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Retrotech

I like old shit.

By old, I mean tech that is single/limited purpose.

These devices were designed to do a small set of things and do them well.

They don't easily connect to the internet; you can use them without worrying about notifications, ads, or other distractions.

More importantly:

you can usually repair them from cheap spare parts...
or they're built so well that they won't need repairing any decade soon.

You could say that ThinkPads fall under this category as well, though they still make them.

/thinkpads

Kindle Fire 1st Gen

I rescued an old Kindle Fire 1st Gen (from 2011) and put Cyanogenmod 11 on it. It runs so much faster without the combined bloat of the standard Amazon and Google software. (I did try to put Google Play services on it, but that alone slowed everything down to the point that it wasn't usable.)

Without access to Google Apps, I'm only using what's available on F-Droid. This is fine, since Cyanogenmod 11 is too old to run most software. (That and I really only want the Kindle for reading.)

You can't put it into fastboot mode for flashing; you have to use a "factory cable".

I didn't have one, but they're easy to build. I used a SparkFun USB MicroB Plug Breakout board so I could short the appropriate pins.

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10031

iPod

Mine is a fourth generation model - the first with a clickwheel and one of the last with a Wolfson DAC.

In February 2022, I switched from the stock firmware to Rockbox. I use it to listen to hi-res audio (FLAC).

Modifications:

replaced dead hard drive with SD card adapter
replaced battery

Source for adapters to replace the hard drive

Replacement battery + tools

Palm Pilot

Back in the mid 2000s, I bought a Tungsten E2. In January 2022, I discovered that it still works, the original battery has days worth of standby time, and most of the apps I could want are now freeware or open source.

Currently, I use it to play chess (or more often than not, solitaire) without interruption.

I did get a wifi card for it on ebay, but discovered that:

it will only connect to WEP or non-encrypted networks
it eats the battery like nobody's business
it doesn't have a browser that speaks https (without crashing)

It's very far down on my project list, but I may put in the time to learn some Palm Pilot development. I wouldn't mind seeing if I can write a todo app (with the help of a companion backend app for synchronization) or a home automation control panel.

Newton MessagePad

I have a pair of Netwons: a MessagePad 2000 and a MessagePad 2100.

These I take out of storage for pure nostalgia, and they work perfectly. However, they don't see any serious use for the following reasons:

The rechargeable batteries are dead, but I have a battery caddy that accepts AAs
The rubberized coating is starting to get gummy and gross

I doubt that I'll find anything truly useful to do with these, but I'm sure I'll think of something :)