The Top Ten Worst Computers of All Time! [Archive]

Peter Paltridge

04-06-2007, 02:01 PM

http://tech.msn.com/products/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4594343&GT1=9332 (http://tech.msn.com/products/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4594343&GT1=9332)

See #8? That one's mine. I feel special....

And yes, it does have a fan that sounds like a lawnmower and it DOES turn itself on--in fact, it can no longer be turned off; selecting "shut down" has the same effect as "restart." I have to shut off the power strip to turn it off now, but that's not a big deal. It's lasted for eight years and it does what I need it to do.

The Google Ads on the site are going to a new-computer fund, but at a buck a day, it's still going to be a while. Rest in the knowledge that just about everything you've read on this site was created on one of the worst computers of all time.

Lord Dalek

04-06-2007, 02:08 PM

Peter Paltridge

04-06-2007, 02:24 PM

Well, it was my parents' compy before it was mine.

Probably the absolute worst thing about it was the three years of involuntary Compuserve that was required in the purchase. You know how terrible AOL is? They own Compuserve and treat it like their ******* cousin. Compuserve would take about ten minutes to log onto and the connection would always time out without warning.

But the Tandy TRS-80, my VERY first computer, had to be the worst (and it's not even on the list). You really couldn't do anything with it. It was fine for Alec and Shanna, but those kids were brain-damaged.

Gokou Ruri

04-06-2007, 02:30 PM

Dang,

The first modern (non-dos based) PC my family guy was a #1. Then we got a #10... now I have a custom built PC all my own.

Hipposquid

04-06-2007, 08:02 PM

I have a #10 and yes it does suck and I hate it but I really have no choice in the matter.

Lord Dalek

04-06-2007, 11:56 PM

Its lists like these that remind me why I can't stand factory built computers (my parents have a #10 btw and its hilarious what you can't do with it). Generic case homebrew all the way.

Tay the Cat

04-07-2007, 12:08 AM

I used to own #8. Ironically we experienced no problems with it.

We also owned #1 WAY back in the day.

Peter Paltridge

04-07-2007, 12:22 AM

Its lists like these that remind me why I can't stand factory built computers (my parents have a #10 btw and its hilarious what you can't do with it). Generic case homebrew all the way.
That's fine if you know what you're doing. But I wouldn't even know where to begin. I just want somethin' that supports high resolutions of art, is fast, cheap, picks up the wi-fi in the house, lasts a long time, and burns DVDs. Being handed a pile of disassembled parts and having to connect them all correctly is not something I could do.

J. B. Warner

04-07-2007, 01:32 AM

I was hoping I'd avoid being stuck with one of the nominees, and as luck would have it, mine is right up there at number 10. Although personally, I've never had any "power supply" issues, so I don't know what they're talking about - the only time this thing ticks me off is when I have too many programs running at once and it takes forever to do something simple like minimize a window.

And it's worth mentioning that #5 was my family's first computer ever. Damn, did that thing not work.

Dynamite XI

04-07-2007, 01:40 AM

J. B. Warner

04-07-2007, 01:48 AM

Heh, we had a #1 for several years. It ran Windows 95 and had a screechy dial-up modem. No internet, but we had free Juno e-mail and a few decent games.

Man, it was a miserable computer, though. After a while the calculator was the only program that didn't stall.

Come to think of it, my dad's current home model is a Packard Bell. I haven't used it in a while, but if my sister's testimony is to be believed, it hasn't worked in over a year (apparently, you can turn it on, but none of the programs respond).

Chris Wood

04-07-2007, 03:04 AM

This list is BS. The Commodore Vic-20? The TI-99? We're talking classics here. At least they didn't dare touch the Apple IIE.

Lord Dalek

04-07-2007, 09:54 PM

Come to think of it, my dad's current home model is a Packard Bell. I haven't used it in a while, but if my sister's testimony is to be believed, it hasn't worked in over a year (apparently, you can turn it on, but none of the programs respond).Y2K anyone?

mojokingbee1

04-08-2007, 12:53 PM

I come close to #10, I have a Dell Dimension 4700.

J. B. Warner

04-09-2007, 03:14 PM

I was hoping I'd avoid being stuck with one of the nominees, and as luck would have it, mine is right up there at number 10. Although personally, I've never had any "power supply" issues, so I don't know what they're talking about - the only time this thing ticks me off is when I have too many programs running at once and it takes forever to do something simple like minimize a window.

Disregard - upon closer inspection, I have a Dell Dimension 2400, not a 4800. In case it isn't obvious, my dad bought this thing for me.

Patchwork

04-09-2007, 10:14 PM

Heh, we had a #1 for several years. It ran Windows 95 and had a screechy dial-up modem. No internet, but we had free Juno e-mail and a few decent games.

Man, it was a miserable computer, though. After a while the calculator was the only program that didn't stall.

A Packard was our first computer; it stuck around for about six years, and was practically dead for two of those. Then again, we never really need it it for much besides running bad CD games, Paint, Word, and surfing on a screechy modem. It simply up and died one day for no apparent reason. It sits sadly in the guest room now, collecting dust waiting for the day my dad gets around to "fixing it".

Though, now I'm glad to know that it was probabaly just a crap computer, and no fault of my own.

takineko

04-10-2007, 01:37 PM

lol, that was a fun read.
They didn't say what was really all that terrible about the Barbie computer other than it was ugly. I will assume it lacked in many areas.

J. B. Warner

04-10-2007, 08:35 PM

lol, that was a fun read.
They didn't say what was really all that terrible about the Barbie computer other than it was ugly. I will assume it lacked in many areas.

It's a Barbie-themed computer. What more reason do you need?

takineko

04-10-2007, 10:38 PM

It's a Barbie-themed computer. What more reason do you need?

This is truth.

EinBebop

04-10-2007, 10:54 PM

My first PC was a PS/1. It had a meg of memory and a whopping 30 megs of memory.

Then i upgraded to a Packard Bell. Never had an issue with it; I still remember how proud I was after I did a memory upgrade and then invited my friends over to show them how I could run Doom... in Windows!

J. B. Warner

04-11-2007, 11:05 AM

My first PC was a PS/1. It had a meg of memory and a whopping 30 megs of memory.

Wait, what?

EinBebop

04-11-2007, 04:51 PM

Oops, meant 30 megs of hard drive space.

Peter Paltridge

04-12-2007, 03:49 PM

http://tech.msn.com/products/articlepcw.aspx?cp-documentid=4679864&GT1=9332

Looks like I've also owned the second best electronic product of all time--Apple II. Talk about contrast....

The Avatar

04-21-2007, 05:21 PM

lol, that was a fun read.
They didn't say what was really all that terrible about the Barbie computer other than it was ugly. I will assume it lacked in many areas.
I've seen ugly computers, but that computer was more then ugly. It was practically vomit-inducing. It was just putrid.

Peter Paltridge

04-22-2007, 02:48 AM

I've been going through a large stack of videotapes from 1993 for the For Portlanders Only archive....and every time I see a computer for sale, no matter where it is, it's an IBM PS/1.

I don't think this computer was avoidable. If you wanted a PC in '93, this was apparently your only choice.