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.

Read more

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.

Read more

Commodore could have owned AOL

Commodore could have owned AOL

30 years ago today, on November 1, 1994, AOL pulled the plug on Quantum Link. Quantum Link was a Commodore-oriented online service that was the direct ancestor of AOL. That makes today as good of a time as any to explore a tantalizing historical missed opportunity. Commodore could have owned AOL, a company that at its peak had a $200 billion valuation. Commodore, meanwhile, famously never reached its stated goal of $1 billion in annual sales.

Read more

Ghislaine Maxwell’s connection to the dotcom boom

Ghislaine Maxwell’s connection to the dotcom boom

In October 2024, Jay Dyer appeared on a podcast called Attwood Unleashed, in episode 178. He made some serious allegations tying Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein, and potentially even Sean Combs, back to the dotcom boom. Perhaps back to the very beginning of the dotcom boom. But some of his statements are problematic.

Read more

David Bunnell, vintage computer magazine publisher

David Bunnell, vintage computer magazine publisher

David Bunnell was the founder of three of the most successful computer magazines of all time. He even edited two of them simultaneously, straddling two very different worlds.

He was not only a pioneer of tech journalism, he is one of the all-time greats. Bunnell wasn’t just a great tech journalist. He would have been great in any specialty. I am sad to say they don’t make them like him anymore.

Read more

Nvidia’s first GPU: GeForce 256

Nvidia’s first GPU: GeForce 256

The GPU turns 25 today. 25 years ago, on October 11, 1999, Nvidia released its GeForce 256, its first product that it described as a GPU.

Read more

MS-DOS 4.0: A closer look

MS-DOS 4.0: A closer look

Released October 6, 1988, MS-DOS 4.0 is the forgotten DOS. As such, modern hobbyists are often curious about it. Why did so few people use it?

It was eagerly anticipated and was years in the making, so it’s fair to say DOS 4 was a letdown. It’s a misnomer to say no one shipped PCs with it and no one used it, just like it’s a misnomer to say no one used Windows Vista. But it’s very apt to compare DOS 4.0 with Windows Vista and there were very valid reasons to avoid it in the 1988-90 timeframe. It’s also fair to be curious about it.

Read more

Max Toy, embattled Commodore president

Max Toy, embattled Commodore president

Commodore went through a revolving door of executives after Jack Tramiel resigned due to conflicts with Irving Gould. On October 6, 1987, it was Max Toy’s turn. On that day, Commodore hired him. And for a while, it seemed like Max Toy might be the one to turn the company around. In this blog post, we’ll explore what was different, and what wasn’t so different about him.

Read more

Creative Computing launched October 1974

Creative Computing launched October 1974

It was 50 years ago this month, in October 1974, that Creative Computing, one of the greatest computer magazines of the 1970s and 1980s, made its debut.

Read more

Configure mystery jumperless NE2000 cards

Configure mystery jumperless NE2000 cards

It was 44 years ago this week that the Ethernet standard was first proposed. That makes today a good day to talk about what I do to bring mystery jumperless plug and play ISA Ethernet cards back from the dead.

Read more