iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I'll always remember Activision for Ghostbusters and Pitfall!. Happy birthday to Activision, the original third-party game development studio. dfarq.homeip.net/what-happene... #retrocomputing #retrogaming

dfarq.homeip.net

What happened to Activision

44 years was a good run for something that looked like it might be a passing fad

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The web used to be littered with GIF files, as far as the eye could see. Then Unisys decided to get unisysy and GIFs disappeared for a while. Twenty years ago today, the last patent expired, and GIF became free to use, forever. dfarq.homeip.net/the-day-gif-... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

The day GIF became free to use, forever

The patents around the GIF file format caused an uproar

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

38 years ago, IBM announced it had sold its 3 millionth PS/2. IBM thought it was doing fine, not realizing how fast the market as a whole was growing. That was the problem with the PS/2. dfarq.homeip.net/ibm-ps2-seri... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

IBM PS/2 series

The PS/2 didn't flop, and maybe that was the problem.

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

It was 54 years ago that AMD held its IPO. It's easy to forget AMD is that old, and that AMD processor logic powered most 1970s minicomputers, so they were no stranger to enterprises when they started selling x86 CPUs. dfarq.homeip.net/amds-ipo-sep... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

AMD's IPO, September 27, 1972

Its chips also found its way into many 1970s and 1980s midrange minicomputers

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

First console: Coleco Telstar (a Pong clone), 1981-ish. It could play tennis, hockey, handball, or Jai-Alai, all variants on the same theme. First computer: Commodore 64, 1984. I'm more nostalgic for the 64 than I am for the console.

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I went about 12 years without using my health insurance. Pretty common for men in their late 20s and into their 30s. Moral of the story: Use your health insurance once a year whether you need to or not, so you don't lose it.

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I score 14 of 16. I never used Myspace and never downloaded ringtones. I was around at those times but not interested in either of those things. I resisted Flash too (I hate gratuitous blinky movement) but couldn't completely avoid it.

How internet-old are you? A checkbox list: Used dialup, used netscape, altavista, owned a Zip drive, chatted on ICQ, coded HTML, signed guestbooks, used Napster, updated Flash, maintained Myspace, watched download bars, downloaded ringtones, used RSS, banner swaps, moderated forums, used FTP

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The consumer DVD player turns 30 this weekend. Toshiba was the first to announce a player September 26, 1996. dfarq.homeip.net/first-dvd-pl... #retrotech #techhistory

dfarq.homeip.net

First DVD player announced Sept 26, 1996

VHS was showing its age and DVD offered benefits all around

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

What did x86 need at the dawn of the 64-bit era? More baggage! That was AMD's bet-the-company wager. They won. dfarq.homeip.net/athlon-64-ho... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

Athlon 64: How AMD turned the tables on Intel

Better 32-bit performance was worth trading some 64-bit performance to get

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Yesterday I installed a Wordpress plugin called Bot Traffic Shield to block AI bots from training on my content. I tried a more aggressive plugin a year or so ago but it conflicted with other things I need. So far, so good on this one. It blocked 1,225 requests from AI bots in 24 hours. 1/3

screenshot of Bot Traffic Shield showing 1,320 blocked requests total including 30 so far today

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The NEC V20 is a misunderstood CPU from the mid 1980s. Part 8088, part 80186, and part 8080, it drew a lawsuit from Intel. If you're looking for a period-correct speed boost for an XT or clone, this chip is perfect. dfarq.homeip.net/nec-v20-cpu-... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

NEC V20 CPU: A bit of pep for an XT

It's a drop in replacement, it's faster, and it's cheap. What's not to like?

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Reposted by Dave F

Lindsay Beyerstein @beyerstein.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Alex Karp of Palantir says the AI industry must be nationalized to protect it from lawsuits if it accidentally destroys the world. More likely, he sees the bubble about to burst and he wants to be bought out with our tax dollars before that happens.

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Flu and Rona. Pharmacist said the mRNA is 30% more effective, 30% more side effects, in case you're wondering. You can get mRNA versions of both now. Or conventional, if you like yours less spicy.

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Reposted by Dave F

Kimm Rogers @kimmrogers.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Hey mainstream media outlets! How about you boycott the White House? If nobody shows up to cover the news…. He would literally go out of his mind. He can’t live without attention. Maybe we stop giving it to him because everything he says are lies anyway.

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

It was a long day and I'm slap-happy so...

Cookie Monster next to a girl sitting at an Atari 800 computer with a color monitor, with the caption "You deleted cookies!?"

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I ran across this story about Don Estridge today. He was the lead of the project that led to the IBM PC. In 1984, after giving a speech, he was surrounded by industry executives, and a 14-year-old boy who wanted to ask him a programming question. He made the executives wait. 1/2

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Osborne Computer Corp invented the portable computer and self-destructed less than five years later. The usual story is it was too quick to announce a new product. But it turns out that was a lie to cover up its other problems. dfarq.homeip.net/osborne-comp... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

Osborne Computer's bankruptcy and the Osborne Effect

Adam Osborne learned the hard way that building a tech startup is hard

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I'm breaking from my usual retro computing content today because this is important. There is a spy in your living room and you need to do something about it. And yes, I am aware I sound like John McAfee. dfarq.homeip.net/the-spy-in-y...

dfarq.homeip.net

The spy in your living room

If you ever noticed the price was different online than in-store, this affected you

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

It was 49 years ago today that the Atari 2600 launched, making today a good day to look back at its launch titles, and why its launch title library was so different from what modern consoles launch with. dfarq.homeip.net/atari-2600-l... #retrogaming

dfarq.homeip.net

Atari 2600 launch titles

In 1977, nobody really knew what a great launch title lineup looked like yet

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I just had to completely rewrite a blog post that I'd scheduled for next week. I consulted a source I hadn't read before. After reading it, I understand why everyone else who read it still got it wrong. If I'm short a blog post in June, I'll write a review of possibly the worst book I've ever read.

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Power outage? What power outage? This blog post on Compuserve went viral and then I lost poer, so it ran on UPS power for 30 minutes. Anyway, if you wonder what happened to Compuserve, that's today's blog post. dfarq.homeip.net/what-happene... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

What happened to Compuserve?

Being early made Compuserve big, but easier to use services overtook it in time

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

25 years ago, HP merged with Compaq in a deal worth $25 billion. The deal was controversial even then, and in hindsight, both companies had better options. HP ended the Compaq brand in 2012. dfarq.homeip.net/the-ill-fate... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

The ill-fated HP-Compaq merger

Compaq went from industry leader to damaged goods under HP ownership

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I love these kinds of quizzes, probably because I confuse them. I've lived in St. Louis longer than anywhere else but neither of my parents were from here. "You" is either plural or singular, by the way. mydialect.us/quiz-standar...

heat map of the United States showing I talk most like someone from central-ish Missouri

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The Internet used to get flooded with n00bs every September, as first-year college students discovered the Internet. And then in 1993, AOL opened up access to Usenet, leading to the September that Never Ended. dfarq.homeip.net/the-septembe... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

The September that Never Ended

If you were online before September 1993, you felt a difference.

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

A year ago, Microsoft open sourced 6502 Basic, giving an unprecedented inside look at the programming language built into the Apple II or Commodore 64. dfarq.homeip.net/microsoft-65... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

Microsoft 6502 Basic released as open source Sept 3, 2025

A generation of IT workers and developers used it when they were kids

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Spam text messages wanting to buy your house are nothing new but today I got a message trying to sell me one. That's a new one on me.

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The Atari Lynx, the first handheld color game console, made its debut Sept. 1, 1989. It should have been a huge hit, but Atari squeezed its software development partner out of business and it's hard to sell a game console without a ready supply of games. dfarq.homeip.net/atari-lynx-t... #retogaming

dfarq.homeip.net

Atari Lynx: The first color handheld game console

Its best game was a big hit--on Windows 3.1 three years later

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

When the Commodore 64 launched is surprisingly hard to pinpoint today. In this blog post, I make the case for September 1, 1982. And then Commodore underestimated its shelf life. It was still selling 10 years later. dfarq.homeip.net/commodore-64... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

Commodore 64 released September 1, 1982

A generation of technology workers grew up using it

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

At the end of August 1994, Adobe bought Aldus, bringing Pagemaker under the same roof as Illustrator and Photoshop. It was a merger of the two biggest names in desktop publishing. And I think we know how the rest turned out. dfarq.homeip.net/adobes-augus... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

Adobe's August 1994 acquisition of Aldus

The two companies' product lines were more complimentary than duplicative

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

43 years ago today, Apple prevailed in court over its largest clone maker, establishing the legal precedent that software can be copyrighted. Franklin Computer never really recovered, and retreated into selling handheld computers. dfarq.homeip.net/apple-prevai... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

Apple prevails over Franklin, August 30, 1983

Franklin admitted it copied Apple's code and argued it should be able to

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

The second of today's twin spin blog posts covers how I build streaming boxes that don't inject ads or spy on you while still being easy to use. The irony of using discarded corporate PCs to do it is kind of fun. dfarq.homeip.net/a-roku-alter...

dfarq.homeip.net

A Roku alternative streaming device

No spying, no intrusive ads, and a nice user experience you can build yourself

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I'm posting some modern content today, and it's a two-fer. First is a deep dive on Dell Optiplex Micro PCs, the models I look for, and what I use them for, including building TV streaming boxes. The second is a deep dive on building streaming boxes. dfarq.homeip.net/dell-optiple...

dfarq.homeip.net

Dell Optiplex 3040 and 3050 micro

They're small, quiet, cheap, and reliable. What's not to like?

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Once upon a time, Digg was bigger than Reddit. And in 2010, Digg learned that a move-fast-and-break-things approach can be fatal. We could have learned a lot from Digg's mistakes. I'm not positive we did. dfarq.homeip.net/digg-v4-and-... #retrocomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

Digg v4 and lessons not learned

Digg basically became a front page for Reddit as it circled the drain

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

35 years ago today, a computer science student posted an announcement on Usenet about his hobby project. That student's name was Linus Torvalds, and his hobby project was called Linux. It turned out to be more than a hobby. dfarq.homeip.net/linux-kernel... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

Linux first announced August 25, 1991

Linux stepped into a void left by GNU's delays and legal action around BSD

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Windows 95 is now 31 years old. As weird as it is today to imagine hundreds of people lining up at midnight to buy a Microsoft product, it happened in 1995. I wasn't one of them, but Win95 was better than 3.1. dfarq.homeip.net/happy-20th-b... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

Windows 95 released August 24, 1995

People lined up around stores at midnight like they do for a new Apple product.

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

How many Commodore 64s sold has always been complicated. In this blog post I repeat the best estimate from Commodore historian Dave McMurtrie, but also step through how other estimates arrived at larger counts. dfarq.homeip.net/how-many-com... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

How many Commodore 64s sold? It's complicated

The Guinness Book of World Records got it wrong. Here's the correct figure.

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Does anyone remember a radio station somewhere in Missouri that switched to playing Frank Sinatra 24/7 in 1994 or so? Maybe I imagined this but it seems too oddly specific to be something I would have imagined.

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

No idea what the scrap value is but if the target is $70, I'm pretty confident you could list it on your favorite online marketplace for $80 and it would sell with less effort than it takes to scrap it. Those 5.25" floppy drives are getting hard to find. #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

screengrab of a Youtube thumbnail showing a mid 1980s portable PC with a title that says "Can I get $70 scrapping this old PC?"

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Reposted by Dave F

watson6728.bsky.social @watson6728.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

As a Missourian, I can tell you Ed Martin is a total whack job

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

40 years ago today, Adobe Systems held its IPO. It was one of several prominent tech companies to go public in 1986. It was a late bloomer compared to Microsoft or Oracle, but didn't flame out as fast as Sun or SGI. dfarq.homeip.net/adobe-system... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

Adobe Systems IPO August 20, 1986

It was a sleeper in the shadow of Microsoft, Oracle, Sun, and SGI

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

My dog looked up as I read this aloud, looking kinda innocent. Kinda.

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

On August 19, 1974, exiles from Motorola founded MOS Technology so they could design and build a $25 CPU. This CPU, the MOS 6502, proved widely successful. dfarq.homeip.net/mos-technolo... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

MOS Technology founded August 19, 1974

They made CPUs more affordable than they had ever been before

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I don't know about anyone else, but an Egghead Software catalog was how 12-year-old me found out about Leisure Suit Larry. dfarq.homeip.net/what-happene... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

What happened to Egghead Software

It's a quaint business model now but it had its day in the sun

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Reposted by Dave F

Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

“it costs less money than what we’re doing now” is the only answer we need to push normies towards universal healthcare

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

It was 26 years ago today that Nielson announced the Internet had reached 50 percent of US households. Which makes this a good day to look at the rise and growth of the Internet and how it applies to other phenomena. dfarq.homeip.net/when-the-int... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

When the Internet reached half of US households

And if it seems like it lost a lot of steam soon after, there's a reason for that

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

In both the UK and USA, a cheap printer with mysterious origins saw use with inexpensive home computers from Commodore, Sinclair, and Amstrad. It was actually an IBM printer in disguise. dfarq.homeip.net/ibm-pc-compa... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

IBM PC Compact Printer model 5181

It had more aliases than a crook, but it just wanted to be useful

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

After two months of secret negotiations, Commodore bought Amiga on August 14, 1984. In return they got technology they didn't know what to do with, and a nasty lawsuit. But it also meant Amiga would live to see its introduction. dfarq.homeip.net/commodores-p... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

Commodore's purchase of Amiga, August 14, 1984

Commodore bought it out from under Atari, in a confusing sequence of events

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Dave F @siliconundergro.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Just barely over three years after releasing the original IBM PC, IBM followed up with the more powerful PC/AT, powered by an Intel 286 CPU. Although it proved successful, at times it was controversial. dfarq.homeip.net/ibm-5170-pc-... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

dfarq.homeip.net

IBM 5170 PC/AT

During IBM's golden era of PCs, it was IBM's best, but wasn't without problems.

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Reposted by Dave F

Bilbo Yaga @bilboyaga.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Today I heard the story of Bonnie the beagle mix who went missing from her home in 2022, was found by a man on his way to a dog show, posted to social media by her rescuer and also entered into the dog show… and won 3rd place before being reunited with her family. Look at her unrepentant face:

A beagle mix sits in dappled sunlight, wearing a bright yellow prize ribbon tied to her collar. She is mostly white with brown and black spots, and she is clearly very proud of herself.

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