The Silicon Underground

In 1982, computers seemed like a thing in the future for the majority of people. But Commodore was doing what they could to make them affordable. After creating the first color computer that would sell for less than $300, the first 64k computer to sell for less than $600, and the first disk drive for less than $300, Commodore wanted a sub-$100 modem to go with all of that. They outsourced the design to Anchor Automation, and the VICmodem, model 1600, was what they came up with. It reached the market in March 1982.

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It was 25 years ago this week, on October 25, 2001, that Microsoft released Windows XP. I find it interesting that Microsoft released two of the most beloved Windows versions in the same week, 8 years apart, and another one of the worst Windows versions, Windows 8, in the same week, but after these two.

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On October 22, 2009, Windows 7 was released. It went on to become one of the most popular Windows versions of all time, providing a much needed bounce back after Windows Vista. Two of the most beloved Windows versions ever, Windows 7 and Windows XP, were both released in the same week, 8 years apart.

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It was 52 years ago this month, in October 1974, that Creative Computing, one of the greatest computer magazines of the 1970s and 1980s, made its debut.

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There are two ways to look at the question of who bought Gateway computers. Who bought the company, and who bought the computers. Gateway’s computers didn’t have the best reputation, but people loved the company until they didn’t. Gateway fell hard and fast, and various turnaround efforts failed. What happened to Gateway 2000 was Acer bought them on October 17, 2007.

Gateway was originally known as Gateway 2000, but changed its name as the millennium approached so as not to sound dated.

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When researching the 1600 VICmodem, I found an assertion that the 1600 was the first modem to sell a million units. And I’ve repeated that claim myself at least once. But I never felt quite right about that. I am a classically trained journalist, and if you have the ability to double check a claim, you are supposed to do that. In this blog post, I try to get a good estimate of how many VICmodems Commodore sold.

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On October 17, 1985, Intel released its 386 CPU, also known as the 80386, and later, as the 386DX. The 386 changed the direction of the computer industry like no chip before it, and maybe since. The phrase “disruptive product” didn’t come into our lexicon until the mid 1990s, but when Harvard professor Clayton Christensen published his theory of disruptive innovation in 1995, the 386 powered one of his key examples.

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On October 16, 1995, Roland Vossen accidentally invented spyware in a Usenet post. Well, not exactly. He didn’t invent spyware so much as he invented the term. His Usenet post contained the first recorded use of the word “spyware.”

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What was a Token Ring network? Token Ring is an obsolete networking technology that competed with Ethernet in the 1980s and 1990s. IBM first announced it October 15, 1985. It is more of a curiosity today, as the networking standard that lost. But when Token Ring equipment turns up, it can look enough like Ethernet to confuse people. And why it lost can be interesting to study.

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