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David L. Farquhar on technology old and new, computer security, and more
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Posts: 14
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Processor Technology Corporation and the SOL-20
Published: May 15, 2026 11:00
Processor Technology Corporation was a personal computer company founded in April 1975, by Gary Ingram and Bob Marsh in Berkeley, California. Their first product was a 4K byte RAM board that was compatible with the MITS Altair 8800 computer but The post…
Texas Instruments 486SXL CPU
Published: May 14, 2026 11:00
On May 14, 1992, Texas Instruments licensed Cyrix‘s 486SLC and 486DLC technologies. The agreement allowed Cyrix to use Texas Instruments’ manufacturing facilities, and for TI to create derivative chips from Cyrix’s technology. In the end, TI didn’t make as…
How Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary became rich
Published: May 13, 2026 11:00
Kevin O’Leary, who calls himself Mr. Wonderful, is one of the most divisive stars of the reality TV series Shark Tank. Like Mark Cuban, O’Leary made much of his fortune in technology. But while Cuban is a dotcom billionaire, O’Leary The post How Shark…
Why the Wannacry outbreak was so bad
Published: May 12, 2026 11:00
On May 12, 2017, ransomware named Wannacry started spreading across the globe, infecting and encrypting Windows systems by exploiting CVE-2017-0144, a flaw that a two-month-old Microsoft patch, MS17-010, had fixed. It quickly became one of the biggest…
Sony Betamax VCR: Born May 10, 1975
Published: May 11, 2026 11:00
The consumer VCR turns 51 this week. On May 10, 1975, Sony introduced the Betamax. Although Betamax lost the famous format war, it kicked the door open, being the first VCR format that mere mortals could aspire to own and The post Sony Betamax VCR: Born…
Dell buys Alienware, May 8, 2006
Published: May 8, 2026 11:00
On May 8, 2006, corporate and straitlaced Dell completed its purchase of Alienware, a maker of edgy gaming computers. It was a long courtship. Dell considered buying Alienware for four years before making the deal. And the tie-up of this The post Dell buys…
Intel Pentium II introduced May 7, 1997
Published: May 7, 2026 11:00
29 years ago, on May 7, 1997, Intel introduced its Pentium II processor. It wasn’t the first followup to the very successful Pentium. But the Pentium II overcame problems with the Pentium Pro that kept it from gaining more widespread The post Intel Pentium…
Adobe’s subscription model
Published: May 6, 2026 11:00
Before May 2013 there was always question about whether you actually owned software after you paid for it. But before May 6, 2013, you certainly had more control. That was the day Adobe switched to a subscription-only model for its The post Adobe’s…
First desktop computer: Datapoint 2200
Published: May 5, 2026 11:00
The first desktop computer dates to earlier than you probably think. And officially at least, it was an accident. Great inventions often are. But it was surprisingly similar to desktop computers that followed it. Design work on the first desktop The post…
How the Vectrex game console sunk a 124-year-old company
Published: May 4, 2026 11:00
On May 4, 1984, Milton Bradley, a leading producer of board games for 124 years, agreed to sell itself to Hasbro. Changes in the way people played games in the 80s, especially kids, put pressure on the company. In this The post How the Vectrex game console…
Microsoft’s open sourcing of 86-DOS and what it means
Published: May 3, 2026 17:20
On April 28, 2026, Microsoft unexpectedly open sourced 86-DOS. This is the direct ancestor to PC DOS 1.0. I’ve written a number of things about the controversies around PC DOS 1.0 and early versions of MS-DOS, so of course I The post Microsoft’s open…
Ad Lib bankruptcy: May 1, 1992
Published: May 1, 2026 11:00
Ad Lib, Inc. was a Canadian manufacturer of sound cards founded by Martin Prevel, a former professor of music and vice-dean of the music department at the Université Laval in Quebec City. Ad Lib’s best known product was an eponymously The post Ad Lib…
Why Commodore went bankrupt in 1994
Published: April 30, 2026 11:00
On April 29, 1994, Commodore announced it was bankrupt and was going out of business. Its demise was a long time coming. Arguably it had been inevitable for 10 years. But the reasons Commodore went bankrupt are often oversimplified and The post Why…
What happened to Palm Pilots?
Published: April 29, 2026 11:00
Palm was a high-flying brand in the late 1990s, creating the first really popular personal data assistant. Then it seemed to vanish almost as quickly as it came. What happened to Palm Pilots, and the company who made them? On The post What happened to Palm…