LGR - Vendex HeadStart Turbo 888-XT
Added 2022-03-02 22:33:30 +0000 UTCGreetings, all! Finally got this one done after working on it off and on since mid-January. It took a little longer to put this one together but that's largely because I kept finding interesting things to say about it, so hey. Not a bad thing in that respect.
That being said, it's a rather straightforward vintage computer retrospective! The Vendex HeadStart is a lovely little turbo XT clone from 1987, a class of machine that for whatever reason I've become increasingly amused by in recent years. I largely wanted to cover this in the first place because of the King Kong Bundy connection, but the deeper I dug the more fascinating stuff I found.
Hope you enjoy! There are a few minor audiovisual edits I have to make since Premiere screwed up my timeline it seems, but otherwise it should be the final version.
The next videos on here will be the February LGR Wrap Up episode for $5+ patrons, followed by a new LGR Oddware episode most likely. I've got a few little oddball things literally on the table right now so I'm not sure which one will get done first, but they're each prime Oddware material so stay tuned for some of that next week if all goes well. Have a good one!
Comments
Vintage computers and wrestling is an unexpected yet wonderful crossover for me ❤️ love this!!
Becka Pitts
2022-03-06 14:47:08 +0000 UTCKing Kong Bundy was from my area, and somewhere I have a signed glossy photo of him standing next to one of these computers. Always wondered what the backstory was about that...and now I know! I had no idea this was why he left the WWF (although he did come back for a little while in the mid-90s). Unrelated anecdote: King Kong Bundy was a big cat lover (no pun intended) and owned about 10 cats. When he passed, the local shelter was overwhelmed with requests to adopt the "Bundy Cats." This article has a few cute photos of some of the cats with Bundy and their new owners: https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2019/03/27/who-adopted-king-kong-bundys-cats/3289591002/ (Yes, I mostly wanted an excuse to link to some cute cat photos.)
Ryan Lawrence
2022-03-05 16:11:59 +0000 UTCOh damn ending on the best game of the era, Pharaoh's Tomb
Adult Sword Owner
2022-03-04 07:05:34 +0000 UTCAs a wrestling mark, I love the use of King Kong Bundy to sell computers hahaha. Sadly, Vince McMahon is still very restrictive on the talent working for WWE, despite the whole independent contractor argument; many wrestlers had twitch streams, cameos, etc until they were told to shut them down last year.
DFawlt Uzr
2022-03-04 07:02:13 +0000 UTCI had one of these with the builtin hard drive in around 1988.
Kevin Tacheny
2022-03-04 03:41:06 +0000 UTCNow that's an adequate system.
Alyxx the Rat
2022-03-03 05:30:19 +0000 UTC[Vince McMahon meme] 🤨 XT Clone 😏 Secret Samsung machine 😮 Hercules graphics 🤩 Enhanced DOS interface [/meme]
Steve Lovelace
2022-03-03 04:14:04 +0000 UTCAmazing research man love it! And yea it just is so crispy clean its almost unreal!
John Piscopo
2022-03-03 01:23:15 +0000 UTCThe Oldskool PC approves!
Jim Leonard
2022-03-03 01:16:47 +0000 UTCThat machine is surprisingly beautiful. Not just in design, but in condition. It quite literally looks brand new, boxes and all! What an amazing preservation of history there! Too bad it lacks the Plantronics mode, I was hoping you'd test it for that, and I see you tried! Also that monitor, I just love the display on it!
The 8-Bit Guy
2022-03-02 23:53:54 +0000 UTCSize-wise, Vendex truly was a monster of a company by Dutch standards. Amongst others, they owned the Edah supermarket chain where I had my first ever Saturday job as a teenager. That's where I made the money to buy my first PC, component by component.
Rutger van Bergen
2022-03-02 23:22:42 +0000 UTCWindex
Braxen
2022-03-02 23:09:01 +0000 UTCAlways enjoy your work Clint, especially now with the world spinning out of control. Thanks again for the selfie at CR in January.
Daniel Cayea
2022-03-02 22:45:58 +0000 UTCWWF in PCs history? Unexpected indeed. Chokehold. Wrestling puns are tight.
Deckard Games
2022-03-02 22:43:36 +0000 UTC
