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#vintagecomputing

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The VintNerd<p>I've got an idea for the blank studio wall. Definitely gonna need more filament! 🤓</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/WallOfRetroExpansionPack" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WallOfRetroExpansionPack</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/Multiboard" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Multiboard</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/Atari" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Atari</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/Atari8Bit" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Atari8Bit</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/AtariXL" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AtariXL</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/AtariXE" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AtariXE</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/GameCartridges" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GameCartridges</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/VintageComputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>VintageComputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/RetroComputers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RetroComputers</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/RetroGaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RetroGaming</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/WallOfRetro" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WallOfRetro</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/NerdsOfVintage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NerdsOfVintage</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/HappyNerding" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HappyNerding</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/TheVintNerd" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TheVintNerd</span></a></p>
ICM<p>we’re at World Science Fiction Convention <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/worldcon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>worldcon</span></a> in <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/seattle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>seattle</span></a> this week! Come play chess or roam through the colossal cave adventure on a 1975 vintage 12bit computer (the DEC PDP-8/e)</p><p><a href="https://icm.museum" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">icm.museum</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p><a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/retrogaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrogaming</span></a></p>
Ryan<p>In the Northern VA area of the Washington, DC Metro area and want to goto a Vintage Computer Meetup? I have one for you! <br>7 September 2025 in Chantilly, VA.</p><p><a href="https://www.bluewizard.net/dmvvcm/vintagecomputermeetup/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">bluewizard.net/dmvvcm/vintagec</span><span class="invisible">omputermeetup/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/Commodore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Commodore</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/Amiga" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Amiga</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/Atari" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Atari</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/tandy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>tandy</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/apple" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>apple</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/msx" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>msx</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/DMV" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DMV</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/NoVA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NoVA</span></a></p>
Boris Kretzinger<p>"If you wanted to create a floppy disk from scratch, you'd first have to create the universe." Well, Carl Sagan said that about apple pie, but it basically holds true no matter what you want to create from scratch. Turns out trying to create new floppy disks is also not a small endeavor. This is the second person seriously trying afaik so far, and he's coming pretty close already. I especially like the chapter called "chasing microns". This is really something special, so go watch it 📺💾<br><a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/diskette" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>diskette</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/disketten" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>disketten</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/floppydisk" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>floppydisk</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/floppydisks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>floppydisks</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/diy_electronics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>diy_electronics</span></a> <br><a href="https://youtu.be/TBiFGhnXsh8" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">youtu.be/TBiFGhnXsh8</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p>
Wolfgang Stief<p>Atari TT oder Audi TT? <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/justthinkin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>justthinkin</span></a></p>
vga256<p>how did radio shack get away with this stuff</p><p>i swear that for every toy or handheld game out there, radio shack was in like a dirty shirt 2 days later with an identiclone</p><p>edit: haha, unbelievably, this predates the Speak &amp; Spell! and was indeed manufactured by TI for RS <a href="http://www.datamath.org/Speech/Spellmaster.htm" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">http://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.datamath.org/Speech/Spellm</span><span class="invisible">aster.htm</span></a></p><p><a href="https://dialup.cafe/tags/radioShack" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>radioShack</span></a> <a href="https://dialup.cafe/tags/vintageComputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintageComputing</span></a></p>
Walker<p>AOL to close dial-up service. </p><p>I can still hear the modem connection sounds in my head. So many CDs with "free internet" hours. </p><p>The kids these days do not know the patience we needed to download content over a 14.4 or 56k modem. This was dependent on others in the house not picking up the phone. </p><p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/11/aol_to_pull_the_plug/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theregister.com/2025/08/11/aol</span><span class="invisible">_to_pull_the_plug/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/aol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>aol</span></a> <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a> <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/vintage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintage</span></a> <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/dialup" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>dialup</span></a></p>
Amin Girasol<p>I'm finding D. F. Parkhill's 1966 book "The Challenge of the Computer Utility"[0] to be endlessly fascinating. It provides quite a detailed snapshot of the state of computer development. It was written at the tail end of the "Patent wars of 1962–1966"[1], yet there's no mention of integrated circuits, nor "Micrologic" (an early name for ICs).</p><p>In the discussion on memory technology, the book contains several tables as two-page spreads, which are awkward to assimilate when reading the book as a PDF on a small screen. I've included the relevant pages here as two-up images for my own benefit as much as yours! </p><p>The information summarised in the tables is fascinating. In the table "Classification of Memories by Function", much of the language is familiar to a modern reader (compared to, say 1940s discussions of 'organs'); CPU registers, RAM and persistent storage are recognisable:</p><blockquote><p>Storage register: Usually a one- or two-word memory used for the temporary storage of some quantity before it is transferred to another memory or circuit; i.e., accumulator register, multiplicand register, index register, etc.</p><p>Internal working memory: The main working memory of the computer, in which intermediate results and instructions are stored. </p><p>Mass data memory: A high-capacity storage system, external to but under the control of the computer, used for the storage of bulk data such as tables, files, and sub-routines.</p></blockquote><p>...yet the "Classification of Memories by Operating Characteristics" reflect mid-1960s (or older) technologies:</p><blockquote><p>Regenerative: A memory whose contents gradually vanish unless they are periodically regenerated, e.g., a Williams tube.</p></blockquote><p>Modern RAM is of this type!</p><blockquote><p>Read only: A memory whose contents can be changed, if at all, only by off-line human intervention, usually involving rewiring, the removal or insertion of plugs or the punching of holes, e.g., a card capacitor store, diode matrix, etc. </p></blockquote><p>"Memory Devices" is fascinating. Here's just one row:</p><blockquote><p>Type: Magnetic core<br>Physical Principle: remanent magnetization on small cores of square hysteresis-loop <br>ferrite material <br>Application: high-speed internal memory, registers, and buffers <br>Status: standard memory for majority of all computers in all price classes <br>Remarks: in addition to the normal coincident-current destructive readout single-core/bit systems embodiments there are also multiaperture core systems such as Biax and the transfluxor systems, and multiple-core/bit systems also wired-core read-only systems </p></blockquote><p>Biax? Transfluxor systems?</p><p>...and what on earth was "Magnetic rod memory"?</p><blockquote><p>Type: Magnetic rod<br>Physical Principle: magnetic coupling via removable ferrite rods between loops in a <br>woven mesh <br>Application: read-only very high-speed auxiliary internal store <br>Status: in use on Univ. of Manchester MUSE, Ferranti ATLAS computers, and several Italian machines <br>Remarks: retains advantages of wired-core memories but permits easy modification. Highest speed operating memory of comparable size to date, (0.15 microsecond access time, 8192 words, 48 bits)</p></blockquote><p>...sounds promising! Why haven't I heard of this technology? Check Wikipedia[2]:</p><blockquote><p>Rod memory is one of the many variations on magnetic core memory that attempts to lower costs by automating its manufacturing. [...] Like many similar concepts [...] rod memory was competing for the role of taking over from core when the first semiconductor memory systems wiped out the entire market in 1970.</p></blockquote><p>Oof.</p><p>I'm finding it very much worthwhile to read not only older histories of computing, but also old books that provide a survey of the state of the art at a given time.</p><p>[0] <a href="https://archive.org/details/challengeofcompu0000park" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">archive.org/details/challengeo</span><span class="invisible">fcompu0000park</span></a><br>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention_of_the_integrated_circuit#Patent_wars_of_1962–1966" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventio</span><span class="invisible">n_of_the_integrated_circuit#Patent_wars_of_1962–1966</span></a><br>[2] <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_memory" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_me</span><span class="invisible">mory</span></a></p><p><a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputing</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/computerhistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>computerhistory</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/historyoftechnology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>historyoftechnology</span></a></p>
THE PHINTAGE COLLECTOR<p>Before Parallels, before VMware… there was SoftPC.<br>In 1987, Insignia let you run DOS and Windows on a 68k Macintosh — in pure software. I tried it on a Performa 450.<br>Slow? Yes. Fascinating? Absolutely.<br><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/VintageComputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>VintageComputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/RetroComputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RetroComputing</span></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-0qer04oWI" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="">youtube.com/watch?v=x-0qer04oWI</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p>
THE PHINTAGE COLLECTOR<p>If I recall correctly, it sat on a shelf for 6 months until I touched it.<br>Then I screwed the SRAM during the assembly, and it sat for another 7 months.<br>Now I finally completed the rest in just 5 hours: swapped the SRAM and did the final assembly. Curiously looking forward to playing around with thehighnibble.com‘s IMSAI 8080 / Cromemco Z-1 replica <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/RetroComputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RetroComputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/VintageComputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>VintageComputing</span></a></p>
ICM<p>We’re running our PDP-7 today, did you catch the twitch stream?</p><p><a href="https://icm.museum" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">icm.museum</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p><a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a></p>
Blake Patterson<p>Vibing with the 486 + GUS last night*.</p><p>*(Actually an AMD 5x86 160)</p><p><a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/DOS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DOS</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/DOSPC" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DOSPC</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/MSDOS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MSDOS</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputing</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/retrocomputer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputer</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/CRT" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CRT</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/trackermusic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>trackermusic</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/chiptune" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>chiptune</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/retrowave" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrowave</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/demoscene" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>demoscene</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/CubicPlayer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CubicPlayer</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/gravisultrasound" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>gravisultrasound</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/soundcards" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>soundcards</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/video" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>video</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/i486" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>i486</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/ByteCellar" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ByteCellar</span></a></p>
Paul (Goto 10)<p>Happy 40th anniversary to the amazing Amiga!!</p><p><a href="https://www.goto10retro.com/p/40-years-of-the-amiga-from-commodore" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">goto10retro.com/p/40-years-of-</span><span class="invisible">the-amiga-from-commodore</span></a></p><p><a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputing</span></a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/amiga" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>amiga</span></a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/commodore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>commodore</span></a></p>
ICM<p>Our Large Systems Gallery set up is still very much in progress, but if you visit this weekend we'd be happy to give you a sneak peek tour. In addition, you can see our progress on the KI10 restoration.</p><p><a href="https://icm.museum" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">icm.museum</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p><a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/retrogaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrogaming</span></a></p>
Blake Patterson<p>And one of the most interesting things about the PA-RISC based HP-9000 712 series is its Color Recovery system (allowing approximated 24-bit color from an 8-bit framebuffer -- which is effective and fascinating) and also, for me, the fact that it runs NEXTSTEP. </p><p>It's my fastest NEXTSTEP machine.</p><p><a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/HP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HP</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/HPUX" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HPUX</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/UNIX" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>UNIX</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/NEXTSTEP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NEXTSTEP</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/NeXT" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NeXT</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/workstaiton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>workstaiton</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputing</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/retrocomputers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputers</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/CPU" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CPU</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/computing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>computing</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/blog" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>blog</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@OpenPA/114991772837281984" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">mastodon.social/@OpenPA/114991</span><span class="invisible">772837281984</span></a></p>
Amin Girasol<p>I'm reading "The Challenge of the Computer Utility" by D.F. Parkhill, 1966, which was referenced in "Project Whirlwind: The History of a Pioneer Computer" by Kent C. Redmond and Thomas M. Smith, 1980.</p><p>It's a book which attempts to "...facilitate [the] growing discussion [of computer utilities] by providing a broad examination that will reveal something of the history, technology, and economics of the computer utility and explore some of its possible implications for our society."</p><p>There's a wonderful digression imagining an alternative history for computing if Babbage had succeeded in building the Analytical Engine. Here is that section in full:</p><blockquote><p>It is fascinating to speculate how the course of human affairs might have been changed if Babbage or his son had actually succeeded in completing a working analytical engine. Admittedly, given the primitive state of precision mechanical technology before the twentieth century, it is doubtful that even a working machine would have inspired many attempts at direct duplication. On the other hand, the electrical relay in the form of the Morse telegraph was in general use before Babbage’s death, and there is no reason why large electromechanical analytical engines based on relays could not have been built by the end of the nineteenth century. Primitive as such computers would have been by our standards, they still would have represented an astronomical addition to the scientific resources of their time. Furthermore, in the familiar bootstrap action that has played such an important role in our own scientific progress since World War II, successful analytical engines would have spawned further improvements in themselves.</p><p>In electronics, for example, it is possible that the vacuum tube might have found its first large-scale application as a switching device in computers rather than as an amplifier or detector in communications systems. This in turn would have opened up computational and control horizons before World War I that in reality did not appear until the 1950’s. If this had happened, would automation and its first offspring, technological unemployment, then have added their fuel to the fires of economic collapse in the 1930’s? How much faster would aviation have developed? Possibly the jet engine, the guided missile, and the supersonic aircraft would have been commonplace long before the beginning of World War II. What about the atomic bomb? At this point the mind boggles, for the thought of Fascism, in all its hideousness, armed with nuclear weapons, is enough to shatter the complacency of even the most optimistic believer in human progress.</p><p>On the other hand, there was nothing inevitable about the political and economic events that have hitherto convulsed the twentieth century. In fact, given the more rapid rate of scientific and economic progress that would have followed an earlier introduction of the computer, it is extremely unlikely that the pace of political change would have remained unaffected.</p></blockquote><p>The book: <a href="https://archive.org/details/challengeofcompu0000park" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">archive.org/details/challengeo</span><span class="invisible">fcompu0000park</span></a></p><p><a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/computerhistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>computerhistory</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/counterfactual" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>counterfactual</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/alternativehistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>alternativehistory</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputing</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a></p>
Scott Miller 🇺🇦 🇺🇸<p>Wild. I just found a 23+ year old time capsule on the Internet.</p><p>&quot;New Intel Pentium III 1 GHz Laptop Computer w/14&quot; TFT Display, 384 MB Memory, 20 GB Hard Drive, Rewritable CD ROM Drive, 56k Modem &amp; 10/100 LAN. Durable &amp; Affordable for under $1,800.00&quot;</p><p>The Wayback Machine says this text hasn&#39;t changed since at least Jan 6, 2002.</p><p><a href="http://www.karatech.net/serv01.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no"><span class="invisible">http://www.</span><span class="">karatech.net/serv01.htm</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/VintageComputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>VintageComputing</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Pentium3" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Pentium3</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/56kModem" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>56kModem</span></a></p>
Wolfgang Stief<p>Dear Fediverse! Being German, I'm quite familiar with German computer magazines. But not with the UK and US world. What were the “professional level” computer magazines in ca. 1980-2010 which wrote about enterprise IT, Unix, supercomputers, hardware? I'm NOT (yet) interested in software engineering or programming languages and also not very much in Linux.</p><p>I already know BYTE magazine, Unix Review and several 8bit related magazines. What else? <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/techhistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>techhistory</span></a></p>
ICM<p>Are you ready to receive your <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/severance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>severance</span></a> ?</p><p>Come visit icm.museum this weekend for your next onboarding </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/retrogaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrogaming</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.sdf.org/tags/dasher" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>dasher</span></a></p>
Blake Patterson<p>Happy Birthday to the venerable MOS 6502</p><p><a href="https://hackaday.com/2025/08/04/happy-birthday-6502/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hackaday.com/2025/08/04/happy-</span><span class="invisible">birthday-6502/</span></a> #6502 </p><p><a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/MOS6502" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MOS6502</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/CPU" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CPU</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/AppleII" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AppleII</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/Atari8bit" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Atari8bit</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/C64" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>C64</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/BBCMicro" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BBCMicro</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/Atari2600" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Atari2600</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputing</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>vintagecomputing</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/retrocomputers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrocomputers</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/tattoo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>tattoo</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/photo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>photo</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/blog" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>blog</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/ink" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ink</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/geek" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>geek</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/computinghistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>computinghistory</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/techhistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>techhistory</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/technews" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>technews</span></a> <a href="https://oldbytes.space/tags/HBD" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HBD</span></a></p>