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Obscure $3,000 Laptop From 1993: Compaq LTE Lite 4/25E

Tech

This ain't just any old beige 486 computer, this has an active matrix monochrome screen! One of only a handful of laptops that ever had such a thing, which is great since these mono LCDs were normally a blurry mess of sadness. Unfortunately it's not without its issues and it still needs some attention, but it's something I've wanted to discuss on LGR and what better time than now while it still works? ● Links to related videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okz14yztJ3I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQkP0l7Syw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIwXQicYClw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oujiWpcc0m0 ● Background music is from Epidemic Sound: https://www.epidemicsound.com/ 00:00 Compaq LTE context 01:05 TFT LCD 02:46 external features 05:38 pricing in 1993 06:25 cleaning it up 07:02 power on boot up 10:23 Ohio essays 12:23 reinstalling the OS? 12:59 conundrums 16:36 LapLink file transfers 19:09 crap! tunnel vision 21:05 Crystal Caves 23:24 Doom 25:27 Windows 95 "colors" 27:00 outroduction #lgr #retro #computer

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tony_johnson 3 days, 7 hours ago

Loved this video, I miss some of your old hardware videos. This was a breath of fresh air!

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dalton_gentry 3 days, 7 hours ago

The issue with VGA monochrome CRT monitors is that while they do only connect to the green pin of the VGA output, the monitor has a sense pin that the VGA card is supposed to detect and cause it to switch its output to monochrome, so then all colors will be represented as shades of gray. But when plug & play and power saving features were added in the '90s, the color/monochrome pin was reassigned to those purposes, so newer VGA cards do not properly support monochrome monitors.

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sarah.zuniga 3 days, 7 hours ago

At 12:00 you talked about the shutoff vs restart thing that I definitely remember from one of my 486 era systems.

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martin_hayes 3 days, 8 hours ago

Yo the intro looks like you went to the archive library almost like a computer store. I love it.

howardandrews312
howardandrews312 3 days, 9 hours ago

26:08 This transition between the Compaq's display and the CRT and back again, with all the onscreen elements in nearly identical positions in the camera so it appears like the two displays are morphing into one another, is impressive. Real attention to detail and dedicatation to producing the most polished presentation possible.

howardandrews312
howardandrews312 3 days, 9 hours ago

That's an intriguing tagline: "Compaq LTE Lite 4/25E: Cheaper than cheating on your spouse!"

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stéphane_lagarde 3 days, 9 hours ago

I love LGR. He's like the Bob Ross of computers. Always that soft, gentle voice that calms you when you put a review video on. Spiffy! :3

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jacqueline.long 3 days, 10 hours ago

she's a beaut, Clint! Also, that intro was gold, more of that please

paulvaleon6
paulvaleon6 3 days, 10 hours ago

Sweet Tamagotchi shirt!

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robertyadav686 3 days, 10 hours ago

I love monochrome displays!! computers, pdas, ipods, love it all

ross_shepherd
ross_shepherd 3 days, 11 hours ago

My dad had this laptop! Here In The U.K it became mine later on in the years , I remember me trying to install windows 95 under the covers in my bedroom at night 😂 I learnt dos on this machine, my gosh this is a special one for me ❤❤ thanks for this Clint ❤ he worked for ICL here in the UK who developed computers, and I remember him flying to Taiwan to negotiate a deal with Acer ❤

sarah_wallace
sarah_wallace 3 days, 11 hours ago

We need a warehouse tour as soon you have all stuff on the shelves.

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leon_williams 3 days, 11 hours ago

I had this laptop! Was my dad's old work laptop and I mostly just messed around and played a monopoly floppy it had. Cool to see it pop up here

ekani_goswami
ekani_goswami 3 days, 11 hours ago

Wow - the way you have thing sets out almost looks like computer store or something :D

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vasudhamalhotra949 3 days, 13 hours ago

That grayscale is very nice, sharp, clean, and clear.<3

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lilia_medrano 3 days, 13 hours ago

So happy to see you back in a groove. Hard to believe how long ago that hurricane was but how badly it affected people like yourself. Thanks for the great content

ashleyjames985
ashleyjames985 3 days, 13 hours ago

The Internet Explorer icon - I'm actually hallucinating the colors when looking at it. That's so funky. Beautiful screen man.

anel.valdez
anel.valdez 3 days, 13 hours ago

Further internal technical issues aside, it's good that this one didn't shatter in shipping.

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andrea_hodges 3 days, 14 hours ago

I like the opening, it's like you are walking through your own museum :)

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luce.antoine 3 days, 15 hours ago

The new space looks great so far!