The desk is all wrong too.
It needs to be something like this
https://images.app.goo.gl/M6SfJxchExWDtDi38
Coupled with lots of yelling in the background from your parents to your siblings for their shitty grades and "how else will you get into college and no flip burgers all day every day?!"
...
Was that just me?
GET OFF THE COMPUTER
WHY MOM IM JUST ON LEGO DOT COM
BECAUSE THERE ARE NOTHING BUT PEDOPHILES AND RAPISTS ONLINE AND NOTHING IS TRUE
BUT MOHM, I WANNA PLAY THE PIRATE GAME BUT ITS SLOW
Man, there was that hot second in the 90's when inkjets were actually amazing and mindblowing. Laser quality at home, and it's color! Also super compact.
Then enshittification crept in.
Oh, they were always finicky, and the ink was always pricey, but at first it seemed justifiable because you couldn’t buy color printing at that resolution for less than industrial prices.
Maybe an external Hayes modem for that authentic dial-up internet noise.
OP, can I ask you something? What exactly is nostalgic about something you've never experienced? Not trying to be rude, but I am genuinely baffled by this trend of collecting old PCs. It's not like video games where you actually needed an old console to play them. '90s PCs were generic junk.
I grew up in the 90s and definitely feel a weird nostalgia for the apple II Era. Not sure why, just a really cool time for computing and a cool asthetic that I never got to experience.
I'm from 1970 and I have experienced it all: from ZX81 to Apple II to IBM PC XT and so on. If I had to make my nostalgic setup, I'd settle for an Apple II with floppies and a green or amber monitor probably. I still have a working ZX81 and a working Spectrum but these old computers have such a poor video quality (because they used a PAL TV as a monitor) that they are unnerving. A nice high resolution mono monitor is much better.
> I grew up in the 90s and definitely feel a weird nostalgia for the apple II Era. Not sure why, just a really cool time for computing and a cool asthetic that I never got to experience.
I grew up in the 90's as well and experienced the Apple II era, Apple stopped selling the IIe in 93? My school was still using them for keyboarding classes in 96.
Definitely a modem, maybe a joystick. And yeah they are junk today but I took comp sci at college in 1980, and I'm telling you, Windows 98SE was the stuff in it's day.
I like it, it’s not nostalgic for me but I like the 90s as an aesthetic but also the games and software and hardware and want to accurately depict the 90s with this set up. I also like seeing other people who grew up in the 90s get nostalgic like aunts and uncles. (I do have a couple things to scratch my nostalgic itch like a Wii, Xbox 360, dsi, and iPod touch 4.) With my console setup I’m a little less faithful. In the 90s (or any decade for that matter) you picked one console whether it was sega, Nintendo, Sony or Atari, and when the next console generation came out you would usually replace it with the new console. But my setup has multiple console generations from the 80s to the early 2000s and different competing consoles.
> In the 90s (or any decade for that matter) you picked one console whether it was sega, Nintendo, Sony or Atari,
I liked both Mario and Sonic, so I got a SNES and a Genesis during the fourth generation. Pawn shops were immensely helpful with this.
Also I have a internal modem I want to save desk space but I was planning on getting a under the monitor case and have more desk space so maybe then I’ll get an external us robotics modem or something. It will also free up an isa slot so I can maybe save up for a vfx1 headset which requires an isa interface card. Right now I have 3 isa slots and 3 isa cards, a modem, a lan card, and a sound card.
I've gotten several modem cards in most of the retro PCs I've been buying but I usually take them out because I don't have a landline to connect them to.
Pogs, Tamagotchis, Buffy the Vampire Slayer poster, Nintendo GameBoy, Sony Walkman, Furby, dial-up modem (or even just a recording of one), Y2K sticker, Windows 95.
Hearing a dial-up modem start up was listening to bad video game audio.
[Dial-up Modem Sounds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNaR6FRuO0)
1. The cat has to be repositioned to the top of the tower. Cats like warm. Normally they will lie on the laptop keyboard, but that isn't the case here.
2. The GE clock/radio is perfect.
3. I know someone said "Hayes", but no. Those were for the rich. You need a US Robotics 14.4K Modem in that setup. Upgrade to 28.8 or 33.6 depending on the specific year.
4. AOL disk should be the very first thing you see in that disk file.
5. There should be a CD binder where the cat is.
6. The speakers are fine, though I would separate them not for magnetic influence on the monitor, but for audio quality.
7. Lava lamps went out with the '80s. Replace with your land-line phone next to the modem.
8. Mouse pad is too modern. You need a laminate, probably with a gel hand rest.
Beautiful start, though, to say the least!
Not if we needed to save that interrupt for something else, like our SB-16 sound card with a joystick, and a mouse and a coprocessor. It was easier to get an external modem running on IRQ 5 (parallel) than it was to shuffle everything else around. Gamers would never use an internal.
By the time 56K became affordable, cable and DSL were starting to come in to play. I, for one, never had need for 56K because I jumped into the new tech in 1997 (?). That's just an opinion, though. Do what you gotta do, and keep doin' it right!
edit: I should mention: I started at 75 baud. Yes, *75*. :-)
edit2: jeez, that's so old even the internet doesn't have a history of it. Ugh.
I'm an older millenial so I'll give this a shot. Remember that back then, the Internet wasn't always on - you had to actually make a conscious effort to "go online" for an actual reason and even then, if you were a kid, there wasn't much to do. You need a bunch of CDs, because hard drives weren't THAT big and everything would install some files to your hard drive and you'd have to put the CD in to actually run the program. "No CD" hacks were pretty common back then.
Like others said, that style lamp didn't start coming around until the early 2000's. You need something large, with a cone-style shade, with a warm white bulb. "Bright white" was pretty much only seen in kitchens and laundry rooms.
Hm... magazine subscriptions were pretty common then too. Maybe toss one on the side, underneath a pile of "I'll get to it later" stuff. Around 2000 it was super popular to carry around a Sony Discman and a binder full of CDs, but that desk might be a little too small for that.
You're getting there - have fun on your nostalgia trip 😁
Good point. A spindle of blank CDs (like 50 or 100) or an empty container with one or two. It seems that the empty containers are available for like 10$ & that's probably cheaper than the 30-50$needed for a (fairly useless) stack of blank CDs
You needed them for CGA, Hercules, EGA and early VGA monitors. Low rad monitors started to appear around '94. His monitor is a Viewsonic, I guess it's already low rad.
I had a 17GS in 1996 as I worked with my dad translating docs, and later some dip stuff. Happy memories!
You're technically right but it doesn't work this way. As people all around start attaching protection screens to their monitors, you don't feel safe with your bare monitor anymore, no matter how low it radiates LOL. It just looks so wrong and so dangerous...
Swap out the bulb in your lamp for an older incandescent one perhaps. They do make led bulbs with the old school yellow tint to it, that will make an immediate and dramatic change to the overall look and feel of your setup.
Kitty!
You could grab a Palm PDA. Palm III series devices are pretty cheap and there's quite a few good games for them. Plus all the boring business and productivity stuff I guess...
80s Red LED clock radio (green vacuum screen just as good) potable diskette drawer, external powered speakers, Pentium faded beige PC case, hopefully that’s an 9pin RS-232 serial interface mouse for extra bonus points and a cat for company. Absolute good start.
I can’t believe I had to scroll this far to see AOL disks. OP needs like 30 of them. Floppies and CDs. They were free. And everywhere, including your mailbox once a month.
I would personally shoot for authenticity, not nostalgia. Nostalgia is a much more personal thing. That said, looks great but I would have had the floppy holder on top of the case.
Get one of those skinny microphones on a stick. And a Gravis Gamepad! 👍 for peak authenticity, you can use a cheap Cisco VOIP box as an improvised PBX for dial-up networking. More [here.](https://gekk.info/articles/ata-dialup.html)
Need this https://www.ebay.com/itm/266035780238?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=1inZaPRzR-u&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Get some books and magazines of the era to put on a shelf above the computer. If you can get a copy of an old newspaper from 2000 and frame it, that would look really cool.
Harmon Kardon still sells their 90s style PC speakers on Amazon. SoundSticks 4. Should be a big upgrade to the standard white box ones everyone had back then and maintain the 90s vibe.
Fuck man. No sure, but your rig got me in the nostalga feels more than most retro setups do. I am not sure about the viability, but get some of the yellowing retrobrighted maybe. I have found from my old pictures the colours being kinda important for the nostalga for me. But I can understand the argument for not doing it too. Either way the contrast between the yellow and the mat white/light grey is a bit of a telling thing that takes me away from it a little maybe. Also, bic pen under the function key row, and sticky notes with gaming notes all over it for a period accurate setup if it were mine.
Maybe not this specific one but a different mouse pad definitely. https://www.ebay.com/itm/295747796603?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=9M1rAhk-QEq&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
The water droplet mouse pad: [https://www.amazon.com/Allsop-Mouse-Pad-Raindrop-30182/dp/B0036RFN8S/ref=asc\_df\_B0036RFN8S/](https://www.amazon.com/Allsop-Mouse-Pad-Raindrop-30182/dp/B0036RFN8S/ref=asc_df_B0036RFN8S/)
I'm amazed you can still buy this, and it was the top result for 'water droplet mouse pad'. Good design is timeless I guess.
It really is pretty awesome!!!
Hmmm, a Microsoft Sidewinder joystick would be a good addition. Either a fully legit DB-15 one or a USB port version. But it's pretty darn good as is
You need the under-monitor “power center” with all the switches. [Power Center](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-a1x7hg2jgk/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/22305/126204/power-center-pc-006-6-switch-under-monitor-power-center-1.27__51640.1490188427.jpg?c=2)
Okay…you need a 5 1/4” drive just above the 3 1/2” drive. Good way to explain why the boot drive is C: (because the big floppy was A:, the little floppy was B:, and the first boot HD was C:).
Also, the monitor needs to be 20” diagonal CRT, and the cat needs to be on top of the monitor.
And we should see The 7th Guest running on that machine.
I do have an old lab tech pc microphone but my cat chews it up. It was like $5 new on eBay so I’ll probably buy an new one and spray it with cat deterrent
Find an early webcam like a Logitech QuickCam Express, and maybe an early Palm or Visor PDA. Possibly a Game Boy Color if the PDA is too serious.
Don’t forget a period-correct scanner and inkjet like an HP Deskjet 710c.
If you really want to get fancy, find yourself an early Sony MAVICA floppy disk digital camera.
Oh, if you want to be the one rich kid with networking equipment that always got invited to lan parties, source out a 10/100 *hub*, preferably a linksys or Asante.
At some point you need to experience period-correct video-conferring/chatting with it; it’s quite…anachronistic.
Check out old PC Magazines/Advertisements if you really want authentic inspiration, like this [June ‘99 PC Mag on google books](https://books.google.com/books?id=2wzCcEHNjYUC&lpg=PA228&ots=u5q8G5jl6-&dq=linksys%20ew10hub%C2%A0&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q&f=true), replete with 32mb MP3 players and 1 megapixel digital cameras,
Btw, here’s one example of a [late 90’s era network hub, beige coloring and all.](https://www.ebay.com/itm/166459145600?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110018%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.COMPLISTINGS%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20210609144404%26meid%3D9fb7526bb6ac42ff991de692ac85a673%26pid%3D101196%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D186090683676%26itm%3D166459145600%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D4429486%26algv%3DCompVIDesktopATF2V3WithQueryItemRecallV3%26brand%3DLinksys&_trksid=p4429486.c101196.m2219&amdata=cksum%3A1664591456009fb7526bb6ac42ff991de692ac85a673%7Cenc%3AAQAIAAABALHyIAEaemKG0mx4REjf%252BHxECBsXtSkNHsCLmXz%252FJyCDeX%252FaDb78456J9CQJiWkf1pJbSLrkJnWCw%252BEozKrxL9JFgQU87MHSKfPkSjkU671lv7qfYUsxHjyEJ5PHj13awWh6Id9RsD6dbPKh5GjvD5zzng66GA5Dzfv77CHi0Q%252FbviqcdgWDtxkniaE2lhBRoab5SLcdcwOgkMCEqjZUFYd2nXM4HWU8kFiWPe%252FCIWrKzsHMWwYubrI7JatpPUrn0IeDJwgLWsVR8%252Bto9pa24M2aTkifyJ%252B2NlLne68RPy0vITwBmqWQ9hhzyRnmNABxrWFYSvYIVWjGo1OceKwSs%252Bs%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A4429486&epid=74101585)
Nah, it's fine. Super common to do that. This is a solid setup OP, very authentic. My only changes would be some posters/artwork from the 90s, maybe some desk toys/clutter, and a different lamp. Current lamp looks fresh off a 2023 Target shelf. Definitely use an incandescent bulb.
Here's a nice sub for some inspo: https://reddit.com/r/90SKID/
It is not fine. I collect CRT's and have several that have damage from unshielded speakers or poorly shielded speakers.
Please take heed to the post above and be careful. Even advertised shielded speakers from that era had issues.
I had a Viewsonic in the 90's that some Bose speakers made rainbows on back then. That was Bose. They were generally considered great speakers and they caused damage.
I am a 90's PC gamer. As in I lived through that decade playing the PC as a teen. Don't dismiss things that can ruin a quality setup. OP does have a fine looking setup they should be proud of, but protect that CRT:-)
I've never had a magnetized CRT that can't be easily fixed with a degaussing wand. And I've never had shielded PC speakers cause magnetic distortion in a CRT. I'm sure poorly shielded PC speakers exist somewhere, but they aren't common enough that I've ever come across any.
My goal is to help people preserve CRT's. We are losing thousands every year. They are in the predicament of an endangered species.
Please don't downvote a legitimate comment. I have quite a bit of experience with this issue. I literally own over 100 CRT's. Degaussing certainly helps, however it did not help the monitor I mention above.It also has been unsuccessful at helping others I have had.
Just because your experience does not include CRT's with enough damage from speakers to be unrepairable doesn't mean it can be dismissed so easily.
If you have had great success with shielded speakers then good for you, but I have literally had many pairs of speakers with promises of shielding literally ruin CRT's. Count yourself among the lucky. Don't lead others down a path based on luck.
>dot
This was my first thought: 9-pin was original, then it went to 24-pin (by the mid 80s) for finer resolution. OKIdata was a very popular maker. Then later, Epson.
IBM, Elephant disks and "I want to believe" posters.
Something for on top of the tower. Like a red Westinghouse rotary dial phone or the classic Radio Shack Compact Disc clock.
The PC setup is awesome, maybe a CompUSA or AOL sticker or something to make it a bit more ‘90s. And your walls are bare: I had a great Michael Jordan poster on the wall in the 90s, maybe that or a 90s movie poster or 90s band poster would suffice. Oh, and a landline phone. No desk was complete without one.
Gotta get one of those desks with the shelf that goes over the monitor for more storage space. That and a giant printer that's always out of ink and has a perpetually misaligned print head.
Oh and a joystick that connects via a 15 pin serial cable
Serial cables are 9 or 25 pins, while they did make serial joysticks, most were 15 pin, like you say, but the connector/protocol is a [game port](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_port). Also used to connect MIDI peripherals like keyboards and synthesizers.
Actually, there were cats _before_ 1990, as they were invented some time in the 50s, but the government kept them hidden in secret labs, until one day the only key was knocked off the shelf...
NEED a CD case tower (half full of CDs you will only use once. That's a true must have for a family computer room setup
Obligatory cd case jammed in over two slots that can’t be dislodged
Lol
Family computer? A Microsoft Encarta CD is a must.
Absolutely yes! Recommend Encarta 95 specifically.
Sadly I never had Encarta. I only had LexiROM, which was like the cheapo version of Encarta… 😂
Floppy disk box. Crappy flatbed scanner. Old epson inkjet. Force feedback joystick.
Already shows a floppy box. What he needs is a Zip drive.
Jazz drive optional
Bernoulli box.
bonus if you have the Windows 95 installation floppy set -- 25 floppy disks IRRC
And zip drive
The desk is all wrong too. It needs to be something like this https://images.app.goo.gl/M6SfJxchExWDtDi38 Coupled with lots of yelling in the background from your parents to your siblings for their shitty grades and "how else will you get into college and no flip burgers all day every day?!" ... Was that just me?
That's exactly the right desk and exactly the right amount of shame from parents. Honestly the shame from parents is the most important part of all.
GET OFF THE COMPUTER WHY MOM IM JUST ON LEGO DOT COM BECAUSE THERE ARE NOTHING BUT PEDOPHILES AND RAPISTS ONLINE AND NOTHING IS TRUE BUT MOHM, I WANNA PLAY THE PIRATE GAME BUT ITS SLOW
If there is any way you can feel blamed for being alive while using the computer that would really put it over the top.
Halfway through an image loading or a download, someone picks up the phone. A fight may ensue.
And the sounds of a modem coming out of those speakers 100% of the time.
At least one needs to be for AOL
Don’t forget the 2-4 CDs on top of the PC tower!
25% of those CD cases are empty and the rest are all in the wrong case.
Chonky HP DeskJet 500 series printer (or maybe a dot matrix for extra inconvenience and noise)
Man, there was that hot second in the 90's when inkjets were actually amazing and mindblowing. Laser quality at home, and it's color! Also super compact. Then enshittification crept in.
I must have missed this era. Our first inkjet printer was a real piece of work. So was our second. We didn't buy a third.
Oh, they were always finicky, and the ink was always pricey, but at first it seemed justifiable because you couldn’t buy color printing at that resolution for less than industrial prices.
Haha, you nailed it. Maybe some weird car or band or movie posters on the wall. Maybe some contemporary toys.
Maybe an external Hayes modem for that authentic dial-up internet noise. OP, can I ask you something? What exactly is nostalgic about something you've never experienced? Not trying to be rude, but I am genuinely baffled by this trend of collecting old PCs. It's not like video games where you actually needed an old console to play them. '90s PCs were generic junk.
I grew up in the 90s and definitely feel a weird nostalgia for the apple II Era. Not sure why, just a really cool time for computing and a cool asthetic that I never got to experience.
> feel a weird nostalgia for the apple II Era Lots of us used Apple IIs in schools well into the 1990s. Could be that?
Nah, we used some kind of Mac. Back then I didn't even know there was a difference between Macs and PC's. It was just a computer.
I'm from 1970 and I have experienced it all: from ZX81 to Apple II to IBM PC XT and so on. If I had to make my nostalgic setup, I'd settle for an Apple II with floppies and a green or amber monitor probably. I still have a working ZX81 and a working Spectrum but these old computers have such a poor video quality (because they used a PAL TV as a monitor) that they are unnerving. A nice high resolution mono monitor is much better.
> I grew up in the 90s and definitely feel a weird nostalgia for the apple II Era. Not sure why, just a really cool time for computing and a cool asthetic that I never got to experience. I grew up in the 90's as well and experienced the Apple II era, Apple stopped selling the IIe in 93? My school was still using them for keyboarding classes in 96.
I had a hand me down Apple IIe in the very early 90’s. Typed papers for school on it.
Definitely a modem, maybe a joystick. And yeah they are junk today but I took comp sci at college in 1980, and I'm telling you, Windows 98SE was the stuff in it's day.
I like it, it’s not nostalgic for me but I like the 90s as an aesthetic but also the games and software and hardware and want to accurately depict the 90s with this set up. I also like seeing other people who grew up in the 90s get nostalgic like aunts and uncles. (I do have a couple things to scratch my nostalgic itch like a Wii, Xbox 360, dsi, and iPod touch 4.) With my console setup I’m a little less faithful. In the 90s (or any decade for that matter) you picked one console whether it was sega, Nintendo, Sony or Atari, and when the next console generation came out you would usually replace it with the new console. But my setup has multiple console generations from the 80s to the early 2000s and different competing consoles.
I have an external hayes Smartmodem 1200 mint in box that I’d sell cheap to you.
> In the 90s (or any decade for that matter) you picked one console whether it was sega, Nintendo, Sony or Atari, I liked both Mario and Sonic, so I got a SNES and a Genesis during the fourth generation. Pawn shops were immensely helpful with this.
Also I have a internal modem I want to save desk space but I was planning on getting a under the monitor case and have more desk space so maybe then I’ll get an external us robotics modem or something. It will also free up an isa slot so I can maybe save up for a vfx1 headset which requires an isa interface card. Right now I have 3 isa slots and 3 isa cards, a modem, a lan card, and a sound card.
Wow a VFX1 headset, now that’s 90s aesthetic! That would be a cool, unique addition.
I would love to find a white one but the black one is already rare enough lol
I've gotten several modem cards in most of the retro PCs I've been buying but I usually take them out because I don't have a landline to connect them to.
> Maybe an external Hayes modem for that authentic dial-up internet noise That's pretty squarely '80s. In the 1990s, most of us had internal modems.
This!
Pogs, Tamagotchis, Buffy the Vampire Slayer poster, Nintendo GameBoy, Sony Walkman, Furby, dial-up modem (or even just a recording of one), Y2K sticker, Windows 95. Hearing a dial-up modem start up was listening to bad video game audio. [Dial-up Modem Sounds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNaR6FRuO0)
i can still imitate a dial-up. hard to type it but....wshxchxchshshshxhchshshchoooochshxhshchdhsheeeeshchxhshxhxhchhch
I do have a gameboy
The lamp looks a bit contemporary. An older style desk lamp with a 2700K warm bulb might help some.
Yeah, that was my thought too. Maybe even just an incandescent bulb in the current lamp would do the trick.
Agreed, the color is far too cool. It needs to feel an old lamp in grandma’s house
The desk is actually from the 90s I bought it 2 years ago and the owner said it was about 25 years old so about 95~97 I would guess.
First thing I thought of was a green bankers lamp
They didn't really have cats in the 90s
Yeah cats are a little too modern (he’s a 2020 model) but he won’t go away
I knew someone with a beta model, too strong, they had to dial back the speed and agility
That looks like a MetaCat, an AI-powered companion robot cat. Just a tad too modern for this setup.
1. The cat has to be repositioned to the top of the tower. Cats like warm. Normally they will lie on the laptop keyboard, but that isn't the case here. 2. The GE clock/radio is perfect. 3. I know someone said "Hayes", but no. Those were for the rich. You need a US Robotics 14.4K Modem in that setup. Upgrade to 28.8 or 33.6 depending on the specific year. 4. AOL disk should be the very first thing you see in that disk file. 5. There should be a CD binder where the cat is. 6. The speakers are fine, though I would separate them not for magnetic influence on the monitor, but for audio quality. 7. Lava lamps went out with the '80s. Replace with your land-line phone next to the modem. 8. Mouse pad is too modern. You need a laminate, probably with a gel hand rest. Beautiful start, though, to say the least!
[удалено]
Not if we needed to save that interrupt for something else, like our SB-16 sound card with a joystick, and a mouse and a coprocessor. It was easier to get an external modem running on IRQ 5 (parallel) than it was to shuffle everything else around. Gamers would never use an internal.
> Those were for the rich Please, US Robotics Courier gang here. External model could be used to start world war and later defend from zombies.
I’ll probably get a 56k modem, I’m not really going for a specific year, I’m just trying to encapsulate the whole 90s
By the time 56K became affordable, cable and DSL were starting to come in to play. I, for one, never had need for 56K because I jumped into the new tech in 1997 (?). That's just an opinion, though. Do what you gotta do, and keep doin' it right! edit: I should mention: I started at 75 baud. Yes, *75*. :-) edit2: jeez, that's so old even the internet doesn't have a history of it. Ugh.
I saw plenty of lava lamps in the late 90s-00s but it was vintage
I'm an older millenial so I'll give this a shot. Remember that back then, the Internet wasn't always on - you had to actually make a conscious effort to "go online" for an actual reason and even then, if you were a kid, there wasn't much to do. You need a bunch of CDs, because hard drives weren't THAT big and everything would install some files to your hard drive and you'd have to put the CD in to actually run the program. "No CD" hacks were pretty common back then. Like others said, that style lamp didn't start coming around until the early 2000's. You need something large, with a cone-style shade, with a warm white bulb. "Bright white" was pretty much only seen in kitchens and laundry rooms. Hm... magazine subscriptions were pretty common then too. Maybe toss one on the side, underneath a pile of "I'll get to it later" stuff. Around 2000 it was super popular to carry around a Sony Discman and a binder full of CDs, but that desk might be a little too small for that. You're getting there - have fun on your nostalgia trip 😁
Good point. A spindle of blank CDs (like 50 or 100) or an empty container with one or two. It seems that the empty containers are available for like 10$ & that's probably cheaper than the 30-50$needed for a (fairly useless) stack of blank CDs
I still have a binder full of CD’s…well, blu-rays. good peace of mind for backups.
You need an uncomfortable heavy ass chair, a poster of Spice Girls, and an ashtray.
The ashtray would be most common and expected from the era lol.
I remember having a summer job, cleaning office desks. I hated emptying those ashtrays, the ashes would scatter up in the air.
Weezer / Nirvana Poster
And either a Countach or a Porsche 959 poster
X-ray protection screen for your CRT.
What is that?
https://youtu.be/grqgQVSTPO8?si=QCqUKVQ8s808nnrx
You don't actually need this. CRTs are safe. Some people liked anti-glare features, but it was never common.
You needed them for CGA, Hercules, EGA and early VGA monitors. Low rad monitors started to appear around '94. His monitor is a Viewsonic, I guess it's already low rad. I had a 17GS in 1996 as I worked with my dad translating docs, and later some dip stuff. Happy memories!
You're technically right but it doesn't work this way. As people all around start attaching protection screens to their monitors, you don't feel safe with your bare monitor anymore, no matter how low it radiates LOL. It just looks so wrong and so dangerous...
Some sort of 90s promotional/ cartoon mouse pad. Like the loony toons ones
Where's the sick screen saver?
3d maze and 3d pipes are my favorite
You need the flying toasters!
3D pipes was the best. Maze was OK but pipes was mesmerizing.
Dancing baby was all tge rage and widely considered hilarious, I seem to recall a hamster one as well.
Need a can of JOLT cola
You need one of those vertical paper holders for real authenticity. 90's kids were doing homework, afterall.
Swap out the bulb in your lamp for an older incandescent one perhaps. They do make led bulbs with the old school yellow tint to it, that will make an immediate and dramatic change to the overall look and feel of your setup.
Kitty! You could grab a Palm PDA. Palm III series devices are pretty cheap and there's quite a few good games for them. Plus all the boring business and productivity stuff I guess...
A poster of Christina Aguilera with her titties out?
The 1st gen pentium era she would have been too young.
80s Red LED clock radio (green vacuum screen just as good) potable diskette drawer, external powered speakers, Pentium faded beige PC case, hopefully that’s an 9pin RS-232 serial interface mouse for extra bonus points and a cat for company. Absolute good start.
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i dunno if you can do images... crap, you can't. [https://www.ebay.com/itm/284419452261](https://www.ebay.com/itm/284419452261)
Cheapest "task chair" you can find, in blue, red, or black. Take a knife and cut a corner open for good measure
Assorted big box PC games on the desk or a shelf. Also a standalone desk microphone with an old web cam and some AOL disks with free hours.
This.
I can’t believe I had to scroll this far to see AOL disks. OP needs like 30 of them. Floppies and CDs. They were free. And everywhere, including your mailbox once a month.
An ashtray, an "I want to believe" poster and a collage.
Phone book under the monitor
Need a US Robotics 28.8 or 56.6kbps modem on top of the tower.
Pfft. My modems were all internal cards.
Need to get a Kensington Masterpiece power center to put under your monitor and plug all your power cords into.
I would personally shoot for authenticity, not nostalgia. Nostalgia is a much more personal thing. That said, looks great but I would have had the floppy holder on top of the case.
I would put it on top of my pc but my cat likes to sleep up there sometimes
I used this mousepad back in 1995/1996. https://www.ebay.com/itm/274993160164
I had that one too
Webcam with double sided tape on the top of the monitor. Desktop microphone on a boom. And find a pc case from an old 486 with a turbo button
folding chair.
Looks about perfect to me…right down to the cat on the desk. :)
Basically all the 90s cats are dead… :(
Unfortunately I couldn’t find a cat from the 90s this one is from 2020
Yeah probably better than vintage at this point
Get one of those skinny microphones on a stick. And a Gravis Gamepad! 👍 for peak authenticity, you can use a cheap Cisco VOIP box as an improvised PBX for dial-up networking. More [here.](https://gekk.info/articles/ata-dialup.html)
Oh I forgot I have a sidewinder controller, I need to get a sidewinder 3d pro joystick
I still have mine. It's had a few repairs done over the years, but it still works.
Desk on the side with a word processor or file cabinet
A couple of phone books under the monitor to raise it higher. Lava lamp? Meh.
You need a “power center” power strip. https://superuser.com/questions/398707/surge-protectors-do-they-make-anything-like-power-center-anymore
Need a CD tower
corded phone possibly made of see through plastic.
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Really thick tech books are a great suggestion. Get something you can actually use on the computer.
Yup sound blaster 16 😎
You are missing the obnoxious stickers that were all over most pc cases 🤣 In all seriousness though, great set-up!
Nevermind, Downward Spiral, or Dookie poster on your wall
Well, for one, the lava lamp is a 70’s thing, not 90’s.
Need this https://www.ebay.com/itm/266035780238?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=1inZaPRzR-u&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Yes. Was about to say just that. Under monitor power switch panel is a necessity.
Missing daily usage things. Maybe a 90s drinking glass/mug from some promotional thing.
monitor riser in tan with a drawer for office supplies
Get some books and magazines of the era to put on a shelf above the computer. If you can get a copy of an old newspaper from 2000 and frame it, that would look really cool.
Harmon Kardon still sells their 90s style PC speakers on Amazon. SoundSticks 4. Should be a big upgrade to the standard white box ones everyone had back then and maintain the 90s vibe.
A tomb raider mouse mat, in my case!
Tbh we were poor in the 90s and we didn’t have peripherals
Panasonic ribbon based printer and doom on 3.5
Man, I miss so much this intellimouse… i wish MS made a new version of this form factor but with an optical sensor like the new ones…
Fuck man. No sure, but your rig got me in the nostalga feels more than most retro setups do. I am not sure about the viability, but get some of the yellowing retrobrighted maybe. I have found from my old pictures the colours being kinda important for the nostalga for me. But I can understand the argument for not doing it too. Either way the contrast between the yellow and the mat white/light grey is a bit of a telling thing that takes me away from it a little maybe. Also, bic pen under the function key row, and sticky notes with gaming notes all over it for a period accurate setup if it were mine.
Yeah yellow sticky notes with cheat codes and phone numbers on them! And a phone. But you should upload those old pictures on this subreddit!
Needs a Tiffany style desk lamp.
16 bit cat and a joystick.
Maybe not this specific one but a different mouse pad definitely. https://www.ebay.com/itm/295747796603?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=9M1rAhk-QEq&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Get an incandescent bulb for that lamp.
My friend’s computer had a monitor stand with the big red power switches in the front of it.
Yes, that's just what I was thinking!
dot matrix printer retail software boxes. a second floppy drive (drive B) mmmmmm......beige......
I appreciate the lava lamp. I had two in the late 90s - they were still being sold. So don’t listen to the haters ;)
Well it was retro then, so now it's retro-squared.
Needs more wood paneling.
This is pretty spot on!
The water droplet mouse pad: [https://www.amazon.com/Allsop-Mouse-Pad-Raindrop-30182/dp/B0036RFN8S/ref=asc\_df\_B0036RFN8S/](https://www.amazon.com/Allsop-Mouse-Pad-Raindrop-30182/dp/B0036RFN8S/ref=asc_df_B0036RFN8S/) I'm amazed you can still buy this, and it was the top result for 'water droplet mouse pad'. Good design is timeless I guess.
I actually had one of these pads! One of the best you could have.
Replace that cat with a kitten?
Posters from like gaming magazines yo.
It really is pretty awesome!!! Hmmm, a Microsoft Sidewinder joystick would be a good addition. Either a fully legit DB-15 one or a USB port version. But it's pretty darn good as is
Some nice 90ś game posters on the walls if you can find :)
if you were born in the 2000s why would a 90s setup be nostalgic
It’s not for me it’s for you 🫶
Smaller mouse pad with a dumb screen printed design
AOL discs Something to raise the monitor up
One of these power strips. https://www.instructables.com/Reusing-an-Old-Power-Center/
You need the under-monitor “power center” with all the switches. [Power Center](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-a1x7hg2jgk/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/22305/126204/power-center-pc-006-6-switch-under-monitor-power-center-1.27__51640.1490188427.jpg?c=2)
The critical missing thing is a modem. Otherwise, add in a box under the desk with Janes style keyboard overlays.
Okay…you need a 5 1/4” drive just above the 3 1/2” drive. Good way to explain why the boot drive is C: (because the big floppy was A:, the little floppy was B:, and the first boot HD was C:). Also, the monitor needs to be 20” diagonal CRT, and the cat needs to be on top of the monitor. And we should see The 7th Guest running on that machine.
microphone attached to the screen with double-sided adhesive
I do have an old lab tech pc microphone but my cat chews it up. It was like $5 new on eBay so I’ll probably buy an new one and spray it with cat deterrent
A friend had this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ1ILj9m72I
Yeah that classic stick mic. They still make those.
CRT…Beige box…cat on the desk…nah I think your set…
Find an early webcam like a Logitech QuickCam Express, and maybe an early Palm or Visor PDA. Possibly a Game Boy Color if the PDA is too serious. Don’t forget a period-correct scanner and inkjet like an HP Deskjet 710c. If you really want to get fancy, find yourself an early Sony MAVICA floppy disk digital camera. Oh, if you want to be the one rich kid with networking equipment that always got invited to lan parties, source out a 10/100 *hub*, preferably a linksys or Asante.
I have a color quickcam new in box, I haven’t opened it yet
At some point you need to experience period-correct video-conferring/chatting with it; it’s quite…anachronistic. Check out old PC Magazines/Advertisements if you really want authentic inspiration, like this [June ‘99 PC Mag on google books](https://books.google.com/books?id=2wzCcEHNjYUC&lpg=PA228&ots=u5q8G5jl6-&dq=linksys%20ew10hub%C2%A0&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q&f=true), replete with 32mb MP3 players and 1 megapixel digital cameras, Btw, here’s one example of a [late 90’s era network hub, beige coloring and all.](https://www.ebay.com/itm/166459145600?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110018%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.COMPLISTINGS%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20210609144404%26meid%3D9fb7526bb6ac42ff991de692ac85a673%26pid%3D101196%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D186090683676%26itm%3D166459145600%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D4429486%26algv%3DCompVIDesktopATF2V3WithQueryItemRecallV3%26brand%3DLinksys&_trksid=p4429486.c101196.m2219&amdata=cksum%3A1664591456009fb7526bb6ac42ff991de692ac85a673%7Cenc%3AAQAIAAABALHyIAEaemKG0mx4REjf%252BHxECBsXtSkNHsCLmXz%252FJyCDeX%252FaDb78456J9CQJiWkf1pJbSLrkJnWCw%252BEozKrxL9JFgQU87MHSKfPkSjkU671lv7qfYUsxHjyEJ5PHj13awWh6Id9RsD6dbPKh5GjvD5zzng66GA5Dzfv77CHi0Q%252FbviqcdgWDtxkniaE2lhBRoab5SLcdcwOgkMCEqjZUFYd2nXM4HWU8kFiWPe%252FCIWrKzsHMWwYubrI7JatpPUrn0IeDJwgLWsVR8%252Bto9pa24M2aTkifyJ%252B2NlLne68RPy0vITwBmqWQ9hhzyRnmNABxrWFYSvYIVWjGo1OceKwSs%252Bs%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A4429486&epid=74101585)
Not putting your speakers next to a CRT or hard disks.
They are magnetically shielded speakers for use with computers tho?
Nah, it's fine. Super common to do that. This is a solid setup OP, very authentic. My only changes would be some posters/artwork from the 90s, maybe some desk toys/clutter, and a different lamp. Current lamp looks fresh off a 2023 Target shelf. Definitely use an incandescent bulb. Here's a nice sub for some inspo: https://reddit.com/r/90SKID/
It is not fine. I collect CRT's and have several that have damage from unshielded speakers or poorly shielded speakers. Please take heed to the post above and be careful. Even advertised shielded speakers from that era had issues. I had a Viewsonic in the 90's that some Bose speakers made rainbows on back then. That was Bose. They were generally considered great speakers and they caused damage. I am a 90's PC gamer. As in I lived through that decade playing the PC as a teen. Don't dismiss things that can ruin a quality setup. OP does have a fine looking setup they should be proud of, but protect that CRT:-)
I've never had a magnetized CRT that can't be easily fixed with a degaussing wand. And I've never had shielded PC speakers cause magnetic distortion in a CRT. I'm sure poorly shielded PC speakers exist somewhere, but they aren't common enough that I've ever come across any.
My goal is to help people preserve CRT's. We are losing thousands every year. They are in the predicament of an endangered species. Please don't downvote a legitimate comment. I have quite a bit of experience with this issue. I literally own over 100 CRT's. Degaussing certainly helps, however it did not help the monitor I mention above.It also has been unsuccessful at helping others I have had. Just because your experience does not include CRT's with enough damage from speakers to be unrepairable doesn't mean it can be dismissed so easily. If you have had great success with shielded speakers then good for you, but I have literally had many pairs of speakers with promises of shielding literally ruin CRT's. Count yourself among the lucky. Don't lead others down a path based on luck.
They will be leaking magnetism, they always did.
My pacard bell speakers screwed into the monitor sides that was 1995ish
Like maybe an hp laser jet printer
I want to get a dot matrix printer
>dot This was my first thought: 9-pin was original, then it went to 24-pin (by the mid 80s) for finer resolution. OKIdata was a very popular maker. Then later, Epson.
Dial-tone phone on desk.
Lava lamps are really a 70s thing.
They where far more popular in the 90s then 70s
I'm late... Is that cat a 2020 ragdoll edition? Looks similar to my ragdoll.
remove the lava lamp tbh, possible controversial take
Linkin park poster + world of warcraft box art
IBM, Elephant disks and "I want to believe" posters. Something for on top of the tower. Like a red Westinghouse rotary dial phone or the classic Radio Shack Compact Disc clock.
A power strip box for under the monitor with red rocker switch buttons to power on and off things manually.
US Robotic modem on top of the tower. Zip drive below the floppy case. Cheetos and Jolt cola instead of that cat.
The PC setup is awesome, maybe a CompUSA or AOL sticker or something to make it a bit more ‘90s. And your walls are bare: I had a great Michael Jordan poster on the wall in the 90s, maybe that or a 90s movie poster or 90s band poster would suffice. Oh, and a landline phone. No desk was complete without one.
Gotta get one of those desks with the shelf that goes over the monitor for more storage space. That and a giant printer that's always out of ink and has a perpetually misaligned print head. Oh and a joystick that connects via a 15 pin serial cable
Serial cables are 9 or 25 pins, while they did make serial joysticks, most were 15 pin, like you say, but the connector/protocol is a [game port](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_port). Also used to connect MIDI peripherals like keyboards and synthesizers.
We didn't have cats in the 90s
Actually, there were cats _before_ 1990, as they were invented some time in the 50s, but the government kept them hidden in secret labs, until one day the only key was knocked off the shelf...
You need an AOL install CD to use a drink coaster :)
The tower has to be on the ground.
I had a handheld scanner in '95. Drivers for win 3.1!
After Dark flying toasters on the monitor. Halogen torchiere lamp in the corner.