Retro Computing

How the IBM PC became the de facto standard for desktop computers

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
How the IBM PC became the de facto standard for desktop computers

I saw a question on a vintage computing forum this week: How did the IBM PC become the de facto standard for PCs, and the only desktop computer architecture from the 1980s to survive until today?

It’s a very good question, and I think there were several reasons for it. I also think without all of the reasons, the IBM PC wouldn’t have necessarily won. In some regards, of course, it was a hollow victory. IBM has been out of the PC business for a decade now. Its partners Intel and Microsoft, however, reaped the benefits time and again.

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Don’t read too much into the PC sales drop just yet

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Windows , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you’ve been paying any attention at all, you probably know that new PC sales are in the toilet–out of the five biggest vendors, the only one whose sales managed to hold steady in Q1 2013 was Lenovo, while the other four saw a sales decline. So now Slashdot linked to a ZDNet piece stating that Windows is over, and said it must be true because ZDNet always sides with Microsoft.

Let’s not read too much into that. The author of the piece is a longtime open-source advocate. The points he raises are completely valid, but if there’s one person who’s going to take Microsoft to task, it’s Steven Vaughan-Nichols.

Microsoft has a long road ahead, but there is precedent for salvaging the boondoggle known as Windows 8. And I don’t think Windows 8 is the only factor here. Read more

Rob O’Hara on phreaking, Tesla coils and modems

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, security , , , , , , , ,

Rob O’Hara posted a podcast about phreaking today. He explains in layperson’s terms how the phone system was controlled by tones, cites it as an example of security through obscurity, and he talks about his own first-person experience subverting the phone system. He was far from the only one who did that.

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Mourning Lucasfilm Games/Lucas Arts

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing

The sudden closure of Lucas Arts raised a few questions, like why we’re still talking about a studio that hasn’t done much of note in a decade. Slashdot posted a link to a developer’s musings. I’ll talk about it from a fan perspective.

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Collecting parameters

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Toy trains , , , , ,

I missed this bit of collecting wisdom from Rob O’Hara when he first posted it last month, but Rob describes his concept of mini-collections to keep his hobbies from taking over his life. Read more

Take a peek at Bill Gates’ pre-Microsoft resume

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing ,

Bill Gates and Paul Allen posed for a re-creation of a famous early Microsoft photograph this week; at the same event, Gates’ pre-Microsoft resume surfaced.

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How I once took down a network, including a radio station

Dave Farquhar Hardware, Retro Computing, War Stories , , , , , ,

I met up Monday night with some other security professionals for some emergency networking of the professional kind. One of the attendees, a penetration tester, had a little incident where he took down a production system when he conducted his penetration test. The system owners were a bit arrogant, and, well, they paid for it.

I’ve taken down a network too, but in my case it wasn’t something security-related. No, in my case, I was a 20-year-old desktop support technician working in a college computer lab, making an honest mistake.

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My earliest memory of using a computer

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing , , , , ,
My earliest memory of using a computer

Gizmodo asked this weekend about earliest computer memories, and illustrated it with a computer that sported a 3.5″ floppy drive. Young whippersnappers.

My first memory was in 1981 or 1982. Dad went to see one of his coworkers in his home, and brought me along. He had a son a few years older than me, probably about 12 years old, and there in the living room was something I’d never seen before, connected to a television and sitting on a desk. “What’s that?” I asked.

“This is a computer,” he said. Then he inserted a Choplifter cartridge and taught me how to play. Read more

Does your spouse know who your collecting buddies are?

Dave Farquhar model railroading, Retro Computing, Toy trains , , , ,

The story of the 1967 train layout and stash brought up a couple of good questions, even as more facts failed to emerge. If something were to happen to you, would your spouse know how to deal with the collection you’ve left behind?

I think it’s a valid question, and not just for trains.
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Memories of the land of blue shirts

Dave Farquhar Personal, Retro Computing , ,
Memories of the land of blue shirts

Internet pal Rob O’Hara reminisced about opening a Best Buy (presumably) megastore in 1994. Interestingly, that summer I was doing basically the same thing, only in Illinois. And I lived within driving distance, so they didn’t put me up for the night, though as I recall they did provide at least one meal a day, and I really think they provided two. After all, we worked really long shifts.

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