Reader Mark Eichin was curious about the “Days with a pony” web page. Here’s what it would look (suitably redacted) if it were still operating:

December 23, 2005: Still no pony

From: Raymond Chen
To: Xxxx Xxxxxx
Subject: Laptop order
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2000 09:47:19 -0800

I want a pony and a train set and an NEC Versa SX laptop (NECVS4E0E7A).

Maybe you can help.

Did I mention the pony?

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From: Order Management
To: Raymond Chen
Subject: Order Confirmation
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 14:28:19 -0800

Your order has been confirmed. Please contact your Central Sales Representative if you have any questions.

Customer PO#	1174384
Order#	5549416
Order Date	3/31/2000

Item #	Mfg Part#	Description	Price
A143831	VS4E0E7A-0300A0	NEC VERSASX PII400	#,###.##
0373140	OP-570-69002	NEC BATT PK	###.##
A021502	KTN-VSLX/128	KINGSTON 128MB OD V	###.##
A025063	3CXM556	3COM MCD 56K CELLUL	###.##
A025848	CE3B-100BTX	XIRCOM CREDITCARD E	##.##
A136063	OP-270-69002-1	NEC DVD PC ACCELERA	###.##
		Total	#,###.##

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From: Raymond Chen
To: Xxxx Xxxxxx
Subject: FW: Order Confirmation
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 15:12:19 -0800

What, no pony?

The laptop itself is still operational, assuming you don’t need to see anything. The LCD backlight died a few years ago, so you either have to type blind or work in a really bright room. For some reason, the video output also died, so the standard fallback of using it as a very small desktop machine (with external keyboard and monitor) doesn’t work. As a result, the machine sits in a drawer unused.

[Raymond is currently away; this message was pre-recorded.]