compaq Archives - The Silicon Underground

Why did old PCs have a turbo button?

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 11:00:21 +0000

Old PCs, especially PCs from the 1980s to the mid 1990s, have a button with the curious label “Turbo.” On some PCs, a number on the front changes when you push it, or an LED toggles on or off. Why

The post Why did old PCs have a turbo button? appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Why did IBM fail at PCs?

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 11:00:33 +0000

If you ask why did IBM fail, I assume you mean why did IBM ultimately fail in the personal computer market. IBM is still in business, after all. But its exit from the PC market after 24 years, including a

The post Why did IBM fail at PCs? appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

The IBM PS/1 (or IBM PS1)

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 27 Jun 2017 11:00:30 +0000

The IBM PS/1, sometimes called the IBM PS1, was a line of 1990s personal computer systems, not to be confused with the Sony Playstation video game console that’s also often called the PS1. The PS/1 was IBM’s second attempt at a

The post The IBM PS/1 (or IBM PS1) appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Commodore 64 models

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 11:00:43 +0000

Over the course of its 12 years on the market, Commodore released a number of Commodore 64 models. The computer’s capability changed very little over time, but the technology did. The world changed a lot between 1982 and 1994, and

The post Commodore 64 models appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

IBM PS/2 vs PC

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 11:00:06 +0000

The IBM PS/2 line was a fairly radical departure from the older IBM PC line. This was deliberate, as IBM wanted to disrupt the clone industry, which it saw as a threat to its business. Here’s a look back at

The post IBM PS/2 vs PC appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Radio Shack computers

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 25 May 2017 11:00:13 +0000

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

The post Radio Shack computers appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Commodore 64 vs Amiga

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 12:00:14 +0000

Looking at the Commodore 64 vs Amiga seems a little odd, at least to me. After all, the machines were never intended to be rivals. The Amiga was supposed to succeed the 64. Commodore bought Amiga because they couldn’t make a

The post Commodore 64 vs Amiga appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

How to clean viruses off your computer for free

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 12:00:50 +0000

Whether you’ve gotten a tech support scam phone call or not, it can be helpful to know how to clean viruses off your computer for free. And yes, I do mean free. A lot of people get ripped off due

The post How to clean viruses off your computer for free appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

HP Compaq 6910p upgrades

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 12:00:16 +0000

I spent some time exploring HP Compaq 6910p upgrades because used HP Compaq 6910p laptops are dirt cheap these days. I picked one up for $75 as an alternative to a Black Friday cheapie. If you look for one yourself,

The post HP Compaq 6910p upgrades appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Upgrading a Compaq Evo D510 for Windows 10 and beyond

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 11:00:10 +0000

I had an old Compaq Evo D510 full-size tower/desktop convertible PC, from the Pentium 4/Windows XP era, that I wanted to upgrade. The machine long ago outlived its usefulness–its Pentium 4 CPU is less powerful than the average smartphone CPU

The post Upgrading a Compaq Evo D510 for Windows 10 and beyond appeared first on The Silicon Underground.