New laptop recreates 1981s IBM PC, complete with 8088 CPU and 640KB of RAM

News Summary

  • There are around 20 of the $241 version with the sound card and an external ISA expansion dongle.Obviously, you don't need to buy a laptop with an 8088 to experience what life was like in the MS-DOS days.
  • "While my work is open source, and I don't mind people using it in their projects, I do care deeply about the principles of open source software development and licensing.
  • "Since you start your article with the discussion of how Compaq reverse engineered IBM's BIOS, I think it would be suitable to mention that the manufacturer pirated the BIOS, without crediting the work, and they violate GPL by not releasing the source code of their modified BIOS.
  • The images are attributed to Xinrui Technology, a Hong Kong-based manufacturer that mostly seems to make cheap PC accessories and AV equipment but whose (very old) site doesn't mention the Book 8088.
  • A visible boot screen in one of the photos pointed us to 8086cpu.com, which lists the Book 8088 and other retro PC projects, but no information not already provided in the AliExpress listing.
  • Most people can fire one of these emulators up for half an hour and learn all they need to about retrocomputing (mostly, it was slow).
5 with The Book 8088 laptop is a modern clamshell system that attempts to recreate the magic of the original IBM PC from 1981. A blend of old and new (or lessold, at lea [+4011 chars]