Twenty years ago, Intel launched a processor that changed the direction of the desktop PC market.…
Category: Retro computing news
Remember Windows Defrag? Why we defragmented hard drives in the 90s
If you used a Windows PC in the 1990s or early 2000s, you probably knew the…
Gary Kildall’s death investigation: facts, evidence and unanswered questions
Gary Kildall’s death has become one of those stories people think they already know. The usual…
Zilog Z80 at 50: how one chip powered a computer generation
Some processors dominate because they’re the fastest. Others win because they arrive at exactly the right…
How General Magic designed the smartphone before the iPhone
Long before the iPhone changed mobile computing, a small company called General Magic had already pictured…
Prológica CP-400: when Brazil built its own TRS-80 color computer
The Prológica CP-400 looks familiar at first glance. And it should. It was Brazil’s answer to…
Why NES, Mega Drive and SNES Clone consoles sound different
Clone consoles can look like a neat shortcut. You plug one in, drop in a cartridge…
Epomaker Glyph review: a typewriter-inspired keyboard built for modern desks
The Epomaker Glyph doesn’t look like most mechanical keyboards. That’s clear the moment it lands on…
The forgotten Arabic computer that took on the 1980s home PC boom
The Sakhr AX-170 is not the kind of computer that usually dominates retro computing history. It…
Creative Labs vs AdLib: the sound-card war that changed PC gaming
Before PC gaming had surround sound, positional audio, orchestral scores and cinematic voice acting, it had…
The microprocessor price war started in a hotel room: the wild Story of the MOS 6502
The story sounds almost too neat for the history of computing: a new microprocessor, priced at…
Intel’s weird i860 RISC chip: how it worked, why it failed, and why it matters
In 1989, Intel did something that still feels slightly odd today. The company most people associated…
24 June 1983: the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard that defined wired networking
On 24 June 1983, a decision was approved that did not look especially exciting to anyone…
From pocket PC to Sega Dreamcast: the complete history of Windows CE
Before smartphones became the remote control for modern life, before tablets colonised sofas, and before every…
How tax, talent and EU access made Ireland a PC manufacturing hub
Ireland’s place in European computer manufacturing is one of those stories that sounds unlikely until you…
How Dell used a negative cash conversion cycle to beat its PC rivals
In the noisy PC wars of the 1990s and early 2000s, most companies tried to win…
Quanta Computer: from humble start to laptop manufacturing powerhouse
For most laptop buyers, the name Quanta does not appear on the lid, the box or…
Minitel and PC adoption: France’s early online revolution explained
Before the personal computer became the centre of the digital home, France had already given millions…
Iomega Zip Drive click of death: data loss, lawsuits and the fall of a storage icon
In the mid-1990s, the Iomega Zip drive looked like the future of personal storage. It arrived…
The death of the local computer shop: why we still miss the local computer expert
Once, buying a computer meant walking into a small shop where someone knew the difference between…
MSX computers explained: how Sony, Yamaha and Panasonic shaped the almost-standard
In the early 1980s, buying a home computer was often less like choosing a tool and…
The CPU war that never really ended: RISC, x86 and the future of computing
In the 1990s, the personal computer seemed to have a permanent centre of gravity: x86, Windows…
Millennial computers: how generation Y grew up with C64, Amiga, Atari, Apple and Windows
Millennials, also known as Generation Y, were born between 1981 and 1996. They were not the…
Robotron explained: the story of East Germany’s state-run computer giant
In the history of European computing, the story of Robotron is both impressive and uncomfortable. It…
The Story of Columbia Data Products, one of the first IBM PC clone makers
When the IBM PC arrived in 1981, it did more than introduce a new machine. It…
GentleOS/32 a new lightweight operating system for vintage 32-Bit PCs
Old PCs often sit in the uncomfortable space between usefulness and disposal. They may still power…
ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 are back: new hardware, old rivalry and a growing market
The renewed interest in the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 in 2026 is not just another…