Retro Computing Archives - The Silicon Underground

When Internet Explorer passed Netscape for the first time

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 11:00:54 +0000

It was on September 28, 1998 that Internet Explorer passed Netscape in market share for the first time. It took just under three years for it to go from an afterthought in the Microsoft Plus pack to the dominant browser.

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AMD’s IPO, September 27, 1972

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:00:25 +0000

AMD went public September 27, 1972. It issued 620,000 shares at $15.50 per share, raising $7.5 million in capital. Unlike modern tech IPOs, AMD didn’t list on any of the major exchanges, opting to trade over the counter. on October

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Motorola born September 25, 1928

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:00:47 +0000

On September 25, 1928, Motorola was founded. Retro computer enthusiasts think of Motorola as a CPU manufacturer, and to a lesser degree, perhaps as a computer manufacturer. But its primary line of business for the majority of its existence was

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Ebay’s IPO: The rare dotcom survivor

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 11:00:26 +0000

On September 24, 1998, Ebay held its IPO at $18 per share, reaching $53 per share in its first day and making founder Pierre Omidyar and president Jeffrey Skoll instant billionaires. Ebay’s first annual report listed the company’s dependence on

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NEC V20 CPU: A bit of pep for an XT

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 11:00:09 +0000

The NEC V20 was an Intel 8088-compatible CPU that ran slightly faster. It was a niche CPU in the 1980s and 1990s but had a following as a cheap upgrade for power users, especially in instances where motherboard swaps were

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Retro emojis: We had ’em in the 80s and 90s

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:00:28 +0000

It might surprise you to hear we had emojis in the 1980s and 90s. We’ve had them since 1982, to be precise. The first known use was on a bulletin board by Scott Fahlman, a Carnegie Mellon computer science professor,

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Computer Reset, Dallas

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:00:56 +0000

Computer Reset was a large used computer store and warehouse in northeast Dallas whose heyday was in the 1980s and 1990s, but it remained a go-to source for vintage and retro computer parts into the 2010s. Its fame grew after

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The 6502 CPU’s odd debut

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 11:00:05 +0000

On September 16, 1975, the 6502 CPU made its debut. It was a simple, inexpensive processor designed and priced for everyone. The 6502 cost $25 when Intel’s closest equivalent cost $370. Unsurprisingly, its low price made it an immediate success

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Diamond Rio PMP300

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 11:00:30 +0000

On September 15, 1998, Diamond Multimedia introduced an MP3 player, the Diamond Rio PMP300. It wasn’t the first MP3 player, but it made the MP3 player mainstream. I had one. It wasn’t exactly great, but I understand why the RIAA

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Osborne Computer’s bankruptcy and the Osborne Effect

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 11:00:16 +0000

On September 13, 1983, Osborne Computer Corporation, one of the early makers of CP/M computers and a pioneer in portable computing, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Although it was able to secure funding and emerge from bankruptcy in January 1985,

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