Author: Dave Farquhar

Charles Babbage born 12/26/1791

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Charles Babbage born 12/26/1791

Charles Babbage was born in London December 26, 1791, 233 years ago. Among other things, he invented the first mechanical computer, the Difference Engine. He then went on to invent the Analytical Engine, a mechanical computer that contained all of the essential ideas of a modern computer.

Read more

Cashing in on GIF by charging royalties

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Cashing in on GIF by charging royalties

On December 24, 1994, Compuserve and Unisys tried to give themselves a Christmas gift and make the Internet pay for it. They announced their plans to charge royalties on the GIF file format, which, at the time, was a staple of early web development.

Read more

Why conservatives like retro too

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Why conservatives like retro too

Recently, a Nintendo Game Boy clone called the Modretro Chromatic hit the market. Its designer’s name is Palmer Luckey, a retro enthusiast whose day job is making weapons of war. This raised questions on Bluesky about why a conservative would long for nostalgia, and why a conservative’s longing for nostalgia is the story. It’s not something you can just write off as an eccentric self contradiction. There are good reasons why conservatives like retro too. Separate from the reasons everyone else likes retro.

Read more

A&M Records sues Napster, December 6, 1999

Dave Farquhar Music
A&M Records sues Napster, December 6, 1999

On December 6, 1999, A&M Records sued Napster. Although the trial’s goal was to stop Napster, initially it had the opposite effect, with millions of users signing up for the service while the getting was still good. But given Napster’s business model, it was pretty clear what the effect of the lawsuit ultimately would be. This was the first major case to address the application of copyright laws to peer-to-peer file sharing.

A&M Records was the lead plantiff, along with 17 other record companies, all of which were members of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Read more

Never give a cop your phone and other security tips

Dave Farquhar security
Never give a cop your phone and other security tips

The political climate in the United States means everyone, but especially marginalized groups, need to be thinking about phone security. It’s not just something security professionals and people who handle sensitive information for a living need to worry about anymore. In light of that, I present five phone security tips I wish everyone knew and followed.

Read more

First handheld game console: Milton Bradley Microvision

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming
First handheld game console: Milton Bradley Microvision

The Milton Bradley Microvision was the first handheld game console, first released in November 1979. It was the direct inspiration for the Nintendo Game Boy.

Read more

Internet Explorer 2.0 released November 22, 1995

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Internet Explorer 2.0 released November 22, 1995

It was 29 years ago this week that Microsoft introduced Internet Explorer 2.0. Version 1.0 had been almost an afterthought, just one of the components in the Windows 95 Plus pack. But with version 2, Microsoft was taking Netscape seriously, and, as they say, Microsoft doesn’t like to lose.

Read more

If you found this post informative or helpful, please share it!

Blue Chip BCD/5.25 disk drive

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Blue Chip BCD/5.25 disk drive

The Blue Chip disk drive, officially called the BCD/5.25, was an aftermarket disk drive for Commodore computers, a very close clone of Commodore’s 1541 drive. It was only on the market for about a year, but it’s not as rare as you might expect for such a short-lived drive.

Read more

Vortex86: Revenge of the Rise MP6 from the 1990s

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Vortex86: Revenge of the Rise MP6 from the 1990s

The Vortex86 is a system on a chip or system on module that is starting to gain popularity in retro computing circles. It powers the ITX Llama, Tiny Llama, and Pixel x86 retro revival projects. I’ve seen it described as a Pentium Pro-like CPU that can run DOS and Windows software at the kinds of speeds we would have expected in the late 1990s. So what is this system on a chip, and where did it come from? I found out.

Read more

Compute Magazine, 1979-1994

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Compute Magazine, 1979-1994

Approximately 45 years ago, one of my favorite computer magazines of all time, Compute!, was born. Its first issue was dated Fall 1979, was printed in October, and reached reader’s hands in late October or early November.

Read more