Comments on: A DAK Catalog Showdown?

By: potrzebie

potrzebie — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:13:14 +0000

Oh man, I haven’t thought about DAK for years. Somehow, my family got on their mailing list about 1985 or so and eventually, when time came for my dad to cave into requests form me (helped in part by mom) to get a computer, it was from the DAK catalog. A full spread, pc-compatible luggable portable thing (a cover over the keyboard where an optional LCD display went) with yellow monocrome monitor (I believe the catalog write-up touted amber monocrome as vastly superior to green), 256 k, two (2) 5″ floppy drives, and a daisy wheel printer. DOS 2.11 and custom DAK Screen editor software included.

Always a pain. Oh, it did play some of the games you could get form Waldenbooks or B. Dalton (those 4-to-a-disk shareware sets they sold in a rack in the mid-80s) but real games, those I wanted an Apple II or a Commodore for, never worked, for odd reasons (usually display problems). And I had no idea that I had access to BASIC if I just put in the second DOS disk and typed “BASICA” (or was it “GWBASIC”? I get old DOS stuff mixed up, jumbled memories of MS and PC and DR peculiarities).

Despite the dog computer we got form DAK, I still read that damned catalog, and eventually made a couple purchses through them. My pll-tuning, digital, AM/FM/shortwave DAK-branded radio still works, though it’s hopelessly clunky, and has a shorting-out volume slider.

By: Nate

Nate — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:45:15 +0000

Thanks for the memories. DAK was a fun catalog. I would use it as a jumping off point to imagine what gadgets would be possible in only a few years. That and the phonebook-sized Computer Shopper were the stuff of dreams.

Whitebox PC vendors, Cyrix and other x86 CPU clones, and VGA *made* Gates. Without them, he would never have been so successful.

By: Fake Rake

Fake Rake — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:18:35 +0000

Awesome. I also used to read the DAK catalogs cover-to-cover, over and over as a kid in the late 80′s. Getting a new DAK catalog in the mail was always exciting. I’m pretty sure I kept them for a while, since they were so full of awesome stuff, but I don’t know where they’ve gone. There’s probably a decent chance they’re still at my parents’ house somewhere. If I find them, I’ll scan or send them in.

The only item I remember from the catalog was a dbx noise reduction box that kept showing up. Oh, the magical dreams of hiss-less cassettes…

By: Jim Jacob

Jim Jacob — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:43:17 +0000

I actually purchased that modem when it first showed up in the catalog. It was a big deal here in the Los Angeles area. People would make the run up to the San Fernando valley just pick one up in person and check out the small store.

By: Stephen B

Stephen B — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:17:39 +0000

I used to read those DAK catalogs over and over when I was younger. I think he used to refer to his readers as Dakonians or something like that. COMB catalog was another one that I used to look forward to receiving.