Why do I still have this computer? Why am I still able to find the DOS 3.2 boot disk? Why does it still boot? Why did I carry this computer around 25 years ago?
The NEC Multispeed EL wasn’t my first computer, but IIRC, it may have been my first portable computer. Portable in that the computer and case with the shoulder strap weighed 12 pounds (5.4 kg). I don’t remember what I was doing with it.
I just powered it on and wondered if the makers of Microsoft DOS thought anyone would ever be entering a date 25 years in the future when it asked for the current date.
My NEC Multispeed EL has a NEC 16 bit, 9.554 MHz V30 CPU (a reverse engineered Intel 8086), 640K RAM, dual 720K 3.5 inch floppy drives, a backlight monochrome LCD display and an optional Hayes compatible 2400 bps modem (CompuServe: GO NECTECH). It booted to DOS 3.2 and had a couple of applications (Telcom, Notepad, Outliner, Filer, Dialer) that loaded into RAM from the boot floppy. The boot floppy also setup a RAMDISK as drive C:.
Unfortunately, in a few days, it will go to the electronic waste at the Monterey Regional Waste Management District.