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How Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary became rich

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 13, 2025April 26, 2026

Kevin O’Leary, also known as 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.
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Why the Wannacry outbreak was so bad

Dave Farquhar security May 12, 2025May 13, 2025

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. Why was it so bad, and what could have made it go better?

Sony Betamax VCR: Born May 10, 1975

Dave Farquhar 1980s May 9, 2025March 9, 2025

The consumer VCR turns 50 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 use.

Dell buys Alienware, May 8, 2006

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 8, 2025March 8, 2025

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 19 years, nearly twice as long as it didn’t own it.

Intel Pentium II introduced May 7, 1997

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 7, 2025April 15, 2026

28 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.

Adobe’s subscription model

Dave Farquhar Software May 6, 2025March 7, 2025

Before May 2013 there was always question about whether you actually owned software after you paid for it. But before May 6, 2013, you certainly had more control. That was the day Adobe switched to a subscription-only model for its creative software. Other companies followed suit, notably Microsoft with its office suite.

How the Vectrex game console sunk a 124-year-old company

Dave Farquhar 1980s, Retro Gaming May 5, 2025November 3, 2025

Forty-one years ago this month, Milton Bradley, a leading producer of board games for 124 years, agreed to sell itself to Hasbro. Changes in the way people played games in the 80s, especially kids, put pressure on the company. In this blog post, I’ll explain how changing times led Milton Bradley to make a transformational bet at the worst possible time that ultimately sunk the company, and what happened to what was left of Milton Bradley.

First desktop computer: Datapoint 2200

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 2, 2025May 15, 2025

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. 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.

Ad Lib bankruptcy: May 1, 1992

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 1, 2025March 2, 2025

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.

When Chrome passed Internet Explorer for the first time

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 30, 2025May 26, 2025

It was on April 30, 2012 that Chrome passed Internet Explorer in market share for the first time. It took nearly 14 years for someone to pass the former afterthought in the Microsoft Plus pack to become the dominant browser. The two browsers jockeyed for the lead for two weeks, with Chrome overcoming IE for good on May 14, 2012.

With Chrome taking over, we traded one monopolist, Microsoft, for another, Google.