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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 04/10/2026

I also left a comment in response - just some extra context for everyone for a few things that came up. Nothing bad at all!

A screenshot of my YouTube comment in response to the video. I explain a bit more about why I started SHORK, my use of a modern 7.x kernel, and that there is an option to include SHORKGUI. I would much appreciate if Bluesky allowed alt texts as large as Mastodon's, as there, I was actually allowed just to copy the entire comment in so anyone could read it... But no - no nice things allowed! Sorry everyone.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 25/09/2026

#SHORK 486 #Linux now finally includes more than 1 game! New BSD Games (nbsdgames), a pack of 22 minigames such as battleships, checkers, jewels, reversi, minesweeper, etc., and the Tetris clone CTris! github.com/SharktasticA...

A photo of an IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486, showing the nbsdgames name entry screen.

A photo of an IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486, showing tmux running with SHORKFETCH in the left pane and nbsdgames' Mines game in the right pane.

A photo of an IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486, showing nbsdgames' Fisher game.

A photo of an IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486, showing nbsdgames' battleships game.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 21/09/2026

The last few days have seen #SHORK 486 #Linux's PCMCIA stack & config much improve! Here is my IBM ThinkPad 365ED online, tethered to my phone via a Xircom RE-100 connected to a Type-C USB hub with Ethernet (pretty much how I plan take SHORK online on trains, etc.) github.com/SharktasticA...

A photo of my IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486, showing tmux running with local SHORKFETCH on the left side and SHORKFETCH running on a remote server via SSH on the right side.

A photo of my IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486, showing tmux running with Vim in the left pane and Lynx in the right pane.

A photo of my IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486, showing GNU Midnight Commander running that is connected to my FTP server in the right pane.

A photo showing my phone's Type-C USB hub connected to my IBM ThinkPad 365ED's PCMCIA Ethernet card.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 01/09/2026

We may soon have DOS emulation on #SHORK 486! I compiled dosemu2 with the hope of at least providing a means to run DOS-era Word and WordPerfect. There are teething issues to work out like RAM usage and sound, and the question remains whether it runs acceptably on 486, but the first step is laid!

A screenshot of SHORK 486 running inside VMware Workstation. The terminal is split into two via tmux: the top window shows SHORKFETCH output, the bottom window shows dosemu2 running a basic FreeDOS system.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 31/08/2026

#Linux kernel 7.3-rc1 was just released, and yes, I've already patched 486, TSC-less 586 and x87 emulation support back in for #SHORK 486! I had a much easier time than doing so for 7.2! 😁

A screenshot of SHORK 486 with the new Linux kernel 7.3-rc1 running in 86Box.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 17/08/2026

#Linux kernel 7.2 has been released and is available with #SHORK 486! Naturally, I immediately 'punished' it with a 486SX and 8MiB RAM, and it still works rather nicely! With 7.2 now out, I'm giving myself a week to wrap up development of and release Public Test 1!

A screenshot of SHORK 486 with Linux kernel 7.2 running in a 86box virtual machine with a 486SX processor, 8MiB RAM and a generic IBM VGA display card.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 13/08/2026

Happy birthday to your bestie and the lil grey boxes that could ❤️ (lil for the time, of course!)

An IBM marketing photo showing a person in the foreground operating an IBM 5160 Personal Computer XT, and a person in the background operating an IBM 5150 Personal Computer whilst staring at an IBM 5152 Graphics Printer for some reason.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 03/08/2026

Happy 50th patent birthday to the IBM 327X-75 Model B Base Keyboard, the smol keyboard option for the IBM 3251 Graphics Display Station, 3276 Control Unit Display Station, 3278 Display Station, 3279 Color Display Station and 8775 Display Terminal! sharktastica.co.uk/topics/keybo...

A wallpaper rendition of the IBM 327X-75 Model B Base Keyboard's patent drawing.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 29/07/2026

#SHORK 486 #Linux can now include cURL, Lua & Tilde! GNU Emacs & micro are also under testing and should be available soon, pending optimisation. A #writerDeck centric edition of SHORK can now be built, which prioritises including text editors and fewer distractions. github.com/SharktasticA...

A screenshot of SHORK 486 running tmux with two panes open - one contains vi showing the source code of our test Lua file, the other showing SHORKFETCH output and said Lua file being intepreted by Lua.

A screenshot of SHORK 486 running the Tilde editor. It has open the text of my "the 70-year anniversary of two important IBM Selectric patents" article and Tilde's about box.

A screenshot of SHORK 486 running GNU Emacs. It has two panes open - one showing its welcome message, the other a test C source file containing a basic "hello world" type program.

A screenshot of SHORK 486 running the micro editor. It has two panes open - one showing a test C source file containing a basic "hello world" type program, the other micro's help information.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 22/07/2026

Took some up-to-date photos of #SHORK 486 #Linux on my #IBM #ThinkPad 365ED, demonstrating kernel 7.2-rc working with 486/586 support patched back in! More photos: ftp.sharktastica.co.uk/shork-linux/...

A photo of an IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486 after logging and running SHORKFETCH.

A photo of an IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486 with SHORKHELP's "Commands & programs list" open.

A photo of an IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486 with the SHORKMATRIX screensaver running. It is a "digital rain" screensaver where random characters are illuminated by falling blue/cyan droplets.

A photo of an IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486 with tmux "multiplexing" three "windows". The top-left window is running Vim and editing a C source file. The bottom-left window is running nano and editing a Gfortran source file. The right window has just compiled and run a C program with the Tiny C Compiler.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 17/07/2026

#SHORK 486 #Linux has finally got Vim! Wasn't so easy since it turns out it's a RAM hog on 486 levels of RAM... If you have 16MiB RAM + 16 swap, 24+8 or 32, it's fine. Otherwise, opening files that trigger syntax highlighting is too much... To fix, SHORK automatically creates a swapfile for Vim.

A screenshot of the Vim editor running on SHORK 486 inside a VMware virtual machine.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 16/07/2026

A productive start of the week for #SHORK 486 #Linux with Cscope, Ctags, dialog, Indent, Make & NASM compiled and tested! There was also "budget" to enable 33 new BusyBox coreutils. All can now be tried from the PT1 branch! Here are all the available commands on a Plus build as of tonight!

A screenshot of SHORKHELP running on SHORK 486 showing all the commands available as of the end of 15th July 2026.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 09/07/2026

#SHORK 486 #Linux will be getting some minesweeper! I found an interesting implementation, terminal-mines by Joel Ekström, that I forked, simplified given the target platform and added SHORK's visual cues. Available with SHORK soon! github.com/SharktasticA...

A screenshot of SHORKMINES on SHORK 486 showing a minesweeper game in progress.

A screenshot of SHORKMINES on my modern Linux system showing the game after I hit a mine ("BOOM").

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 03/07/2026

The #SHORK #Linux build script now has an option to configure SHORK 486 for serial console usage for you! Here's a demonstration of it...

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 01/07/2026

A quick demo of the WIP #SHORK INSTALLER (shorkstall). If your system is too old to boot a CD, you can at least use SHORK DISKETTE as a boot disk, mount the SHORK DISC CD with it, and still run shorkstall. Note: on real 486 hardware, it won't be as fast as this...

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 01/07/2026

#Linux #kernel 7.2-rc1 on #SHORK 486 now in testing with restored 586 and x87 math emulation support! SHORK DISC is now available for building and burning SHORK to a CD - just make sure you have an El Torito-compatible BIOS. SHORK DISC will soon serve as the basis for SHORK 486's installation media.

A screenshot of SHORK 486 with Linux kernel 7.2-rc1 running in 86Box configured with an Intel 486DX (top-left), and SHORK DISC running in VMware (bottom-right)

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 14/06/2026

#Linux #kernel 7.1 is out & can be built with #SHORK 486! 7.1 removes 486 support, some ISA & PCMCIA network drivers & IBM PC 110 trackpad driver - all of which are patched back in! github.com/SharktasticA... SHORK 486's first release is next week as I hope to expand testing and gauge more opinions!

A screenshot of SHORK 486 with Linux kernel 7.1.0 running in a 86Box virtual machine confirmed with an Intel 486SX processor and 12MiB system memory.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 07/06/2026

Yesterday, I attended a keyboard meetup in Bristol to fly the IBM/vintage flag! Naturally, I brought a venerable HAJ protector for the table! The ThinkPad displayed a continuous slideshow of other IBM keyboard/keyboard adjacent heritage! Photos of the event: ftp.sharktastica.co.uk/meetups/2026...

A photo of my table at the Bristol keyboard meeting, showing the 6 keyboards and 1 keypad I brought to demonstrate IBM keyboard history! From top-left clockside: 528X-83 type Model B, 122-key Model F, IBM 754x/756x/GEARBOX 800 Industrial Computer Keyboard (Model M), IBM USB RANPOS Keyboard (Model M9), IBM Space Saver II Keyboard with TrackPoint II and keypad (both Model M4-1), and IBM Wheelwriter 5 Keyboard (Model M).

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 04/06/2026

😔 Looks like the Model M MCANPOS & MPOS LCD keyboards have been retired, gone from TGCS's site. If true, it means we're down to just 3 Model Ms with buckling sleeve switches - original IBM ThinkPad keyboard descendents - left. 35 years of history at knife's edge. commerce.toshiba.com/wps/portal/m...

From top-left clockwise: IBM/Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Model M7-e Modular POS Keyboard, Model M8-e Modular POS LCD Keyboard, Model M-e Modular CANPOS Keyboard and Model M9-e Modular ANPOS Keyboard.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 19/05/2026

For my #Arch #Linux friends out there, shorkfetch (my shark-themed *fetch utility originally for SHORK 486) is now on AUR! Please give it a try and let me know what you think and if there any bugs or weird/overly verbose output! github.com/SharktasticA... aur.archlinux.org/packages/sho...

A screenshot of SHORKFETCH running inside four tmux panes showing various styles of output.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 11/05/2026

SHORK 486 #Linux can now be built with multi-user/password-protected support! About time I added this... I feel like we're getting close to a first release for wider testing/beta. I think the main thing missing now is a proper settings program... Soon! github.com/SharktasticA...

A screenshot of SHORK 486 logged in as root, ran shorkfetch, then ran adduser to create a new user called "kali".

A screenshot of SHORK 486 logged in as "kali", ran shorkfetch then demonstrated how it cannot edit/create inside the /root directory.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 03/05/2026

Been a hot minute! 🦈 SHORK 486 #Linux is now testing 7.1-rc kernels with 486 support re-added! SHORK 486 now also includes MicroPython, Lynx browser, sc-im spreadsheet editor with XLSX import/export, and mt-st for SCSI tape drives! c3270 and TN5250 for terminal emulation should be next up! 👀

A screenshot of SHORK 486 Linux running on 86Box with tmux open into four panels containing (top-left, clockwise) shorkfetch, sc-im, MicroPython and htop output.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 16/04/2026

I also just got tmux running on SHORK 486 Linux as I was about to head to bed! It should be committed tomorrow, pending some tidying up and optimisation! I've been trying to get this working properly for a hot minute, and thus am very chuffed that it is working now! 😁

A screenshot of SHORK 486 running tmux. A split screen is demonstrated, with a terminal prompt on the left, and GNU nano open the right.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 15/04/2026

SHORK 486 Linux now includes htop! 🦈

A screenshot of SHORK 486 running htop interactive process viewer

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 14/04/2026

And here is SHORK 486 Linux with kernel 7.0.0 on real hardware!

A photo of an IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486 with Linux kernel 7.0.0.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 13/04/2026

It is done, SHORK 486 Linux is now available with kernel 7.0.0! github.com/SharktasticA...

A screenshot of SHORK 486 running in 86Box VM with shorkfetch output showing it's running Linux kernel version 7.0.0.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 11/04/2026

I'm testing SHORK 486 Linux with kernel 7.0rc7! It kinda *just worked*, and naturally, I immediately threw it into the fire with 16MHz 486SX and just 7MB RAM... I'm amused at the prospect of this distro for a 1989 CPU having a newer kernel than most of the people reading this! 😆

A screenshot of SHORK 486 running in 86Box VM with shorkfetch output showing it's running Linux kernel version 7.0.0-rc7.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 07/04/2026

SHORK 486 Linux now inclues shorksay, my shark-themed homage to cowsay! You can also compile it for modern Linux too: github.com/SharktasticA...

A screenshot of shorksay running on SHORK 486 Linux, showing an example of a piped message (using date) and a custom message reading "Hello, this is a test of the very cute SHORKSAY! :3 A fun homage to cowsay, I hope you enjoy it!"

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 05/04/2026

cowsay you say? How about shorksay? Coming soon to SHORK 486!

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 03/04/2026

SHORK 486 Linux now has a spin on sl (steam locomotive) - shorklocomotive! Can also compile it yourself for modern Linux. Perhaps basic right now, I have more plans for it: custom colours, different shark species, and some sort of shark train for proper homage to the OG! github.com/SharktasticA...

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 27/03/2026

W700 + newly improved shorkfetch with cute SHORK ASCII art and colour accent support! github.com/SharktasticA...

A photo of my Lenovo ThinkPad W700 portable workstation running Debian 13 with Cinnamon desktop environment, showing shorkdir running in its terminal.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 14/03/2026

I made a dialog-based configurator for SHORK 486 Linux that makes it easier to tailor it to your needs. Don't need to look up and remember build script parameters and arguments! I just need to thoroughly test it and modify the README before I push it live. Probably tomorrow.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 10/03/2026

Happy 22nd birthday to the IBM PS/2 Travel Keyboard (SK-8840)! sharktastica.co.uk/wiki/8835-88...

A screenshot of Admiral Shark's Keyboards Keyboard Timeline feature showing the entry for IBM SK-8840 on its 22nd birthday!

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 28/02/2026

More SHORK 486 #Linux on an IBM #ThinkPad 365ED! github.com/SharktasticA...

A photo of an IBM ThinkPad 365ED opened flat and running SHORK 486 Linux with the output of shorkfetch shown.

A photo of an IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486

A photo of an IBM ThinkPad 365ED running SHORK 486 whilst its keyboard is lifted up

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 22/02/2026

SHORK 486 Linux has gained a new custom utility called shorkdir, a TUI file browser! I originally planned to use Rover for this purpose but didn't work out, so decided to DIY! You can build it for modern Linux if you wish. Note: I know it can flicker and I'm working on it! github.com/SharktasticA...

A screenshot of shorkdir running on SHORK 486 Linux, showing it navigated to my /usr/bin directory and listing all its contents.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 22/02/2026

IBM 3275/3277 Type A Keyboard, Micro Switch SW hall-effect based! A candidate for what may also be IBM Keyboard A/Model A. Type A (1971) was quickly supplanted by the very similar looking Model B-based (beam spring) Type B (~1973). Below is how to tell them apart. sharktastica.co.uk/topics/keybo...

A comparison of a Type A (top) and Type B (bottom) IBM 3275 & 3277 Display Station 66-key Keyboard. The shape of some keys are telling and are thus circled for easy comparison.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 21/02/2026

Yes, there are versions with a TrackPoint as well (Model M4-1). Just that Unicomp appeared to use "Mighty Mouse" as an umbrella branding for all of them. sharktastica.co.uk/resources/do...

An excerpt from a 2004 Unicomp product catalogue showing the Unicomp Mighty Mouse family and its specifications

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 21/02/2026

2002 Unicomp Model M4 Mighty Mouse without the mouse! This was their continuation of a lineage that began with 1991's IBM PS/2 L40 SX and its Model M3 buckling sleeve keyboard, that got adapted by Lexmark into a desktop keyboard (M4) later that year. sharktastica.co.uk/wiki/model-m4

A photo of the Unicomp Model M4 Mighty Mouse keyboard from the top

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 17/02/2026

shorkfetch (the Linux *fetch utility for SHORK 486) has been spun off into its own repo! It was originally a bash script, but due to abysmal performance on 486 hardware, I rewrote it in C! If you want a minimal *fetch utility, give it a shot! github.com/SharktasticA...

A screenshot of shorkfetch running on SHORK 486

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 08/02/2026

Did you get this notification?

A screenshot of SHORK 486's upcoming SHORKGUI running on emulated 486SX hardware

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 27/01/2026

@pocketunix.bsky.social I hope you can appreciate the shorkoff utility with the red ASCII shark and turn off message! I was going for Windows 9x shutdown message vibes, although the ASCII escape code palette I'm stuck with right now does not have an orange like the OG. It will do for now.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 27/01/2026

[2/2] There was some headaches though. SYSLINUX has a bug where it uses the wrong register for a fallback memory detection test when e820 is invalid/unavailable. It prevented booting on certain devices, including this 365ED. Thanks to akeym on Discord for finding it! github.com/SharktasticA...

A photo of my IBM ThinkPad 365ED notebook computer running SHORK 486 and showing lsblk, df and free output

A photo of my IBM ThinkPad 365ED notebook computer running SHORK 486 and Emacs (well, Mg).

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 27/01/2026

[1/2] 1995 ThinkPad running a 2025 Linux kernel! Testing SHORK 486 on real hardware is progressing. Now I get to use this fantastic IBM Model M6-1 buckling sleeve keyboard with a modern OS without orphaning the laptop! This has been a dream for 7 years and I'm buzzing that it's within my grasp!

A photo of my IBM ThinkPad 365ED notebook computer running SHORK 486 and showing its shorkfetch output.

A photo of my IBM ThinkPad 365ED notebook computer running SHORK 486 and showing the shorkoff halt tool.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 26/01/2026

SHORK 486 and a 2025 Linux kernel release running on 8MB RAM, a sight to behold! I'm not gonna lie, there is not much free memory to work with lol. But hey, this is a cool proof of concept. Can it go any lower... 🤔

A screenshot of SHORK 486 running in 86Box and given only 8MB system memory to work with.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 22/01/2026

SHORK Mini has been renamed SHORK 486! This smol Linux is coming along nicely and friends have been testing it on lots of devices (especially ThinkPads), even if its not 486-based! The rename is due to plans for a SHORK 386 and 686 after this - I want to do more! github.com/SharktasticA...

A photo of SHORK 486 running on a Lenovo ThinkPad R60 and an IBM ThinkPad T40.

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