The Silicon Underground

Advantages and disadvantages of Windows 3.0

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 22 May 2026 11:00:50 +0000

I hear the question from time to time what the advantages and disadvantages of Windows 3.0 were. Windows 3.0, released May 22, 1990, is generally considered the first usable version of Microsoft Windows. It was certainly the first one to

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Microsoft’s attempted merger with Intuit

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 21 May 2026 11:00:45 +0000

Before Microsoft was obsessed with Netscape, it was obsessed with another piece of software: Quicken. Unable to beat it in the marketplace with a clone called Microsoft Money, Microsoft tried to buy its publisher, Intuit, outright. On May 20, 1995,

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Kaypro II launched May 20, 1982

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 20 May 2026 11:00:01 +0000

On May 20, 1982, Kaypro shipped its very successful Kaypro II computer, a portable computer that ran CP/M and its associated software. Its main innovation was bundling a selection of popular software with the computer and selling the bundle for

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Microsoft Antitrust case of 1998

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 19 May 2026 11:00:14 +0000

On May 18, 1998, the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft, seeking ultimately to break up the company. The case was controversial at the time and remains controversial now, but I would also argue the case is

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Cyberrebate.com: The worst dotcom-era idea?

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 18 May 2026 11:00:37 +0000

The dotcom bubble was full of absurdities. A common business model was giving away software or services and finding unconventional ways to make money off it, a model we today call “freemium” and that may or may not involve spyware.

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Processor Technology Corporation and the SOL-20

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 15 May 2026 11:00:24 +0000

Processor Technology Corporation was a personal computer company founded in April 1975, by Gary Ingram and Bob Marsh in Berkeley, California. Their first product was a 4K byte RAM board that was compatible with the MITS Altair 8800 computer but

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Texas Instruments 486SXL CPU

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 14 May 2026 11:00:31 +0000

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

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How Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary became rich

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 13 May 2026 11:00:58 +0000

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

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Why the Wannacry outbreak was so bad

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 12 May 2026 11:00:06 +0000

On May 12, 2017, ransomware named Wannacry started spreading across the globe, infecting and encrypting Windows systems by exploiting CVE-2017-0144, a flaw that a two-month-old Microsoft patch, MS17-010, had fixed. It quickly became one of the biggest Windows outbreaks ever.

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Sony Betamax VCR: Born May 10, 1975

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 11 May 2026 11:00:26 +0000

The consumer VCR turns 51 this week. On May 10, 1975, Sony introduced the Betamax. Although Betamax lost the famous format war, it kicked the door open, being the first VCR format that mere mortals could aspire to own and

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