irc: #oldcomputerchallenge libera.chat
Old Computer Challenge community is a smol group of enthusiasts, who come together every year to experience new and old things.
Solène Rapenne began the Old Computer Challenge in July 2021 with the initial 7 day 512M of RAM task. Since then the challenge brought together a following of retro computing and digital minimalism enthusiasts.
Like before, if you decide to document your journey and have it archived here, you can submit your journal by sending us the url to the mailing list:
- irc: #oldcomputerchallenge irc.libera.chat
- mailing list: email this address to subscribe
~tekk/[email protected] - rss feed
2026 - Make Something
First off, some news: I (Tekk, the person running the mailing list,) have been given control over the website as Matto and Prahou, who ran it previously, have stepped down. I'd like to thank them (and of course Solene) for all the work they've put in to make every year until now have fun! In positive news, that means that if you have any issues with the mailing list or website, you can just contact me (my e-mail address is easily found on the list.)
This year's OCC will take place during the first full week of July. That means from the 5th to the 12th this year.
Given the constant onslaught of LLM garbage the last few years, I thought it was appropriate for us to have a theme again, if a simple one. There are still no rules for how you OCC, but I'd like to encourage people to hand-make something during their OCC week and share it somehow, be it on their page, on the mailing list, or in IRC. Write a story, make some music, publish a new program. Just flex your creative muscle!
Thanks to Emilio for the banner this year!
Participants
To be filled in.2025 - No Challenge
aka DIY
Participants
2024 - DIY
The topic of 2024 was DIY. Getting inspired by other users and previous years and crafting a personal experience!
The Challengees
2023 - "The machine is not timeless"
The 2023 issue of the Old Computer Challenge was a nostalgic return to its roots. Old and slow, still divine.
- 512M RAM
- 1 CORE
- LOWEST CPU FREQUENCY
The list:
2022 - 60 minutes of internet
The 2022 edition focused on limited internet time. The idea was to recreate the experience of the old time of RTC modems with a monthly time budget. Again, the duration of the challenge was one week, from 10th to 17th July 2022.
The challenge rules for this edition were easy: you are allowed to connect your computer to the Internet for a maximum accumulated time of 1h per day, from 10th to 17th July included. This means you can connect six times for ten minutes, twice for thirty minutes, or once for one hour in the day.
Again, for the participants it was a challenging experience. The rules of the challenge resulted in an unexpected side effect. It allowed for limited interaction on the IRC channel. Other than that, people were positive about having attended.
Participants' blogs and notes
2021 - 512M of RAM
The challenge of 2021 was the first edition, with the following rules:
- 1 CPU maximum, whatever the model. This means only 1 CPU|Core|Thread. Some bios allow to disable multi core.
- 512 MB of memory (if you have more it's not a big deal, if you want to reduce your ram create a tmpfs and put a big file in it)
- using USB dongles is allowed (storage, wifi, Bluetooth whatever)
- only for your personal computer, during work time use your usual stuff
- relying on services hosted remotely is allowed (VNC, file sharing, whatever help you)
- using a smartphone to replace your computer may work, please share if you move habits to your smartphone during the challenge
- if you absolutely need your regular computer for something really important please use it. The goal is to have fun but not make your week a nightmare.
The challenge took place from 10th July morning until 17th July morning.
At the end of the challenge it turned out that the participants were all very positive about the experience.