What In The World Is A Pinnacle StreamGenie?

You see it all the time around the MetroPlex. Some silver-haired older guy (Hey! I resemble that remark!), driving around in an expensive sports car (I don't resemble that). It could range anywhere from a Ferrari to the stereotypical Porsche. A younger obsession that he can now fulfill and do double duty in staving off that feeling that your youth is slipping away. We get into our 40s and 50s and are in a place professionally where we can afford the toys that we've always wanted. 

Me: I'm a little different than most others...... ok, pretty much all others. First of all, I got married later in life, so there are still sub-teens in my house to provide for..... aaaand I have different obsessions that most guys! I always wanted one of these! What is it? Well duh...... it's a Pinnacle Systems StreamGenie of course! 

Well....it didn't have to be a "StreamGenie", but barring the military handing over one of their portable computers, it'll have to do. Again; back to the "what is it" question: It's a "Portable Computer" of course, although they've been called variously as "Lunchbox PCs" or "Luggables" as well. For all intents and purposes, it's really a full-on desktop computer inside of a portable case.... sort of..... They are very much a specialty tool used by folks for whom, even powerful "workstation" laptops are found wanting. You rarely see them these days (OK, you rarely ever saw them), but they are even more rare as today's notebook computers get more and more powerful. Where they are really useful is, being full desktop PCs, they can take expansion card of any type and not just things that plug into a USB port. 

They can get pretty wild, as you can see by the 3-screened model above. There's even a military field command unit that's so big, that the cover turns into a bench for the operator to sit on! I'd be perfectly happy with one of those, except that I haven't been able to get any branches of the armed forces to let me play with theirs toys. Mighty narrow-minded of them if you ask me! So, what's a frugal propellerhead with strange desires to do? 

You turn to the specialty industries who use these weird critters. The most well known of them are the various models of the Dolch "PAC" series of network analyzers. In the networking business, the techs would quite often have to connect a number of devices through a series of connections to determine where and what an issue was. This of course requires several expansion cards. Unfortunately, the only Dolch machines that you see for sale on a regular basis are ancient; 386/486 ancient! On top of that, any in functioning condition are still relatively expensive. But the killer is that they are quite often built on non-standard component. Yeah, that's right: I want weird, with standard components..... oh..... and inexpensive if you please!

Enter, the StreamGenie, but why? You'll see, as we go through the pictures of it, that it's case is metal in the military "field computer" idiom, thus fulfilling one of my main criteria. 

 

If you'll look closely at these two images, you can tell that the drive bays are standard (5.25" & 3.5"), and therefore able to take off-the-shelf components, most of which I have already. The second image (apart from the plate that covers the I/O shield and PSU) shows that it takes a regular ATX format motherboard and power supply. This unit is complete enough to have the adapter cables (far left and middle) which allows the machine's built in keyboard/touchpad and LCD monitor to attach to standard PS/2 and VGA/HD15 connections. What's the big deal in all of that? Well; without much work, I can simply pull out the PIII (yes, I said PIII) motherboard and old power supply, then put in something relatively current. And of course, it goes without saying that I'll be able to repeatedly do this for some time since this IS NOT a laptop with proprietary parts, but a portable desktop that can be configure any way that I want.

While you are admiring this picture of what all originally came with the StreamGenie, I'll tell you a little story. I've been wanting one of these portable computers for many years, going all the way back to the late 90's when I originally became aware of them. It didn't have to have a rugged metal case, but I wanted something that didn't use proprietary hardware. On and off over the last 10 years or so, I've actively sought one that wasn't ridiculously expense. Unfortunately, even when I was able to find one at a decent price, it was the sometimes $40-50 in shipping that killed the deal. Recently, I came across not one, but two at my favorite computer junk store in Arlington (Texas), but they wanted in excess of $350 for them. So, I'd look at them longingly and waited. Last month, they announced that they were going to close the store. Although it made me sad, I saw it as an opportunity that maybe they might blow one out at less than $200. I told myself that if it got close to $150, I'd jump all over it! So far, still, "no go". Then last week, I saw one on eBay for $135 OBO (or best offer), with an estimated $26 shipping from Florida. The seller had two that he'd picked up at a government auction and professed not to know anything about them. I offered $90, he countered at $115, I countered back at $95, but only if he would hold to the $26 shipping estimate. On Thursday night, he accepted and shipped it on Friday. 

The best of all shipping scenarios happened and it left the Orlando Fedex facility that day, meaning that it would travel through the weekend. It made Hattiesburg MS, by Saturday, and Rayville (Eastern) LA by Sunday, creating the very real possibility that it will reach the Dallas sort facility by Monday some time and delivery on Tuesday if all goes just right. What are my intentions with it? That's what Part 2 is for! Oh, did I forget to tell you that the original selling price for these units designed to for video streaming was either $20,000 or $25,000 depending on whether it had dual processors! That motherboard, I'll be pulling out of mine was the dual PIII version.