Katie Cadet’s Computer and Video Game Collection and COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

Here at Katie Cadet’s Computer and Video Game Collection, I always love collecting computers and video games (even consoles and computer software on CD-ROM) of all generations, from the early 1980s up to the late 2010s, acquired from thrift stores, garage sales, gaming conventions, flea markets, and even classified ads and online retailers such as Amazon and Kijiji!

My side-project is collecting music on vinyl records (LP’s and 45’s), cassettes, DVD-Audio discs, and Music CD’s from the early 1950s up to the late 2010s, as well as TV Shows and Movies on VHS videocassettes, Video CD’s, DVD-Video discs, and Blu-ray Discs from the early 1980s up to the late 2010s. You can find my music collection through the Discogs database, where you can look up millions of entries of music in the physical format, and shop for what title or version you want online, but most importantly, you can store a collection of what you have, or make a want list for titles that are important and that you really want for your collection.

Now, here’s the big problem of the new decade: COVID-19 (The Coronavirus) is spreading throughout the entire world, including Canada, which is where I live. All the places I usually go to, such as thrift stores and flea markets, have been temporarily shut down, and everyone needs to stay at home so that they will not get sick! It happened in around March 14th (PI Day!), and it is still occurring as I am writing this blog post. I know this is a difficult month when it started, but hey, I had enough acquisitions to keep me occupied until the virus is cured. This is a big project for the world, and research for a suitable vaccine will be completed as soon as possible.

In the meantime, I am keeping myself occupied with my computers and video games, but recently, I preserved more of my CD-ROMs by uploading the ISO disc images to the Internet Archive, including Garfield’s Typing Pal, Looney Tunes Daily Desktop, and a couple of Greeting Card Maker software from SoftKey and Expert Software. If you are at home because of the virus, I might as well provide you with some software! Also, these CD-ROMs are at least 10 to 30 years old, so they are qualified as abandonware before the upload process began.

So, I hope everyone is OK in their homes! And remember to check back for more blog posts here at Katie Cadet’s Computer and Video Game Collection! For now, take care!

#COVID-19 #StaySafe #KeepOnPlaying

Sixth Thrift Store Acquisition Log for 2020!

Ah, nothing like a recent acquisition of Tetris and Star Trek (a couple actually). But anyways, I went to various thrift stores just for the Trekkies, among the other acquisitions.

So without further ado, let’s jump right into the acquisition log:

  1. Star Trek D-A-C (Hybrid Intel Mac OS X/Windows 32-bit)
  2. Star Trek Starship Creator (Hybrid PowerPC Classic Mac OS/Windows 95)
  3. Tetris Elements (Hybrid PowerPC Mac OS/Windows 98)
  4. MotoGP 08 (PlayStation 2)
  5. Mojo! (PlayStation 2)
  6. Leap Ahead 2nd Grade (Hybrid Classic Mac OS/Windows 3.1)

Well, I think it’s time for me to get back to work on my computers. Our collection is almost full, so we might keep thrifting till we run out (aside from the price increases)! 😀

For now, take care!

Fifth Thrift Store Acquisition Log for 2020!

Today’s theme is all about 90s nostalgia! Also, the theme is PC-Centric. Back in the 90s, you had Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and Windows 98, and while a couple of titles won’t work on the latest Windows 10, some of them will do! I have a 32-bit version of Windows 10 installed on my HP Pavilion a6010n, as well as a 32-bit version of Windows Vista Ultimate installed on my HP DX5150 SFF, so I will test them for compatibility and will give out the results when I make a blog post about it!

So here’s the list of retro goodness that has just arrived to the shelves of Katie Cadet’s Computer and Video Game Collection:

  1. You Don’t Know Jack XL (Hybrid Classic Mac OS/Windows)
  2. Sim City 2000 CD Collection (DOS/Windows)
  3. King’s Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow (IBM PC Compatible)
  4. Cosmopolitan Fashion Makeover Deluxe (Windows)
  5. Corel CD Power Pak (1993-1995, Windows 3.1)
  6. 12000 Clip Art Plus (Global Star Software, Windows 3.1)
  7. CorelDraw 5 Disk 2 (1994, Windows 3.1)
  8. Corel Professional Photos CD-ROM Sampler IV (1995, Hybrid Classic Mac OS/Windows)
  9. Corel Multimedia Projects Group Resource CD Volume 1 – December 1993 (Windows 3.0)

These are mostly for the 32-bit Windows PC’s, and I’m well covered with my royalty-free stock library of clip art, photos, sound, and videos on CD-ROM, so yeah, I’m not gonna get another one of those CD’s, but with the advent of the Internet, browsing on e.g. Google Images is much easier than browsing from a physical format on Windows Explorer, but I still keep the CDs for nostalgic purposes. A couple of titles are 16-bit (Windows 3.x era), and when it comes to Windows 10, the Virtual DOS Machine on the 32-bit flavour is an optional component to the OS if you have old software on floppy disks and CD-ROM’s lying around your house, and I can never live without it!

Compatibility is a mixed bag for older titles when using them on Windows 10. As always, I will reveal the testing results once I’ve got my 32-bit HP desktop PC’s out, but anyways, stay tuned for more computer-related blog posts here at Katie Cadet’s Computer and Video Game Collection, and take care!

Fourth Thrift Store Acquisition Log of 2020!

Beginning February with a few nice finds! Here they are:

  1. Centipede (1998, Windows)
  2. You Don’t Know Jack 5th Dementia (Windows)
  3. Star Wars Pit Droids (Hybrid Classic Mac OS/Windows)
  4. The Curse of Monkey Island (Windows)
  5. LEGO Rock Raiders (Windows)
  6. The Italian Job (Windows)

So it’s PC-Centric, right? Anyways, I have a lot to go through so stay tuned for more blog posts here at Katie Cadet’s Computer and Video Game Collection! Take care!

P.S. I secretly found some 45’s at one of the thrift stores, and I’ve created a Discogs account just for cataloging them, so yeah, that’s what I’m doing other than computers and video games! They will be revealed as they are being cleaned! 😀

First Flea Market Acquisition Log of 2020!

Finally, a better day to go out flea marketing! Here’s what I found:

  1. Rad Racer (NES)
  2. Need for Speed Pro Street (PlayStation 3)
  3. PlayStation Move controller for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4

Here’s hoping that there is more to explore with these and my other thrift store acquisitions here at Katie Cadet’s Computer and Video Game Collection! Stay tuned for more, and take care!

Third Thrift Store Acquisition Log for 2020!

Missed a couple of Sundays of flea marketing due to heavy snow, so I ended up doing some thrifting after the weather cleared up! Here is what I got:

  1. You Don’t Know Jack Volume 1 (1995, v1.01, repackaged in 1997 by Sierra, Hybrid Classic Mac OS (68040/PowerPC) and Windows 3.1/95/98)
  2. Project Gotham Racing 4 (Xbox 360)
  3. Need for Speed: Pro Street (Xbox 360)
  4. Clue Finders 4th Grade Adventures (2000, v2.1, Hybrid Classic Mac OS (PowerPC) and Windows 95/98/ME)
  5. All Star Typing Ages 9-12: Basketball (1999 reissue of Creative Wonders Slam Dunk Typing, Hybrid Classic Mac OS (68040/PowerPC) and Windows 3.1/95/98)
  6. Fetch It Again! (2007, Windows XP/Vista)

Let’s hope there will be a better flea market day weather wise! In the meantime, I will be back to working on my computers, so take care!