The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
Get a real computer!
imp.
In 1996 when this entry first entered the File, it was the typical hacker
response to news that somebody is having trouble getting work done on a
system that (a) was single-tasking, (b) had no hard disk, or (c) had an
address space smaller than 16 megabytes. In 2003 anything less powerful
than a 500MHz Pentium with a multi-gigabyte hard disk would probably be
similarly written off. The threshold for ?real computer? rises with time.
See bitty box and toy.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
Get a real computer!
A typical hacker response to news that somebody is
having trouble getting work done on a toy system or bitty
box.
The threshold for "real computer" rises with time. As of
mid-1993 it meant multi-tasking, with a hard disk, and an
address space bigger than 16 megabytes. At this time,
according to GLS, computers with character-only displays
were verging on "unreal". In 2001, a real computer has a one
gigahertz processor, 128 MB of RAM, 20 GB of hard disk,
and runs Linux.
[Jargon File]
(2001-06-22)