What was the Y2K problem and what was the solution?

What was the Y2K problem and what was the solution?

Hang around enough people like me who’ve been in IT for decades and eventually the Y2K problem comes up. But what was the Y2K problem? What was the solution? And was the problem overblown? As Y2K’s 25th anniversary approaches, this is a great time to look back on the problem.

I was in an odd position. I argued in 1999 and 2000 that any problems we had would be relatively minor. But I don’t think the efforts to fix Y2K were overblown. I may be in the minority opinion on that but I’ll explain.

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If Irvin Mainway made computer accessories, he’d make this

If Irvin Mainway made computer accessories, he’d make this

In Saturday Night Live’s second, third, and fourth seasons, Dan Aykroyd played a recurring character named Irvin Mainway who sold dangerous toys to kids, like a space helmet that was just a clear plastic bag and a rubber band to affix it, and a bag of broken glass. Hey, it was the 70s. Lawn darts were still legal and seatbelts weren’t mandatory. Seeing this 1984 ad from Langley-St. Clair made me immediately think of Irvin Mainway.

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Charles Babbage born 12/26/1791

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.

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Cashing in on GIF by charging royalties

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.

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Why conservatives like retro too

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.

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Internet Explorer 2.0 released November 22, 1995

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.

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Blue Chip BCD/5.25 disk drive

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.

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Vortex86: Revenge of the Rise MP6 from the 1990s

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.

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Compute Magazine, 1979-1994

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.

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Asus SP97-V motherboard and SIS 5598 chipset

Asus SP97-V motherboard and SIS 5598 chipset

I saw some discussion about the Asus SP97-V motherboard recently. This happens to be one of my favorite socket 7 motherboards, and I used it in a good number of builds in 1997 and 1998. Initially, I was nervous about this board and the SIS 5598 chipset, but in the long run, it didn’t give me any problems. I share the opinion that it is a very underrated board.

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