David L. Farquhar on technology old and new, computer security, and more
Johnston’s Electric Train Shop was a family-owned business in St Louis for about 50 years. As its name suggests, it was a storefront in St Louis’s Dutchtown neighborhood, and advertised itself as St Louis’ first hobby shop that specialized in trains.
But there’s more to the story. This is a classic American Dream story, a small business idea borne of financial hardship that led to owning the building it operated out of and employing 11 people.
It was eight years ago, on Oct 28, 2018, that IBM announced its intention to acquire Red Hat, the Linux vendor, for $34 billion. Its Aug 11, 1999 IPO had been the 8th largest first-day gain in the history of Wall Street at the time. The acquisition closed in July 2019.
42 years ago today, on October 28, 1983, Texas Instruments announced it was discontinuing the TI-99/4A computer and withdrawing from the home computer market. It was a stunning admission of defeat for a company that had everything it took to absolutely dominate the home computer market: vertical integration, name recognition, pre-existing relationships with retailers, and a compelling design. Let’s look at what went wrong.
October 27, 1982 is the date on the IBM 5150 Revision B BIOS, making this week as good of a time as any to look over the differences between the Revision A and Revision B IBM PC 5150. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a Revision A vs Revision B IBM PC 5150? Maybe more importantly, is one of them more rare than the other?
Fourteen years ago this week, on October 26, 2012, Microsoft released Windows 8. Let’s just say Windows 8 was not their finest moment. It was their most significant UI redesign since Windows 95, and it flopped. Oddly, two of the most beloved Windows versions ever, Windows 7 and Windows XP, were also released in the same week, several years apart. But that late October magic couldn’t save Windows 8.
How much you can make in an entry level cyber security job is a good question. We’ve all heard there is a shortage of people in cyber security, and while the money is good, there are certain limits. In this blog post, I’ll talk about the limits of the entry level cyber security job, and some possible career paths.
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. Introduced January 7, 1982 at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show, it reached the market in March 1982.
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.
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.