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MS-DOS 4.0: A closer look

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing October 10, 2024September 29, 2024

Released October 6, 1988, MS-DOS 4.0 is the forgotten DOS. As such, modern hobbyists are often curious about it. Why did so few people use it?

It was eagerly anticipated and was years in the making, so it’s fair to say DOS 4 was a letdown. It’s a misnomer to say no one shipped PCs with it and no one used it, just like it’s a misnomer to say no one used Windows Vista. But it’s very apt to compare DOS 4.0 with Windows Vista and there were very valid reasons to avoid it in the 1988-90 timeframe. It’s also fair to be curious about it.

Overcoming learned helplessness in security

Dave Farquhar security October 9, 2024May 13, 2025

Today I want to talk about a concept called learned helplessness, something that was widely studied and taught in the 1980s, but seems to have fallen by the wayside a bit today, although I certainly see it happening today. Computer security, especially the fields of vulnerability management and patch management, are very prone to learned helplessness. The good news is, it’s possible to overcome.

Max Toy, embattled Commodore president

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing October 7, 2024January 6, 2026

Commodore went through a revolving door of executives after Jack Tramiel resigned due to conflicts with Irving Gould. On October 6, 1987, it was Max Toy’s turn. On that day, Commodore hired him. And for a while, it seemed like Max Toy might be the one to turn the company around. In this blog post, we’ll explore what was different, and what wasn’t so different about him.

Creative Computing launched October 1974

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing October 4, 2024September 21, 2024

It was 50 years ago this month, in October 1974, that Creative Computing, one of the greatest computer magazines of the 1970s and 1980s, made its debut.

Configure mystery jumperless NE2000 cards

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing October 2, 2024October 2, 2024

It was 44 years ago this week that the Ethernet standard was first proposed. That makes today a good day to talk about what I do to bring mystery jumperless plug and play ISA Ethernet cards back from the dead.

AMD 5×86: Announced September 1995

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing September 30, 2024March 4, 2026

What do you do if you are an Intel competitor in 1995, facing an aggressive marketing campaign spinning 5th generation CPUs as a necessity, and your own 5th generation CPU is 18 months away from delivery? You hot rod a 486 CPU core, call it 5th generation, and hope for the best. That is what the AMD 5×86 CPU, announced in late September 1995, was. AMD released it in November of that year.

How many Amigas Commodore sold

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing September 26, 2024May 1, 2025

The number of Amigas Commodore sold has always been controversial. There is no question it was less successful than the Commodore 64, no question it was less successful than the PC clone ecosystem, and every possibility it sold fewer units than IBM sold on its own. But the number Commodore sold has always been a mystery, and it turns out I’ve been telling people the wrong number.

Napster’s end of the road

Dave Farquhar Music September 24, 2024August 11, 2025

On September 24, 2001, Napster settled a lawsuit with the RIAA for $26 million. This effectively ended Napster as an MP3 file sharing service but other similar services soon appeared in its place. Attempts to turn itself into a subscription-based service failed and it liquidated less than a year later.

80 Micro: The magazine for TRS-80 owners

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing September 20, 2024January 13, 2025

It’s September, and that means Septandy. That makes today as good of a day as any to talk about 80 Microcomputing (later shortened to 80 Micro), one of the most successful of the early computer magazines. It also featured an innovation that changed the direction of the industry for good.

Osborne Computer’s bankruptcy and the Osborne Effect

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing September 13, 2024April 9, 2025

41 years ago today, on September 13, 1983, Osborne Computer Corporation, one of the early makers of CP/M computers and a pioneer in portable computing, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Although it was able to secure funding and emerge from bankruptcy in January 1985, Osborne never fully recovered and was out of business by early 1986.