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Digg v4 and lessons not learned

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 26, 2026August 26, 2026 0 Comment

Digg was a high flying news aggregation site from the early web 2.0 era that still exists today, but really in name only. It serves as a cautionary too for why high profile websites tend not to make major changes overnight. A major update, Digg v4, introduced August 25, 2010, caused the site to implode over the course of about 6 weeks during the late summer of 2010. Contemporary tech CEOs would do well to read up on it lest they repeat history.

Digg went from concept to being worth $200 million in about three years and was more popular than Reddit, which is now a $15 billion company. One ill fated change wiped out 90% of its value and its user base in a matter of six weeks.

Linux first announced August 25, 1991

Dave Farquhar Linux, Retro Computing August 25, 2026March 7, 2026 1 Comment

On August 25, 1991, Linus Torvalds wrote a message that changed the world. He didn’t expect that when he wrote it, that’s clear from the message and some of the replies. He had something he wanted to share with his fellow hobbyists, and he wanted some feedback. He was working on a project, an operating system he called Linux. And on that Sunday afternoon, he announced Linux for the first time by posting a message to a Usenet group called comp.os.minix.

Windows 95 released August 24, 1995

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Windows August 24, 2026August 25, 2026 3 Comments

It was on August 24, 1995 that Windows 95 was released, amidst much anticipation. It was the most widely anticipated Windows release of all time, and the runner up really isn’t close. The idea of people lining up for blocks for a Microsoft product sounds like a bit of a joke today, and the more time goes on, the bigger of a joke it becomes. But I’m serious that in 1995 it happened.

Microsoft QuickBasic remembered

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 21, 2026August 21, 2026 1 Comment

Microsoft QuickBasic was a commercially available programming language for MS-DOS, initially released August 18, 1985. Qbasic, the Basic interpreter included with MS-DOS versions 5 and 6, was a cut-down version of QuickBasic. Most notably, the bundled version lacked the ability to compile programs into standalone executable files. But otherwise, the two were compatible.

Adobe Systems IPO August 20, 1986

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 20, 2026August 20, 2026 0 Comment

On August 20, 1986, Adobe Systems held its initial public offering. Priced at around $11 per share, Adobe has split its stock six times since.

Chuck Peddle joins MOS Technology, August 19, 1974

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 19, 2026August 20, 2026 0 Comment

On August 19, 1974, Chuck Peddle, Bill Mensch, Rod Orgill, Harry Bawcom, Ray Hirt, Terry Holdt, Wil Mathys, and Mike Janes quit their jobs at Motorola to venture out on their own, joining MOS Technology. The eight had worked on the design for the Motorola 6800 along with nine others. At MOS Technology, they went on to design the 6502 CPU.

What happened to Egghead Software

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 18, 2026August 18, 2026 1 Comment

Egghead Software was a US retail store that sold computer software from 1984 to 2001. It declared bankruptcy 25 years ago this week, on August 18, 2001, after an attempted reinvention as a dotcom selling online failed. Why did Egghead Software fail? In this blog post, we examine what happened to Egghead Software and why.

When the Internet reached half of US households

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 17, 2026August 17, 2026 1 Comment

August 17, 2000 was a major milestone for the Internet. You could argue it’s the day the Internet went mainstream, completing the transition from something computer science students used in college to something their parents would use to buy books and offbeat collectibles. It was the day Nielson announced that the Internet had reached half of US households, the magic 50 percent mark.

IBM PC Compact Printer model 5181

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 15, 2026August 15, 2026 0 Comment

The IBM PC Compact Printer is a bit of a misnomer, as it was really intended for the PCjr. But it ended up working with a bunch of other computers as well as part of its second act. Here’s the story of IBM’s inexpensive model 5181 printer, which also went by some aliases, including the Big Blue Printer and the Serial 8056 Compact Printer, depending on who was liquidating it and on which continent.

Commodore’s purchase of Amiga, August 14, 1984

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 14, 2026March 7, 2026 6 Comments

On August 14, 1984, Commodore International purchased Amiga Corporation for $27 million, with the expectation of bringing Amiga’s multitasking computer with high-color graphics and sound to market within a year. It took a little longer than that, and it created one of the more interesting might-have-beens of 1980s computing.

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