90s

ATI All-in-Wonder PRO (1997)

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I was a big fan of All-in-Wonder cards back in the late-90s. ‘Multimedia’ was a big thing back then and ATI responded with the concept of a single card combining 2D/3D/video acceleration, TV-in/out and a TV tuner. This card allowed me to record and encode full PAL resolution in real time on a standard 266-MHz Pentium II PC. This one was based on the ATI Rage Pro chipset so it was not very good for 3D games. In following years, I had also All-in-Wonder cards based on Rage 128 Pro, Radeon and Radeon 8500DV. The last of them added also two Firewire 400 ports and a remote control. I loved it.

There is no demand for such things today. Almost nobody cares about the built-in TV input capability in PCs. In 2010, it was possible to buy a multimedia laptop with an integrated TV tuner and remote control. There were plenty of them (especially with 17.3 and 18.4-inch screens), but there is none today.

One day at Hewlett Packard in 1991

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After many years, I decided to share this video because of its historical value. I’ve realized that it wouldn’t find its way to the Internet if I didn’t upload it by myself. The video shows an on-site technician team from Germany doing its job – fixing minicomputers and terminals in large industrial buildings. I would like to experience the atmosphere of the good old HP.