Unusual computers / Operating systems

[TheMunch]

Have you ever run across computers that were hardware or software-wise unusual?

I'm quite interested in technology, that's why I've got a whole bunch of not-so ordinary machines standing around at home.

I own quite a few Silicon Graphics workstations (O2, Octane, Fuel), which are great fun to play around with due to the unusual proprietary design (MIPS-CPUs coupled with the company's own high-end graphics and IRIX OS). Also the design rocks!
Other unusual computers of mine include two IBM pSeries running AIX and a Sun Server with Solaris on it.

[rostheferret]

I helped a guy try to use his old graphics card as a deep fat fryer once. We had marginal success. On the plus side, the graphics card seemed to work as well as it would normally and it happily - if slowly - cooked the chips in the take away dish of oil. On the negative side, he could no longer start his PC without that graphics card smoking (though oddly, it seemed to work fine, and he was planning to upgrade anyway or we wouldn't have tried it), the smell of chips would become a permanent resident of his room and perhaps the worst loss, we got caught up playing a game and the chips ended up overcooking to the point of being inedible.

Does this count?

[TheMunch]

I guess it does

[tomoya-kun]

My friend and I tried to build he cheapest possible PC, I've got a 100w PSU and something like a 100mhz processor in a cardboard box running windows 3.1.  I'll try and post a pic sometime

[halfelite]

I have tons of mips/arm based dev boards but most of them usually run stripped down embedded linux

[billlanam]

There were Lisp Machines made in the 1980s.

[Pentium100]

Well, I only have x86 computers, but two of them might be not that common - one is a dual processor workstation-like PC (my main PC) and the other is a server (Siemens Primergy N400) with 3 CPUs (and an empty slot for a fourth one) and 3 power supplies.

Oh, and a 100MHz PC can run Windows 98. I know, because I managed to do that on my 486DX 50MHz/16MB RAM laptop.

[vuzedome]

My 98 ran on 200MHz.

[rostheferret]

I know my boss still has a 14 year old PC that he uses at home, though I've not seen it

If our 8 year old one is 600mhz, 512meg RAM and has 8gig HDD space, what must his be like?

[Mcgreag]

My Amiga 500 with Workbench 3.1, 5mb ram and 120mb harddrive can probably be seen as bit unusual considering the standard spec was Workbench 1.3, 0.5mb ram (often upgraded to 1mb but not more) and no harddrive, at best maybe an extra floppy drive and if a harddrive then probably the A590 with just 20mb space.

That's a 21 years old computer that is still running btw.

[x5ga]

I still have a working home-made "computer" similar to a ZX Spectrum 128. It runs Sinclair BASIC and can read off its "tape drive"...

[Sosseres]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Compubeaver---%3E-How-to-case-mod-a-beaver---in-29-e/ Though that isn't really an unusual computer, just an unusual case. :/

[TheMunch]

A...beaver...*speechless*

[sdedalus83]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Compubeaver---%3E-How-to-case-mod-a-beaver---in-29-e/ Though that isn't really an unusual computer, just an unusual case. :/

"I had to eat out a beaver to get this case."

[killazys]

http://www.sustainable-computer.com/