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What is a 3D SSD?

Dave Farquhar Hardware June 8, 2017August 1, 20171990s, hp, intel, micron, toshiba, Western Digital

Some SSDs, particularly Western Digital and Sandisk-branded drives, have the words “3D SSD” on the label. This isn’t purely a marketing term. But what is a 3D SSD, exactly?

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

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Radio Shack computers

Dave Farquhar Retail, Retro Computing May 25, 2017August 16, 20181980s, 1990s, 6502, apple, apple ii, atari, Bill Gates, commodore, commodore 64, compaq, IBM, ibm pcjr, intel, Japan, Missouri, motorola, radio shack, Tandy, tandy 1000

Radio Shack released one of the first home computers, the TRS-80 Model I, in 1977. Between 1977 and 1979, it sold 100,000 units. Radio Shack sold them just as quickly as Tandy could make them. You can count Radio Shack and its parent company Tandy among computer companies that failed, but they enjoyed a good run. For a time, Radio Shack computers, later marketed as Tandy computers, were very popular.

Radio Shack and Tandy computers included the TRS-80 Model I from the inaugural class of 1977, the pioneering Model 100 portable, and the Tandy 1000 series, which helped bring PC clones into homes.

There were several reasons why Radio Shack computers were hard to compete with in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.

Dave Farquhar

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Advantages and disadvantages of Windows NT 3.1

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 18, 2017November 29, 20181990s, AIX, amiga, apple, best buy, DEC, hp, IBM, intel, linksys, motorola, Orange Book, proprietary unix, unix, windows nt, Windows XP, wrt54g, x86

I’ve talked a lot about the advantages and disadvantages of old milestone operating systems. But what were the advantages and disadvantages of Windows NT 3.1? That’s a fair question.

Dave Farquhar

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IBM PS/2 series

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing May 17, 2017September 30, 20231980s, 1990s, amiga, atari, atari st, compaq, dell, hp, IBM, infoworld, intel, macintosh, Personal Computer, Tandy, VGA, XT

The IBM PS/2 line, released April 2, 1987, was IBM’s attempt to reinvigorate its aging personal computer line and fight off cloning. Although the line sold fairly well, it failed to hold off cloning and IBM never regained the market dominance it enjoyed in the first half of the decade.

The IBM PS/2 did offer numerous enhancements over the PC line it replaced, but IBM’s customers came to resent the high price and the perception that IBM was trying to lock out third party peripherals. IBM’s decline was slow, but the PS/2 was the beginning of the end for IBM’s personal computer business.

Dave Farquhar

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Is powerline networking safe?

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking May 10, 2017March 13, 20211990s

Is powerline networking safe? It may sound strange to send computer networking signals down the same wire you use to get electricity. Here’s what you need to know.

Dave Farquhar

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What is Spectrum, or Charter Spectrum?

Dave Farquhar ISPs May 8, 2017March 7, 20181990s, AT&T, AT&T U-verse, cable tv, comcast, Missouri, New York, Paul Allen, phone service, time warner, verizon

What is Spectrum? Charter Spectrum, or simply Spectrum, is a new name to many parts of the country. Spectrum is the brand name for cable, Internet and phone service from Charter Communications.

Although Charter started using the Spectrum name prior to its merger, the name Spectrum gained prominence as a result of the second, fourth, and sixth-largest cable operators in the United States merging in 2016. Post-merger Charter is now a Fortune 100 company.

Dave Farquhar

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Netgear vs TP-Link

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking May 5, 2017October 22, 20221990s, 3com, cisco, FCC, netgear, TL

If you’re looking for the pros and cons of Netgear vs TP-Link, I have experience with both and I’m glad to share it.

Netgear is a well established brand, having been on the market since 1996.

I don’t blame you if you’ve never heard of TP-Link. They were founded in 1996 but if you were buying their stuff before 2005, you’re well ahead of me. But I like them a lot.
Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Windows registry explained simply

Dave Farquhar Windows April 26, 2017August 1, 20171990s

I can’t say I’ve ever seen the Windows registry explained well. It helps to think of the registry as a database. Microsoft loves databases, and they’ve been trying for decades to stuff as much database technology into Windows as they can. The registry was one of the earliest and most successful of those efforts.

Although it was controversial in the 1990s, the registry solved a very real problem. Windows 3.1 and earlier stored all of its settings in huge plaintext files called ini files. They were a tangled mess, and the more you used your computer, the slower it became. The registry made it a lot faster for the computer to find each setting it needed.

Dave Farquhar

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Commodore 64 common questions and answers

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 14, 2017August 5, 20171541, 1980s, 1990s, Baby Boomers, commodore, commodore 128, commodore 64, estate sales, garage sales, irving gould, Japan, Korea

I hear a lot of questions about the Commodore 64 over and over again. Many of them don’t warrant a single blog post. So here’s a list of Commodore 64 common questions and their answers.

If you want to know when the Commodore 64 came out, how many Commodore 64s sold, who made the Commodore 64, where the Commodore 64 was made, is the Commodore 64 worth anything, are Commodore 64 games worth anything, or if you can still buy a Commodore 64, read on.

Dave Farquhar

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How to tell if a baseball card is a reprint

Dave Farquhar Baseball April 13, 2017April 10, 20171960s, 1980s, 1990s, Babe Ruth, baseball cards, FBI, Goudey, Topps, Ty Cobb

Companies have been reprinting old, rare, and valuable baseball cards for decades. It’s a way for people to have cards of players like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb who otherwise never could. But that can cause problems too. Here’s how to tell if a baseball card is a reprint.

Dave Farquhar

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