David L. Farquhar on technology old and new, computer security, and more
When troubleshooting a Windows 95 build, I came across an interesting question: can you use Windows 95 in 2022? And a related question: is Windows 95 safe to use? As a retro computer enthusiast and a computer security professional, and one who specializes in software life cycle management at that, I take a special interest in questions like this.
When you’re comparing electric lawn mowers, you may find two comparable mowers at widely different price points. The reason for that, if you read the fine print, is frequently the battery type. The cheaper ones use lead acid batteries and the more expensive ones use lithium. So what’s the difference? Let’s compare lead acid vs lithium batteries.
My wife took a broken smartphone in for repair this week and the person at the repair store tried to talk her out of getting it fixed. That raises some interesting questions. Is a smartphone worth fixing? And why would a repair shop suggest a phone wasn’t worth fixing?
What’s the best postwar Lionel transformer? Arguably there might be two contenders. But the Lionel KW and ZW definitely stand above the rest. Here are their advantages and disadvantages.
Arguably the best Lionel postwar transformer is the one you have. But if you’re looking for an upgrade, there are two worth considering above all the others: the Lionel KW and ZW.
Amiga monitors have never been especially easy to find, but as time moves on, they get even harder. In a pinch you can use a television, but that has some drawbacks. Fortunately there are some other modern alternatives. The Dell E1912HF is a good example, though not the only one.
Dale Murphy was one of the biggest stars of the early to mid-1980s. He was always among league leaders in home runs and was always playing centerfield in the all-star game. So why isn’t Dale Murphy in the Hall of Fame?
Torx screws are a modern screw bit with a six-sided star-shaped opening in the screw head. People will use a Torx screwdriver or screw in situations where they don’t want screws falling off the tip of the screwdriver, they don’t want to strip the head accidentally, or where they want to limit who can remove them. Torx is a trademark, so you also hear people refer to Torx drivers generically as star drivers.
Hobby shops sell silicone wiring with high strand counts for wiring train layouts. But what is silicone wiring? What does it mean? And what is special about silicone wire for model trains and do you need it?
Officially, the old reliable–and super common–3Com 3c509 Ethernet card requires a 286 or better processor. Unofficially, you can get one to work in an 8088-or 8086-based based XT-class system. Here’s the trick to using a 3com 3c509 in an 8088 PC/XT.
If you haven’t played Minecraft in a while, and you are trying to install Minecraft and getting an error message, even though you tried both the app store version and the alternative Java edition, I have something for you to try. It’s an easy way to fix Minecraft not installing.
My son was having this problem after he got a new computer running Windows 11. But the problem can happen in Windows 10 as well.