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A Roku alternative streaming device

Dave Farquhar Video August 29, 2026 2 Comments

The privacy, or lack thereof, around streaming media has been bothering me lately. I’m sure some people would ask what took me so long. And I’m sure others would say I am overreacting. But it is a problem not very many people have talked about, and even fewer have tried to solve and then talk about. For me, the tipping point was the acquisition of Roku, a company I have long admired, by Fox, a broadcasting company. A media company, Fox or otherwise, tracking what I watch and injecting ads is way too Max Headroom for me, which led me to seek a Roku alternative.

Dell Optiplex 3040 and 3050 micro

Dave Farquhar Hardware August 29, 2026August 29, 2026 0 Comment

The Dell Optiplex 3040 and 3050 Micro are useful machines when you need a small form factor, versatility, and affordability. They aren’t as hip and chic as a Raspberry Pi, but they are more expandable and, these days, they’re likely more affordable too. And if you’ve seen prices on computer gear lately, they are not e-waste.

Anandtech shut down abruptly, August 30, 2024

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 1 Comment

At the end of August 2024, Anandtech shut down rather suddenly and unexpectedly, ending a run that dated back to April 3, 1997. I thought about writing something at the time, but really needed longer to collect my thoughts.

TEAC founded in 1953, sort of

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing August 27, 2026August 27, 2026 3 Comments

On August 29, 1953, the Tokyo Television Acoustic Company was founded. Later in the decade it merged with the Tokyo Electro-Acoustic Company, and the combined company took the name TEAC. The combined company specialized in designing and manufacturing tape recorders. But retro computer enthusiasts know TEAC for its awesome floppy disk drives.

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 2 Comments

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.

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