There's something satisfying about defragging that has been lost to time. Like oiling a squeaky engine

I agree. It may sound elitist but back then you need to understand a few concepts to use a computer. From simple things like a filesystem (folders, file, different file types, things my 19 years old nephew don't know), to how to install software, how to download software (!) and then things even a bit more technical: an operative system, how it works, booting, drivers, etc.

Now everything is just easier (which is better for most people!) but I miss the old days.

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jlarocco a day ago | parent [-]

I've said the same thing about using Linux.

20 years ago if somebody told you they used Linux it really meant something - they weren't running WSL, they weren't running a VM in EC2, they probably didn't power on and immediately have things working, and they probably learned a ton just getting to a login screen for the first time. Spinning up a VM just doesn't give the same learning experience.

	▲	pir8life4me 11 hours ago \| parent [-]
		You had to recompile a kernel module to support your dang modem and network card or no networking. X11 was a royal pain cuz there was no it just works desktops. Package mgmt was a nightmare and dependency based managers like yellow dogs APT and nonexistent redhats rpm didn't exist. More like than not you had to compile some random a55 tarball from src and hoped ./configure && make && make all would work or spend hours on USENET looking for solutions (or mailing lists!).

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slig a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Degaussing too.

	▲	rbanffy a day ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I once worked with a gigantic Apple (Sony, really) monitor on my desk. Every time I turned it on, it degaussed the monitors nearby. So many of us spent so much time staring at the barrel of a particle accelerator.
	▲	gaudystead a day ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		I was going to comment this same thing until I saw yours. I miss degaussing... Especially after holding a magnet to the CRT to get it to display fun colors it wasn't meant to and crossing your fingers that the degauss would fix the damage you'd wrought.
	▲	koalalimpo a day ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Beuunnnnng

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walrus01 a day ago | parent | prev [-]

That and many desktop PCs making a kind of grinding noise from the floppy drive on start up, along with the bios "BEEP", as the default boot order option was to seek booting from A: (and possibly B:) floppy drives before the hard drive.