Retro Computing Archives

Happy late birthday, OS/2

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 15, 2012June 7, 20171990s, compaq, IBM, Missouri, New York, New York City, university of missouri, vista, windows 2000, windows 7, windows nt, Windows Server, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Twenty-five years ago this month, on April 2, IBM announced its new PS/2 computers and a new multitasking operating system to run on (most of) them–OS/2. They even lured a bunch of the actors from M*A*S*H to do an ad campaign for them.

It didn’t seem like it at the time, but that was the beginning of the end of IBM’s PC business.
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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

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The web reacts to Jack Tramiel’s death

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 10, 2012August 1, 20171980s, 1990s, apple, CBM, commodore, IBM, jack tramiel

Numerous tributes appeared today as word of Commodore founder Jack Tramiel’s death spread. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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RIP, Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 9, 2012August 1, 20171980s, apple, atari, atari st, Chuck Peddle, commodore, commodore 64, dell, IBM, jack tramiel, Linus Torvalds, motorola, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Texas Instruments, TI

Commodore founder Jack Tramiel, the orchestrator of the first line of affordable personal computers, died this weekend at the age of 83.

I don’t know exactly what to think about it, and I’m probably not alone, though it didn’t take long for tributes to pour in. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Umm, no, that’s not Commodore, and that’s not an Amiga

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing March 23, 20121950s, 1980s, amiga, amiga os, apple, commodore, commodore vic 20, IBM, intel, jack tramiel, kenmore, macintosh, sears, whirlpool

Some stories floating around are suggesting that Commodore is still around, and they just released a new, overpriced Amiga.

Well, there’s a company slapping “Commodore” and “Amiga” labels on PC cases that look kind of like Apple Mac Mini cases and stuffing off-the-shelf components in them, but they’re Commodore Amigas in name only. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Viewtron and Videotex: Internet-like technology, circa 1983

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing March 3, 2012September 23, 2022

IT World profiled Viewtron, AT&T’s implementation of Videotex, as an interesting what-if. Think of it as 1983’s version of WebTV. What if it had caught on? Why didn’t it?
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Dave Farquhar

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SCO v. IBM winds toward resolution

Dave Farquhar Linux, Retro Computing February 18, 2012October 30, 20181990s, AIX, AT&T, BSD, Digital Research, Gary Kildall, IBM, intel, SCO, unix, x86

Slashdot reported yesterday that SCO v. IBM is back on. Well, it is, sort of. The case never was fully resolved, due to SCO running out of money and filing for bankruptcy. Groklaw has the details.

If this sounds vaguely familiar, I’ll try to refresh your memory.

Dave Farquhar

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Happy 30th birthday, Commodore 64

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing January 6, 2012July 15, 20171980s, 1990s, apple, CES, commodore, commodore 64, Dave Haynie, emachine, IBM

The C-64 sort of turns 30 this week. It was introduced 30 years ago this week, though it wasn’t until August or so that you could actually buy one. It took that long for memory prices to come down to reach the target price, and if memory serves, the machine they displayed at CES in January wasn’t quite production-ready anyway.

I remember the machine well. It was my first computer. It seems like just yesterday the thing turned 25. And not all that long ago that I still used one on a regular basis.

Dave Farquhar

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Steve Jobs and the Commodore PET

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing November 5, 2011October 11, 20171980s, 1990s, 6502, amiga, amiga os, apple, apple ii, Chuck Peddle, commodore, commodore 64, intel, irving gould, jack tramiel, KIM, macintosh, Mehdi Ali, MOS, motorola, pixar, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, tape drive, Texas Instruments

There’s a nasty rumor floating around that in Walter Isaacson’s bestselling biography, Steve Jobs, Jobs alleges that Commodore copied the Apple II when making its first computer, 1977’s PET. Here’s the story of Steve Jobs and the Commodore PET.

The book doesn’t come right out and say it, but it insinuates it. I know how the PET came to be, and the PET would have happened whether the Apple II ever existed or not.
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Dave Farquhar

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Confessions and rememberances of an Amigaholic

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing October 15, 2011October 4, 20181990s, amiga, bbs, commodore, Commodore Amiga, Dave Haynie, garage sale, garage sales, Toy Story, unix, Value Village, watson, watson road

My name is Dave. I am an Amigaholic.

I thought I was recovered. But I don’t think you ever recover. Not really.

You see, this week I was trolling Craigslist for garage sales. I look for trains, toys for my boys, and other things that strike my fancy. I spotted a sale that advertised an Amiga computer. I shouldn’t have put it on my list, but I did. I didn’t want to buy it, but I had to see it. I had to. Like I said, you don’t recover.

Dave Farquhar

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RIP, Dennis Ritchie

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing October 14, 2011October 13, 20111960s, DEC, intel, mac os x, motorola, os x, unix

Dennis Ritchie died this weekend, aged 70. You may not know who he is, but if you’re reading this, you’re using something he invented.

Dennis Ritchie was, among other things, co-creator of Unix and the C programming language. Even if you run Windows, Windows was heavily influenced by Unix, and a lot of programs you run were written, if not in C, in its successor, C++.
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Dave Farquhar

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