iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

This hobby keeps getting more expensive. Devices that used to sell by the boxload are suddenly being listed as "rare" or "vintage" with exorbitant prices. What used to coat $20 is now listed for $80 🥹

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This is My car doctor from STI International, the world's first handheld vehicle OBDII scan tool. The software runs on the TRG pro, a rare PalmIS device that adds features like removable storage to the OG Palm. Amazingly, this combo still works, but definitely struggles to read newer cars.

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There was always something incredibly impressive about the mid 80s portable computer. This Sharp PC-1246 has a tiny, almost unusable display, but a wonderfully well designed little dock that adds a cassette deck and printer. This one was used by a life insurance sales person.

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One of the downsides of collecting so many gadgets is the need to save different storage devices. From MMC to Smartmedia to Memorystick: my drawer of storage cards keeps getting fuller.

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scottsgear.com @scottsgear.com · 27/09/2026

Something shady for the Sunday morning: the Speedtest powered speed test on att.com consistently shows my 2G Xfinity Internet speeds at half those on the Speedtest site or app. Either their test is configured poorly, or they try to make you feel like you are not getting your money's worth.

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This is the #Ericsson GH197 "Hotline" from 1993, the second GSM handheld from the Swedish phone giant. It features their distinctive flip-up rubber antenna and a chunky battery. Even though it lacks a phonebook, it has audio components from Bang and Olufsen,

This gorgeous piece of Swiss handywork is my #Swatch "The Beep", a numeric #POCSAG #pager sold in Europe in 1993. Look closely at the face and you'll see the antenna wires running across. This was also right at the dawn of GSM phone popularity in Europe, so The Beep was relatively short lived.

Don't make the same mistake I just made: stupid me forgot that SMA comes in male and female. I plugged the wrong antenna into a pricey SDR board and killed it. Thankfully it just needs a new 0603 SMD fuse and SMA connector. Don't be like me!

Who here is old enough to remember the pesky dongle? Almost every road warrior had am assortment of PCMCIA cards and dongles for network, modem, phone, and more. Thankfully, Xircom fixed that with their Realport card: finally full size jacks without the need for a dongle!

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This is the #Kyocera 7135 #PalmOS #smartphone. Released a year after the first Treo Smartphone, this slick device opted for the traditional Graffiti text input method over the hardware keyboard of the Treo. Its display was a meager 160x160 pixels, and it predates faster 3G EVDO network support.

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Evolution of a few of my #Ericsson phones. To me, these are some of the best handsets ever made. I'm especially proud of the woodgrain phone, a mod I performed back in 1995!

This is the genesis of Palm PDA's: the 1996 Palm Pilot 1000. Launched at $299 by modem maker US Robotics, the original Palm Pilot was an instant hit. Apps started appearing, new accessories were added, and within 18 months, they sold one million units. #PalmOS #PDA #retrogadget

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Remember Cuecat? Those of you not old enough to have owned one of these: this barcode scanner allowed you to scan codes printed in magazines that took you to advertisers websites. Think QR codes, but for the 2000 bubble. Millions were handed out for free. Huge flop of course.

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Long before companies like Insta360 released their amazing cameras, I shot a revolutionary 360 video from a cockpit using 5 GoPro Hero 3 cameras and a special rig. Stitching this all together took 3 hours to render. #AvGeek #Cockpit #360video

This behemoth is the Imate JasJar from August 2005, one of the largest PocketPC devices ever made. Also known as the HTC Universal, this giant features a swiveling screen, dual cameras (very unique at the time), WiFi, Bluetooth, SD card slot, and support for 3G GSM networks.

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Fresh from Japan: The Sharp Zaurus SL-5000D, #PDA. This was the first ever PDA sold running Linux (Qtopia-based Embedix Plus). Unique features include a slide-out keyboard and the ability to be expanded with a *video capture card*, camera, and a wired music player. The device has CF and SD slots.

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My box of unsorted #MP3 players. These are all awaiting testing and adding to my catalog of #gadgets. At this rate, it'll take me at least another year till they are included 😁

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Before the smartphone camera, there was the #Ericsson CommuniCam from 2001. This add-on camera allowed you to snap a (crappy) photo and send as an MMS. On the popular Ericsson T68m, you could even snap a photo and set it as your background image, something totally unique to the market at the time.

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Way back in 2014, I wrote a whitepaper for the aviation industry to determine whether "head mounted displays" could ever be a viable option for Inflight entertainment. We flew a private jet around for three hours testing 6 different headsets. Conclusion? Nope 👎 #IFE #inflight #AvGeek #Aviation

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Still high of the sweet success of the Zip and Jazz drives, Iomega tried to score one more hit with Clik! (Later renamed to Pocket Zip). These tiny spinning discs supported an mp3 player, PCMCIA, and a parallel port drive. Of course, it couldn't compete with flash storage and died within a year.

One of the biggest perks of flying on the company 737? Sitting in the #jumpseat up front. #AvGeek #Aviation #Cockpitview

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One of the biggest perks of flying on the company 737? Sitting in the #jumpseat up front. #AvGeek #Aviation #Cockpitview

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One of the biggest perks of flying on the company 737? Sitting in the #jumpseat up front. #AvGeek #Aviation #Cockpitview

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One of the most underappreciated innovations in the past decade: USB-C. Before we had this single connector on almost every device, you had a different damn cable for each of your gadgets. Think about that next time you charge your stuff!

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I stumbled on some old screenshots of my aviation apps. Quite impressive to see just how far the user interface has come, and how clunky these early #iOS and #Android apps were. #AvGeek #Aviation

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Way back in 2014, I shot one of the world's first 360 videos of a flight inside a cockpit. This predates cameras from Insta360 and others. My setup consisted of 5 GoPro Hero 3 cameras in a rig, and a 13 hour render session to stitch them all together. #AvGeek #Aviation

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There is something incredibly satisfying about popping 2 fresh batteries into a 32 year old Palm Pilot and having it spring back to life, just like the day you bought it. #pda #palm #retrogear #gadget #graffiti

Here is some amazing #AvGeek technology from 1989: what is probably the earliest example of an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) allowing pilots to plan their route, find waypoints, calculate fuel consumption and even run through their pre-flight checklist.

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When you find yourself without a cell signal, you turn to the extreme: This is my #Inmarsat #BGAN satellite terminal. 492 Kbps data and voice over analog and ISDN! Connecting to one of the BGAN satellites is surprisingly simple: turn it on, and point it until you hear the loudest beep.

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How many of you remember the 2008 Peek email device? These were primarily sold at Target, and were the poor kids version of a Blackberry. They were email-only, cost just $99 with an $8/month subscription. I was a huge fan, and wrote one of the earliest reviews for AOL.

Play And Spin Entertainment Center, Niles, IL

Is anyone in the #Chicagoland area looking for some great videogame machines, go-carts, laser tag, inflatables, or other cool arcade equipment? One of our local joints is closing and has everything up for auction:

grafeauction.com

Play And Spin Entertainment Center in Niles, Illinois, is selling its arcade games and attractions, including Virtual Rabbids: The Big Ride, Fast & Furious

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One of my most memorable flights ever: Private 737 trip from Sugar Grove > Portland > Gander > Shannon > Stansted > Athens > Borg El Arab > Sharjah. One of only 2 pax on board testing satellite internet. #AvGeek #Aviation

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Computer Chronicles Revisited @deviledeggpress.com · 23/09/2026

My first #Concorde flight BA001 LHR-JFK on 30 July 2000, 5 days after the devastating AF4509 crash in Paris. Our pilot took the time to inform us that he'd flown thousands of uneventful trips on her. Photos snapped on my Canon Digital Ixus. #AvGeek

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Reposted by scottsgear.com

My September newsletter on the "Computer Chronicles" 1989 coverage of #AI came in at around 8,500 words—or in Imperial units, not even half a @edzitron.com newsletter. www.computerchronicles.blog/computer-chr...

computerchronicles.blog

Computer Chronicles Revisited 138

Download the September 2026 issue, where The Computer Chronicles discusses artificial intelligence

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Seeing you at #vcfmw was definitely a pleasant surprise. Nice to catch up with you as always!

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I'll take "things LGR has in common with my wife" for $100 please.

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scottsgear.com @scottsgear.com · 21/09/2026

Newest #AvGeek addition to the collection: A GTE Airfone. These were found on hundreds of planes in the US connected to the Airfone network on the ground. Note the credit card reader on the handset... How many of you made a $4.99/min call using one of these?

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This is the first tech article I ever wrote: it appeared in Dutch ecommerce magazine eMerce in the summer of 1998. In it, I review the hottest portable tech you could buy at the time: The #Nokia 8110, The Dell Latitude CPi, the HP Jornada 620LX, and an HP Deskjet Portable. #retrogadgets #gear

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Of all the cool tech showcased in the early 2000s, none proved to be more of a disappointment than the "laser projection keyboard". On paper it sounds fantastic, until you realize that tapping away on a hard table for hours at a time is really, really annoying 🤣

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This month is the 18th anniversary of #Android. From that very first device announced in September 2008 (the HTC designed T-Mobile G1 "Dream"), things have definitely come a long way. The first years of Android were really exciting, with innovative phones like the Nexus One, and Motorola Droid.

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I'm one of the biggest fans of everything #Nokia did, but even I felt that this thing was just a bit loopy. No matter how often you used it, getting used to the circular keypad was just too hard! #retrophone #vintagegadget