adores: 4
    • 2013 January 17
      CapnMac permalink

      [boring computer hemi-corey]
      Last time I had a 13″ CRT monitor, is was for a 386 (with 387 math co-processor).
      It was in a Pack-Bell case (swapped for that); but was components I assembled myself.
      Was a marvel, I went to some expense to increase it to 1024 bytes of RAM (an entire mega-byte, woohoo!). Paid extra to have a video card that was SVGA rather than EGA, and had, gasp, 256 bits of cache! Sixteen separate colors! Monitor was a 0.27 dot-pitch screen mask, too–none of those 0.29 “jaggies”!

      Saved my pennies and swapped out the external, serial port, 800 baud handset modem for, gasp, a Cardinal 1600 baud internal modem with its own RJ 7 phone jack–was high speed on the DOS-based IRC buletin Boards.

      Upgraded to WordStar 3.x, too–was a high-speed word processor.

      Heady days, having twice–2x!–the computing power of the LEM.

      Adores: 4
      • 2013 January 17
        mud "static noise" slicker permalink

        WordStar *snicker* XyWrite *snicker. Amber screen *my eyes*.

        Adores: 4
      • 2013 January 17
        One Moving Violation permalink

        Hey! I still use a CRT!

        Adores: 0
    • 2013 January 17
      SilvaNoir permalink

      I was able to do many more digital art pieces when I had dial-up. Oh the days when it took nearly a half-hour for a under 4 minute youtube video to be ready to view. Now that I have wi-fi I’m much less productive.

      Adores: 2
  9. 2013 January 17
    Demon Duck of Doom permalink

    Girl apparently didn’t want to have this much fun.

    Adores: 7
  10. 2013 January 17
    tigprincess permalink

    “Previously Owned By A Girl” = I hope I’ve wiped all the pron off the hard drive. I used a tissue and dribbled some bleach into the cup-holder.

    Adores: 5
  11. 2013 January 17
    Bombdude permalink

    Why thank you Llama-nun (BBUY), I’ll be hearing Cyndi in my head all day now… šŸ™

    Adores: 5
  12. 2013 January 17
    Brer Fox permalink

    I has a bummer!

    No, I don’t mean I has a hiney. Although I do, but we don’t need to talk about that.

    No, I don’t mean an orphaned lamb. Ewe should be ashamed to suggest that is the type of RAM involved here.

    I mean I can’t upgrade to win3.1 because somebody spilled coffee on my 3.5″ floppy…

    So I has a bummer.

    Adores: 4
    • 2013 January 17
      Bombdude permalink

      Just use the 5.25″! You can do the same job in twice the time!!!

      Adores: 8
      • 2013 January 17
        One Moving Violation permalink

        My first computer did not have a hard drive. It just came with a 5.25″ floppy. I took it home, set it up, put the disk in the drive, then erased the disk. I had to go back to the store so they could put the operating system back on the disk for me.

        So, no more 5.25″ floppies for me.

        Adores: 6
        • 2013 January 17
          LimeLolly permalink

          I thought they were only floppies ‘after’ they were used?

          I never understood computers.

          Adores: 8
        • 2013 January 17
          DigitalAxis permalink

          I presume that’s without horror stories of improperly designed computers accidentally wiping their own disks with little EMP blasts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleco_Adam), or software that had a decent chance of screwing up the filesystem?

          …I’m lucky to have missed those days. The worst I remember was, as a little tyke, putting a Commodore 64 data tape into my parent’s regular cassette tape drive to see what it would sound OH GOD THE EARSPLITTING NOISES

          Adores: 3
      • 2013 January 17

        BD, you work for the gubbermint too, don’t cha? Half the work in twice the time is tatooed on all the new workers I train.

        Adores: 6
  13. 2013 January 17

    Hark how the Bell
    My Packard Bell
    It has a tower
    I am a girl.
    Windows is here
    Bringing us near
    Previously great
    It’s not too late
    Oh how it hums
    Whistles and strums
    It’s not too old
    You must be bold
    My Bell’s a ringer
    A real humdinger
    Hard drive is sparkly
    My name is Sparky
    Don’t forget I am a girl
    Don’t forget I am a girl
    Hark Packard Bell
    My Packard Bell
    Ding….Dong…Ding…Dong…
    (Intel inside)

    Adores: 15
    • 2013 January 17
      mud "static noise" slicker permalink

      I love Beesmus songs!

      Adores: 4
    • 2013 January 17

      *looks up kc’s measurements for the inevitable box induction*

      Adores: 2
      • 2013 January 17
        Tankerbell permalink

        Raise your hand if you sang that softly aloud at your desk.
        :raises hand sheepishly: (baaa)

        Adores: 3
  14. 2013 January 18

    Hammy and Dave, put the gloves away, no more boxing. Punchity Punch Punch!

    Good Morning, PEBCAKs!

    Adores: 2

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