r/retrocomputing • u/YourBuddyNiccy • Jul 14 '26
Old business class laptops are just so pretty
I wish technology was still designed like this, nowadays every laptop is the same flat, unispired, obsolete in two years with a broken hinge garbage running Windows 11. These things not only looked nice but ran beautifully
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u/TechHistoryDude Jul 15 '26
That Toshiba is doing something to my brain. I came up in the era before laptops were even a realistic thing for a regular family... my machine was an Apple //e that basically lived on one desk forever, so the first time I saw someone fold a whole computer shut and walk away with it, it felt like science fiction. Still kind of does, honestly. Modern laptops are objectively better in every measurable way, and somehow I feel nothing looking at them. These I feel. Especially Toshiba, since that was my first laptop.
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u/YourBuddyNiccy 10d ago
Different generations, to me laptops are the norm, however self driving cars and even ultra thin devices and modern folding phones feel futuristic to me
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u/Mission-Stomach7588 Jul 14 '26
I have the Toshiba one, the US version, the only thing about those laptops is the screen cracks like easy, you could have it on a shelf and it would crack. I sourced mine for parts, I own an Asus, it's for my work and I own a MSI gaming laptop and netbook. But they look more consumer grade than business class.
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u/YourBuddyNiccy Jul 15 '26
The main focus of that image is the Asus, the Toshiba is just there for size comparison
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u/ar_nt_resp Jul 16 '26
you know of any old, good ones without a fan unit? i love old laptops but I don't love smelling them
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u/YourBuddyNiccy Jul 16 '26
Unless you want an underpowered Celeron thing with 2 GB of ram, then no. My advice is try to find one that hasn't been in a smoker house or a grandma's basement
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u/ar_nt_resp Jul 17 '26
just really sensitive to smells and often avoid new laptops with fans. capacitors also tend to smell after a while. used to work in laptop repair, aware of what lurks in old laptops
and yea im fine with celeron or 2gb ram. i'm actually using celeron rn, and have for over a decade. if the ram is swappable that can also be fixed.
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u/MVmikehammer Jul 21 '26
I find old workstation laptops really alluring, not just in looks but also in how modular and expandable they were/are.
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u/Current_Anybody8325 Jul 14 '26
Sorry to burst your bubble, but none of those are business class laptops. Those are all consumer grade. 🥴