VCR Archives - The Silicon Underground David L. Farquhar on technology old and new, computer security, and more Fri, 20 Jun 2025 23:53:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://kerosin.digital/rss-chimp16321610 Cleaning NES games and consoles https://dfarq.homeip.net/stop-blowing-into-your-nintendo-nes-cartridges/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=stop-blowing-into-your-nintendo-nes-cartridges Sun, 15 Jul 2018 11:00:15 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=6027 Anyone old enough to have played with an original Nintendo NES knows the problem: You plug in the cartridge, turn on the system, and get a blank screen and the power light blinks at you. The schoolyard fix is to take

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]]> 6027 What is a game cartridge? https://dfarq.homeip.net/what-is-a-game-cartridge/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-is-a-game-cartridge Tue, 13 Jun 2017 11:00:57 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=12996 What is a game cartridge? If you’re asking, you must not have grown up in the 1980s. But that’s OK. We’re happy to share our generation’s fun with you. A game cartridge is a plastic case containing a circuit board,

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]]> 12996 Fare thee well, Radio Shack. Hello, Battery Shack! https://dfarq.homeip.net/fare-thee-well-radio-shack-hello-battery-shack/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fare-thee-well-radio-shack-hello-battery-shack Thu, 09 Apr 2015 11:00:00 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=7658 The new owners of what’s left of Radio Shack want to specialize in batteries. Although this isn’t a guaranteed survival plan, it makes sense to me. Last week, I went to one of the few remaining Radio Shack locations to

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]]> 7658 An insider’s account of the fall of Radio Shack https://dfarq.homeip.net/an-insiders-account-of-the-fall-of-radio-shack/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=an-insiders-account-of-the-fall-of-radio-shack https://dfarq.homeip.net/an-insiders-account-of-the-fall-of-radio-shack/#comments Thu, 04 Dec 2014 12:00:50 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=7457 When I heard Radio Shack was going to be open on Thanksgiving day, I wondered why they would bother. The few Radio Shack stores near me are deserted on normal days, so I didn’t know why anyone would take time out

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]]> https://dfarq.homeip.net/an-insiders-account-of-the-fall-of-radio-shack/feed/ 5 7457 How thousands of Atari cartridges ended up in the desert https://dfarq.homeip.net/how-thousands-of-atari-cartridges-ended-up-in-the-desert/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-thousands-of-atari-cartridges-ended-up-in-the-desert https://dfarq.homeip.net/how-thousands-of-atari-cartridges-ended-up-in-the-desert/#comments Mon, 28 Apr 2014 11:00:42 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=7154 The famous story of Atari burying millions of dollars of unsold videogame cartridges, including the infamous E.T. cartridge, is no longer just a legend–it’s been confirmed. How they got there was mostly a misunderstanding of the nascent business. E.T. was

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]]> https://dfarq.homeip.net/how-thousands-of-atari-cartridges-ended-up-in-the-desert/feed/ 4 7154 There are several things to like about the Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013 https://dfarq.homeip.net/there-are-several-things-to-like-about-the-television-consumer-freedom-act-of-2013/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=there-are-several-things-to-like-about-the-television-consumer-freedom-act-of-2013 Fri, 17 May 2013 11:00:25 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=6601 The Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013 is coming soon to a Senate near you, and there are several things in it worth paying attention to. 1. Unbundling. It’s not uncommon to have to pay for hundreds of channels in

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]]> 6601 Happy 35th birthday, Atari 2600 https://dfarq.homeip.net/happy-35th-birthday-atari-2600/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=happy-35th-birthday-atari-2600 Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:58:51 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=5979 The venerable Atari 2600 turned 35 this past weekend. People of a certain age remember it as the device that ushered in home video games. I know I spent a lot of afternoons after school playing blocky, chirpy video games

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]]> 5979 And it seems that today things worked how they’re supposed to https://dfarq.homeip.net/and-it-seems-that-today-things-worked-how-theyre-supposed-to/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=and-it-seems-that-today-things-worked-how-theyre-supposed-to Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:23:18 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=4855 Today, the Web protested SOPA and PIPA in various ways. And though momentum seemed to start shifting as long as a week ago, the protest went on, and some Washington politicians started changing sides, suggesting that maybe, just maybe, sometimes

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]]> 4855 The future of 3D printing is now. The next industrial revolution comes in a box and costs $1299 https://dfarq.homeip.net/the-future-of-3d-printing-is-now-the-next-industrial-revolution-comes-in-a-box-and-costs-1299/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-future-of-3d-printing-is-now-the-next-industrial-revolution-comes-in-a-box-and-costs-1299 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:03:31 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=4806 CES is this week, and undoubtedly there will be a lot of different things showing, but I can’t imagine anything being more important than this: The first ready-to-use home 3D printer.  3D home printing is going to change the world,

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]]> 4806 Advice for upgrading from a CRT to an LCD https://dfarq.homeip.net/advice-for-upgrading-from-a-crt-to-an-lcd/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=advice-for-upgrading-from-a-crt-to-an-lcd https://dfarq.homeip.net/advice-for-upgrading-from-a-crt-to-an-lcd/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:11:42 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=4730 Like a lot of people are doing these days, my brother- and sister-in-law replaced a CRT TV with an LCD. I helped my brother-in-law hook it up last weekend, and we got it working, but probably could have done things

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