Ward Christensen, BBS inventor and architect of our online age, dies at age 78
Christensen kick-started online culture by inspiring thousands of hobbyist communities.
Benj Edwards
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Topic: retrotech
Linux boots in 4.76 days on the Intel 4004
Historic 4-bit microprocessor from 1971 can execute Linux commands over days or weeks.
Benj Edwards
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151
Secret calculator hack brings ChatGPT to the TI-84, enabling easy cheating
Tiny device installed inside TI-84 enables Wi-Fi Internet, access to AI chatbot.
Benj Edwards
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99
Why 1994’s Lair of Squid was the weirdest pack-in game of all time
The HP 200LX included a mysterious maze game called Lair of Squid. We tracked down the author.
Benj Edwards
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34
Gordon Bell, an architect of our digital age, dies at age 89
Bell architected DEC's VAX minicomputers, championed computer history, mentored at Microsoft.
Benj Edwards
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44
Virtual Boy: The bizarre rise and quick fall of Nintendo’s enigmatic red console
How Nintendo took a gamble on a new kind of gaming experience in the '90s.
Benj Edwards
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111
The BASIC programming language turns 60
Easy-to-use language that drove Apple, TRS-80, IBM, and Commodore PCs debuted in 1964.
Benj Edwards
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251
Here’s your chance to own a decommissioned US government supercomputer
145,152-core Cheyenne supercomputer was 20th most powerful in the world in 2016.
Benj Edwards
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236
Most Read
After 48 years, Zilog is killing the classic standalone Z80 microprocessor chip
Z80 powered game consoles, ZX Spectrum, Pac-Man, and a 1970s PC standard based on CP/M.
Benj Edwards
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180
Playboy image from 1972 gets ban from IEEE computer journals
Use of "Lenna" image in computer image processing research stretches back to the 1970s.
Benj Edwards
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510
Vernor Vinge, father of the tech singularity, has died at age 79
Vinge won multiple Hugo awards and created a sci-fi concept that drives AI researchers.
Benj Edwards
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112
It’s no accident: These automotive safety features flopped
Over the years, inventors have had some weird ideas about how to make cars safer.
Larry Printz
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343
After 34 years, one of the ’Net’s oldest software archives is shutting down
Hobbes OS/2 Archive: "As of April 15th, 2024, this site will no longer exist."
Benj Edwards
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180
Wild Apples: The 12 weirdest and rarest Macs ever made
Since 1984, Apple has made some strange Macintosh computers. How many have you used?
Benj Edwards
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247
Inventor of NTP protocol that keeps time on billions of devices dies at age 85
Dave Mills created NTP, the protocol that holds the temporal Internet together, in 1985.
Benj Edwards
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89
80 years later, GCHQ releases new images of Nazi code-breaking computer
GCHQ unveils new docs on Colossus, a 1943 marvel that let allies "read Hitler's mind."
Benj Edwards
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87
Why I hope the Atari 400 Mini will bring respect to Atari’s most underrated platform
Can USB, HDMI, and built-in games raise awareness for a platform overshadowed by the C64?
Benj Edwards
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175
Atari doubles down on retro, buys beloved Atari homebrew maker
"Atari is now taking its retro-related IP seriously," says AtariAge founder.
Benj Edwards
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43
The Internet is not forever after all: CNET deletes old articles to game Google
Content pruning for SEO threatens web history, and experts say it is ill-advised.
Benj Edwards
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192
The ‘90s Internet: When 20 hours online triggered an email from my ISP’s president
1998 plea for restraint reveals a lost world where the 'Net was an opt-in experience.
Benj Edwards
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284
30 years later, Myst demake for Atari 2600 reminds us how far we’ve come
Unofficial Myst port for 8-bit Atari 2600 gives the '90s adventure a '70s makeover.
Benj Edwards
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81
Retro MacOS desktop blanket trades pixels for thread, and it looks Mac-nificent
New knit screenshot throw celebrates the Mac's early years. We talk to its creator.
Benj Edwards
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74
I just bought the only physical encyclopedia still in print, and I regret nothing
The still-updated World Book Encyclopedia is my antidote to the information apocalypse.
Benj Edwards
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399
Luke’s Awakening fan art merges Star Wars with Zelda to delightful 8-bit effect
Game Boy Color pixel art mashes up Star Wars and Zelda into a faux game we wish was real.
Benj Edwards
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39
Super Smash Bros. retro demake puts Wi-Fi into an NES cartridge
8-bit love letter to Super Smash Bros. reaches Kickstarter goal within 48 hours.
Benj Edwards
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60
Hobbyist builds ChatGPT client for MS-DOS
IBM PC client allows futuristic AI conversations on vintage hardware.
Benj Edwards
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47
Egad! 7 key British PCs of the 1980s Americans might have missed
These bedrocks of the UK computer industry didn't get much love in the states.
Benj Edwards
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170
Apple, Atari, and Commodore, oh my! Explore a deluxe home vintage computer den
Brian Green re-lives the 1980s with dozens of fully operational vintage PCs at home.
Benj Edwards
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141
Pioneering Apple Lisa goes “open source” thanks to Computer History Museum
Lisa OS 3.1's 1984 source Pascal code now available under a non-commercial license.
Benj Edwards
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173
Chuck E. Cheese still uses floppy disks in 2023, but not for long
Employee TikTok demos a robot show upgrade from floppy and DVD—possibly for the last time.
Benj Edwards
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163
Google game honors Black video game pioneer Jerry Lawson on his birthday
Late engineer played key role in creating first cartridge-based console in 1976.
Benj Edwards
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41
My secret life as an 11-year-old BBS sysop
Revisiting the wonder and betrayal of online life circa 1992.
Benj Edwards
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227
10 years later, the Wii U is still deeply weird—and we love it
Oddly named console made up for its mistakes with infinite quirky charm.
Benj Edwards
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200
Hobbyist adds a hinge to the Game Boy Pocket, delighting everyone
No, it's not a Game Boy Advance SP. This is the monochrome Pocket with hinge.
Benj Edwards
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25
Redditor discovers legendary 1956 computer in grandparents’ basement
The 1956 LGP-30 computer, subject of hacker lore, is one of only 45 made in Europe.
Benj Edwards
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64
Swedish engineer creates playable accordion from 2 Commodore 64 computers
Linus Åkesson's instrument sports custom software and a bellows made of floppy disks.
Benj Edwards
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