Retro Computing Archives

Texas Instruments 486SXL CPU

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 14, 2026May 14, 2026

On May 14, 1992, Texas Instruments licensed Cyrix‘s 486SLC and 486DLC technologies. The agreement allowed Cyrix to use Texas Instruments’ manufacturing facilities, and for TI to create derivative chips from Cyrix’s technology. In the end, TI didn’t make as many chips for Cyrix as SGS-Thomson or IBM did, but TI did end up making interesting derivatives of Cyrix’s CPUs, including the 486SXL-40, the fastest 386-class CPU ever made. But without the burst transfer feature that Intel and AMD 486s have, none of TI’s 486s ended up performing quite up to par with an Intel or AMD 486.

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.

dfarq.homeip.net

How Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary became rich

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 13, 2026May 13, 2026

Kevin O’Leary, who calls himself Mr. Wonderful, is one of the most divisive stars of the reality TV series Shark Tank. Like Mark Cuban, O’Leary made much of his fortune in technology. But while Cuban is a dotcom billionaire, O’Leary made his money through a different model, selling software at retail. In this blog post, we will map out how Mr. Wonderful became rich. May 13 is a happy anniversary for him, but I can think of a major toymaker who doesn’t call him Mr. Wonderful, and doesn’t think there’s much of anything wonderful about him at all.
Read more

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Dell buys Alienware, May 8, 2006

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 8, 2026May 8, 2026

On May 8, 2006, corporate and straitlaced Dell completed its purchase of Alienware, a maker of edgy gaming computers. It was a long courtship. Dell considered buying Alienware for four years before making the deal. And the tie-up of this odd couple has worked. At the time of this writing, Dell has owned Alienware for 20 years, twice as long as it didn’t own it.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Intel Pentium II introduced May 7, 1997

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 7, 2026May 7, 2026

29 years ago, on May 7, 1997, Intel introduced its Pentium II processor. It wasn’t the first followup to the very successful Pentium. But the Pentium II overcame problems with the Pentium Pro that kept it from gaining more widespread mainstream acceptance.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

First desktop computer: Datapoint 2200

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 5, 2026May 5, 2026

The first desktop computer dates to earlier than you probably think. And officially at least, it was an accident. Great inventions often are. But it was surprisingly similar to desktop computers that followed it.

Design work on the first desktop computer commenced in 1969, and it hit the market in May 1970. Yes, you read that right. It predated the Apple II and even the Altair 8800 by several years, and the IBM Personal Computer and IBM compatibles by more than a decade. And it wasn’t built in Silicon Valley either. But this ahead-of-its-time oddball is the direct ancestor of your modern desktop or laptop computer, right down to the Intel processor design.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Microsoft’s open sourcing of 86-DOS and what it means

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 3, 2026

On April 28, 2026, Microsoft unexpectedly open sourced 86-DOS. This is the direct ancestor to PC DOS 1.0. I’ve written a number of things about the controversies around PC DOS 1.0 and early versions of MS-DOS, so of course I need to say something about this, even if I’m a few days late.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Ad Lib bankruptcy: May 1, 1992

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 1, 2026May 1, 2026

Ad Lib, Inc. was a Canadian manufacturer of sound cards founded by Martin Prevel, a former professor of music and vice-dean of the music department at the Université Laval in Quebec City. Ad Lib’s best known product was an eponymously named sound card, the first add-on sound card for the IBM PC and compatibles to achieve widespread acceptance. It became a de facto standard.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

Why Commodore went bankrupt in 1994

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 30, 2026April 30, 2026

On April 29, 1994, Commodore announced it was bankrupt and was going out of business. Its demise was a long time coming. Arguably it had been inevitable for 10 years. But the reasons Commodore went bankrupt are often oversimplified and misunderstood.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

What happened to Palm Pilots?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 29, 2026April 29, 2026

Palm was a high-flying brand in the late 1990s, creating the first really popular personal data assistant. Then it seemed to vanish almost as quickly as it came. What happened to Palm Pilots, and the company who made them? On April 28, 2010, HP acquired Palm for $1.2 billion, with big plans to use its tech to compete directly with Apple. That didn’t go to plan, so you’re not reading this on a Palm-based phone or tablet. But the tech may be hiding in plain sight elsewhere in your home.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

TRS-80 Model 100

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 28, 2026April 28, 2026

The TRS-80 Model 100 was an early laptop computer manufactured by Kyocera in Japan and marketed in North America by Radio Shack. Kyocera’s own version, the Kyotronic-85, didn’t set any sales records. But the TRS-80 Model 100 and the line it spawned proved widely successful in the United States.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net