Retro Computing Archives

What does Unisys do?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing June 11, 2020December 25, 2024

Unisys was once the second largest computer company in the world, and the name of one of its products, Univac, was briefly synonymous with the word “computer.” It’s no longer the force it once was, but Unisys survives today, in a slimmed-down form.

Unisys still produces computer hardware, including mainframes. But like its rival IBM, it makes most of its money in software, service, and integration.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Is Windows Unix based?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Software June 9, 2020February 2, 2022

At least two of the most popular operating systems of today are based on Unix. But what about Windows? Is Windows Unix based?

While Windows has some Unix influences, it is not derived or based on Unix. At some points is has contained a small amount of BSD code but the majority of its design came from other operating systems.

Dave Farquhar

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Atari 800 vs 800XL

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing June 4, 2020May 29, 2025

The Atari 800/XL//XE series may be the most underrated 8-bit computer line of the 1970s and 1980s. Yes, I said 1970s, as it debuted in 1979. But while the Atari 800XL is perhaps the most popular machine from that family, and it’s better in most ways than the Atari 800, the 800 has its own advantage too. Let’s look at the Atari 800 vs 800XL.

Dave Farquhar

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Why does reseating RAM work?

Dave Farquhar Hardware, Retro Computing June 3, 2020March 28, 2021

When troubleshooting machines, I was trained to routinely reseat every board and every chip in the case. Especially if there was nothing visibly wrong with the machine, it was amazing how often that worked. So why does reseating RAM work? Why does reseating anything else work?

Reseating works because it improves conductivity. Connectors can get dirty or oxidized, and if that interferes with conductivity, it causes malfunctions.

Dave Farquhar

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Is Aliexpress safe?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Toy trains May 29, 2020May 24, 2020

Aliexpress offers deals on hard-to-find items at unbeatable prices. It also offers deals on ordinary items at lower prices than usual, because it’s coming straight from China, with fewer middlemen. But is Aliexpress safe?

Aliexpress does offer buyer protections. But being overseas and dealing with overseas shipping times does mean Aliexpress is inherently riskier from buying from online sources that are closer to you.

Dave Farquhar

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Laser 128 computer

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 19, 2020September 15, 2025

The Laser 128 computer was an Apple II-compatible home computer manufactured by Video Technologies Ltd in Hong Kong and sold in the 1980s. It was available via mail order and in some retail stores like Sears. In spite of the name, there wasn’t anything optical about it. The name “laser” just sounded like high technology in the 1980s.

The Laser 128 was an Apple II clone most noteworthy for not violating any of Apple’s copyrights. It blended some of the features of both the Apple IIe and IIc computers, improving significantly on the IIc in the process.

Dave Farquhar

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RAM Doubler remembered

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Software May 11, 2020September 7, 2023

RAM Doubler was a fairly popular product for Macintosh computers in the 1990s. But you can’t buy it today, and if it seems like it’s been a while since you’ve seen or heard of it, there’s a reason for it. Ironically, it was a competing product that didn’t work that brought it down. Here’s what happened to RAM Doubler.

RAM Doubling products worked by setting aside an area of memory and compressing it, then decompressing it when you needed it. It was a form of virtual memory, theoretically faster than traditional virtual memory that used disk space, but less stable.

Dave Farquhar

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Tales of computer retail past

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 13, 2020October 5, 2022

Somehow I escaped doing helpdesk or phone support early in my career. But I didn’t escape selling computers at retail at Best Buy. And since this was the 90s, I have some good stories. Some of them happened to me. Some happened to coworkers. None of them should be true.

Dave Farquhar

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Timex Sinclair 2068: the ZX Spectrum’s ill-fated twin

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing March 12, 2020July 30, 2024

The Timex Sinclair 2068 was the US version of the much more popular Sinclair ZX Spectrum, one of the most successful home computers of the 1980s in the UK. The 2068 unfortunately didn’t match its British brother’s success.

Timex withrew from the US computer market in February 1984, soon after the release of the Timex Sinclair 2068, one of the early casualties of the home computer wars. The 2068 proved to be the last of Timex’s home computers.

Dave Farquhar

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What is a phreaker in hacking or IT terms?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, security March 10, 2020March 7, 2020

What is a phreaker in hacking or IT terms? Phreaking is largely obsolete and doesn’t happen much anymore, but it’s an important historical concept in computer security. While phreaking wasn’t the first form of hacking, it’s probably the first example of hacking in a modern sense.

Phreaking was hacking the phone system, usually to make long distance calls for free. Some people phreaked for the thrill of it, but many of them did it because they made more long distance calls than they could afford. Two famous phreakers from the 1970s were Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the co-founders of Apple.

Dave Farquhar

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