Milano!

[Reinfeld]

Friends,

I broke down. Couldn't help myself. Pity me.

http://tinyurl.com/7n7mheo

Overpaid, I know. About 100 USD, plus the insane shipping costs from Australia. Still, it seems to be the recent going rate for these babies (elpeon's numbers are a bit stale.) I fiddled around with someone's recent sale, the guy justly hounded by Steve not so long ago, but I didn't trust it.

A few blemishes: the tiny flat travel pieces are absent. The seller said he purchased the machine in London without them. The seller has low numbers. I know, I know. Leave me alone.

I've been looking for this one for some time. It represents just about the best of Schroder (excepting the Nigel Short, which is harder to find) and perhaps the best of the 8-bit machines. I love the little rating measurement feature (a side obsession.)

Until now, I've had nothing of Schroder. You have to have the greats. I've got more Morsch than I need, scads of Spracklens, and the key Kittingers.

Now, add Schroder. Still missing de Kooning (RISC 2500, a small dream, and R30, an impossible one) and Lang - Berlin Pro, more reachable. (I'm in the market, if anyone cares, and I have too much spare cash).

The ideal matchup appears to be Milano vs Obsidian. I can't wait to get these two in the ring. Stay tuned for a report from the weigh-in.

- R.

P.S. - Has anyone noticed, with the advent of software, the ridiculous complexity of position setup functions on our old table-top friends? To go back in time, to go through the labor, is a window on the past, like the old trip you took before GPS. You unfolded paper maps. The family rolled their eyes and mocked your ineptitude.

I type and write for a living. I am a convenience addict, a cut-and-paste junkie. I remember using Selectrics and typing in code for scanners. The millennials would be helpless under those conditions. Take comfort, friends. Though much is taken, much abides.

[Steve B]

P.S. - Has anyone noticed, with the advent of software, the ridiculous complexity of position setup functions on our old table-top friends?

Of course the piece recognition boards made setting up positions a snap
Still ..for me this is part of the charm to these oldies
its a bit like trying to compare the interior controls of a modern day car ..with touch screen controls..and computer everything everywhere and an old TBird with maybe an AM Radio..
the Modern car is alot more convenient but it probably will have none of the charm of the Tbird
anyway Congrats to the Milano!

IMHO Regards
Steve

[Larry]

Friends,



Overpaid, I know. About 100 USD, plus the insane shipping costs from Australia.

Ahh... so it was you who snapped it out from under me. I watched
this auction, considering a killer bid of perhaps $60 in the closing seconds.
To be honest, I forgot about the auction... no problem then, you would
have beaten me anyway. But here's another one:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Schachcomputer-M ... 19ce9c0423
And yet another one:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/290680347526 ... 1438.l2649
This must be Milano week. You don't normally see Milanos around much.
I looked at the author and the rating and figured a Milano is a Polgar
in laptop form.
BTW, did yours come with a dustcover? I did'nt see the dustcover in
the auction pictures.
The shipping cost even for me in Australia was a deterrent, considering
I live on the opposite coast.
Looking forward to hearing the results of the Milano/Obsidian clash...
all the best,
Larry