Creative Nomad IIc: When Music Was Still Physical
In this blast from the past review/retrospective, I take a look at my personal "holy grail" of an MP3 player from the year 2000!
#Retrospectives #Reviews #MP3Players #nostalgia #2000s #windows98 #IBMAptiva #retro
gardinerbryant.com/creative-nom...
A vintage computing setup is displayed on a beige desk, featuring two desktop towers side by side: on the left is an IBM Aptiva 2153-E2U from 1998, and on the right is a silver Shuttle XPC cube from the early 2000s. The IBM Aptiva sports a beige tower case with a floppy drive and a CD-ROM drive, connected to an IBM CRT monitor. The CRT displays the Windows 98 Second Edition desktop with a red tiled background and numerous nostalgic icons, including Midtown Madness, Driver, SimCity 2000, Stronghold, Zuma Deluxe, and Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0. To its right, the Shuttle XPC is a compact, silver cube-shaped PC, connected to an HP f1905 LCD monitor showing a blue-filtered Windows XP desktop, with the f.lux software likely dimming the screen to reduce eye strain. Desktop icons include Microsoft Office 2003, Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, Need for Speed: Underground, Zoo Tycoon 2, SimCity 4, SimCity Societies: Destinations, Zuma Deluxe, and Luxor. The front panel of the Shuttle includes an LG DVD-RW drive, floppy drive, two USB ports, audio jacks, a FireWire port, and the power/reset buttons with blue LED indicators. It also bears an Intel Pentium 4 Hyper-Threading sticker. Internally, it’s equipped with a 2.8GHz Northwood Pentium 4, 2GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 GPU. Each system has its own keyboard: the IBM Aptiva uses a classic beige Dell keyboard and mouse, while the Shuttle setup features a Compaq-branded black and grey keyboard and a black Microsoft optical mouse on a wrist-rest pad. In the centre foreground sits a closed modern black Lenovo ThinkPad laptop, with three stickers that came out of a SteelSeries box. The workspace is in an unfinished basement with pink fiberglass insulation and unfinished wall framing visible in the background.
The same two PCs on the same desk as before—an IBM Aptiva 2153-E2U from 1998 on the left and a silver Shuttle XPC cube from the early 2000s on the right. Both machines are currently running the classic arcade puzzle game Zuma Deluxe, with the gameplay screens showing the same spiral level filled with colourful chains of marbles spiralling toward the centre, where a stone frog launches new marbles to match colours. The IBM Aptiva is connected to a beige IBM CRT monitor displaying the game with a slight curvature and soft scanline glow. In front of it is an equally beige Dell keyboard and mouse. The Shuttle XPC is paired with an HP f1905 LCD monitor, showing a brighter and crisper version of the same Zuma Deluxe level. This setup includes a retro-style Compaq keyboard with white and black keycaps and a black Microsoft optical mouse resting on a padded wrist-support mousepad. The Shuttle’s front panel shows power and HDD LEDs glowing blue, and features an LG DVD-RW drive, floppy drive, USB, audio ports, and a FireWire port. In the foreground of the desk, centered between the two retro PCs, is a closed modern Lenovo ThinkPad laptop with a matte black finish. Three orange and white stickers from a SteelSeries product box are placed on its lid. The workspace backdrop includes unfinished pink and white fiberglass insulation on the walls and a gray curtain on the left, reinforcing the hobbyist, tech-enthusiast basement vibe.
Look at these two! I love running more than one computer at a time! #retropc #oldpc #retrocomputer #oldcomputer #nostalgia #90snostalgia #2000s #2000snostalgia #90snostalgia #zuma #zumadeluxe #ibm #ibmaptiva #shuttle #shuttlexpc
A beige IBM Aptiva 2153-E2U desktop computer from 1998 is set up on a desk, paired with a matching IBM CRT monitor. The computer tower features a horizontal CD drive at the top, a floppy disk drive, and a power button, along with an original IBM Aptiva sticker near the bottom detailing the model and specs. The adjacent CRT monitor displays the Windows 98 Second Edition desktop, with the System Properties window open. It shows that the system is registered to “Richie” under the humorous business name “Uh… no?”, and lists the manufacturer as IBM Corporation. The hardware specs confirm it’s running on an AMD K6-2 processor at 333MHz with 192MB of RAM, and an ATI Rage 128 graphics card. The desktop background features a repeating red geometric tile pattern. Numerous era-appropriate desktop icons are visible, including games and software such as Midtown Madness, Driver, Test Drive Off-Road 2, Need for Speed: High Stakes, Zuma Deluxe, Stronghold, SimCity 2000, SimCity 3000, SimCity Urban Renewal Kit, Rally Championship, Zoo Tycoon, 3D Ultra Pinball 3, and educational software like Type to Learn 3 and The Canadian Encyclopedia. Also on the desktop is a shortcut to Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0. The monitor is resting on a beige desk, in front of pink fibreglass insulation and unfinished walls typical of an unfinished basement workspace. A black and grey keyboardl, peeks in from the right edge of the image. Overall, the scene captures a fully functional vintage late-90s IBM PC setup, complete with authentic software and personalized touches.
I just realized I haven't talked about this one yet! My most recent #90s #1990s acquisition! An #ibm #aptiva #ibmaptiva 2153-E2U from 1998! AMD k6-2 at 333MHz, 192MB RAM, and ATI Rage 128 graphics! It runs #zuma well! #amd #amdk6 #ati #atirage #atirage128 #retropc #oldpc #retrocomputer #oldcomputer
A retro computer setup in a basement room with exposed insulation on the wall. On the left is a beige IBM Aptiva tower connected to a matching IBM CRT monitor, which displays the puzzle game Zuma Deluxe. In the center is an old Dell mechanical keyboard and a black coffee mug with cream-colored coffee inside. To the right is a white Apple iMac G4, playing an episode of Family Guy featuring the character Lois Griffin. A white Apple keyboard and mouse are placed in front of it, with a stack of CD jewel cases nearby. An IKEA lamp is sitting on top of the Aptiva, and the workspace has a nostalgic, early-2000s tech vibe.
Managed to get up earlier than usual, so this is how I spent my morning! #familyguy #retropc #oldpc #vintagepc #oldcomputer #retrocomputer #vintagecomputer #ibm #ibmaptiva #imac #imacg4 #windows98 #90snostalgia #2000snostalgia #zumadeluxe #zuma
