NCIX was a Canadian computer retailer, similar in concept to Fry’s or Micro Center. It went out of business in 2017 and its data was breached in 2018. Here’s what happened to NCIX.
What happened to NCIX
Why physical destruction of RAM is sometimes necessary
I found this photograph along with the question about its intent. The photo was a RAM module with holes drilled in it. The person who posted the photograph asked a very valid question as to why physical destruction of RAM is necessary.
Marx 526 train set
Marx train set 526 was a windup train set introduced in 1962, typically sold in discount stores. It featured Marx’s best plastic windup locomotive pulling 6-inch metal cars, making an inexpensive starter set for a young child.
Does finished software really exist?
A blog post titled “The beauty of finished software” went viral a week or two ago, and it puzzled me a bit. The blog post wasn’t terribly long. It was just a few paragraphs extolling the virtue of something it called finished software. And then it lumped two very different things into the category of finished software. In this blog post, I will explore the concept and explain why being finished software isn’t always a good thing.
How to disassemble a pallet
Making projects with reclaimed lumber is all the rage these days. The hardest part of reclaiming lumber from wooden pallets is breaking down the pallets into usable boards. In this blog post, I will go over several options for disassembling wooden pallets, including what tools you need.
Disassemble and reassemble a Lionel 600-series NW2 locomotive
Lionel 600-series NW2 switcher locomotives are pretty easy to work on once you get them disassembled. But if you’ve never taken one apart, it may not be clear where to start. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the steps to take one of these apart and put it back together.
DEC Rainbow 100
The DEC Rainbow 100 was an early MS-DOS computer that wasn’t 100% IBM compatible. In retrospect, this seems like an obvious mistake. But they took a different strategy, betting that they could win by providing a degree of compatibility, but that the market would choose their solution if they provided some amount of technical superiority. In this blog post, I’ll explore what DEC tried, and why it ultimately failed.
Rough Riders toys 1980s
Rough Riders toy trucks were popular line of motorized toys in the 1980s, introduced in 1981. They competed directly with Stompers, which were made by Schaper. Rough Riders were made by LJN. The first-generation Rough Riders were fairly blatant ripoffs of the first-generation Stomper design.
Ryobi PBP002 battery review
Ryobi’s 1.5 Ah batteries have never had the best reputation. But all of my experience was with earlier model. I bought into the Ryobi tool line around 2009 and I’ve accumulated a few batteries and chargers over the years. So I usually just buy the tool alone and use the better, heavier duty batteries. But last year I purchased a tool bundle that included a pair of the new PBP002 1.5 Ah batteries. Is the Ryobi PBP002 battery any good? Read this review to find out.
Marx train set 4218 for W.T. Grant
The Marx 4218 was a low end train set that was the result of a long time collaboration between two large companies while times were still good for both of them. It was an inexpensive electric train set exclusive to W.T. Grant, which was one of the fastest growing retailers in the United States at the time.