AOL PhotoCam/Pretec DC-600
Bought: First PhotoCam was July 2019. Second was December 2022. DC-600 was August 2022.
Specs:
- Resolution: 640x480
- ISO, shutter speed, focal length: I don't know and it's probably not great for any of them
- Model: Both PhotoCams are Plus models. Apparently there's two versions of the DC-600 and I have the rarer version.
How it came into my possession: Early digicam autism. I've watched too many LGR 90's digicam videos and I wanted one of my own, but it needed to shoot on a medium I could get photos off of. The PhotoCam seemed to meet all my checkboxes, and being branded as an AOL camera is a neat extra. I've bought three of these in an attempt to get a single, fully working unit, including the Pretec, which is the OEM (unbranded) version of the PhotoCam with a slightly worse sensor (hilariously bad low-light performance).
Condition/defects: Jesus Christ, where do I start? The first PhotoCam doesn't power on at all and the battery door doesn't stay closed, the second one powers on, but ate its flash memory after it failed a memory format and no longer saves pictures, and the Pretec works, but the batteries also don't stay in it, and the camera occasionally gets quite hot if you hold the batteries in by force. I also can't retrieve photos reliably from them; the intended method with a cable and MGI PhotoSuite doesn't work, and TestDisk on the CF card only retrieves some of the shots from it for no apparent reason.
The PhotoCam saga is the single ugliest and most frustrating I've ever experienced. These are not solid early digicams, they're no-name OEM cameras that AOL rebranded, and while I really like the photos they take, it really doesn't make up for the pain of using them (literally, if you're holding the Pretec's batteries in). I suppose I can try to use the broken one for parts to fix the "working" PhotoCam, but I've since set my sights on slightly newer, more reliable early digicams for actual use.
You can read about the fun in the "Cammy vs. the PhotoCam" and "Cammy Revisits the PhotoCam" posts on Letters From Somnolescent.
Wacom Bamboo tablet
Bought: Unsure, but the tablet was released in late 2011. Could've been anywhere from then to 2013.
Specs:
- Model: CTH-470
- Pressure levels: 1024
- Resolution: 2540 LPI
- Active area size: 5.8"x3.6"
How it came into my possession: This was my little sister's old tablet. She's not quite the brightest bulb in the box, and when it didn't work with a new computer she got (because she didn't install the drivers...), she just bought a new tablet outright. I took this one for mine when I started experimenting with art in 2021.
Condition/defects: The surface is a little discolored, and the driver occasionally likes to corrupt itself and require a reinstall (which I dutifully install from CD-ROM, as you should). Still works beautifully though, and still does what I need it to! I quite like this thing. It's a bit plasticky, but it stood up to her abuse and I treat it a lot better, so hopefully it keeps going until I need something nicer.
Crestwood guitar
Bought: I want to say late 90s or early 2000s, given what little I've found online.
Specs:
- Model: ST920
- Color: Transparent blue (sparkly!)
- Frets: 22
- Scale length: 25.5"
How it came into my possession: I got it in late 2019 as a gift from a former friend since I was interested in learning guitar. It was her older brother's; he left it at their house when he moved out. I don't remember when I last touched it, mostly because I still don't have an amp or interface and because I wasn't making the progress I wanted (no lessons, and I wasn't trying to learn scales or riffs or anything cool). Would love to try again though!
Condition/defects: Like the eMachines Box (from the same friend and house), it's still dirty, and the strings have never been changed on it, which probably doesn't help the sound of it. I don't know if it's my bad fretting/overstrumming technique or if it's a dead fret, but I seem to get some buzzing when I play the lowest strings. This thing needs a setup done, but it's also a cheap Strat clone and might not deserve it. I'd really like to restring it for left-handed play, since it's a right-handed guitar and that really doesn't help me in learning it.
Yamaha keyboard
Bought: 2014 as a Christmas gift to my sister.
Specs:
- Model: PSR-E243
- Keys: 61
- Voices: 385 (including gunshots)
How it came into my possession: Another thing of my little sister's that she never used and I pilfered. My equivalent gift that year was a MIDI drumkit I used to play way too much Phase Shift until it broke roughly twenty minutes after FCing "Beethoven's Cunt". This one's survived, though, thanks to the lack of need to hit it with sticks.
Condition/defects: Nope, complete and in good shape! (The original sustain pedal is long gone, sadly. I used a Rock Band drum pedal as one for a bit, ironically, until I snapped that too.) Now mine for occasional musical use, but mostly as a table for started projects these days. I think I last made use of it, again with Phase Shift, to play some Pro Keys charts from Rock Band 3, but that was fairly short-lived. I took a tiny bit of piano in high school, and yet I never got much further than Medium, and only Easy for some songs.
Apple Remote
Bought: 2011? Apple stopped including Front Row with Macs not long after that.
Specs:
- Model: A1294
- Color: Silver
- Buttons: Seven
- Battery: CR2032
How it came into my possession: This must've been something for my first or second iMac. I used to love Front Row for watching downloaded YouTube videos and scrolling through my iTunes library, even if I was never much more than six feet away from the computer at any given time. I just think they're neat! I miss Front Row.
Condition/defects: I don't know if it works, since only one of my Macs has an IR receiver, and it's in storage. I don't think there's much to break on these things though. (And putting it on here is mostly a goof. Genuinely impressed there's a manual for it inside the plastic casing though.)