Larry Tesler (1945-2020)
In Memoriam: Lawrence G. “Larry” Tesler (1945-2020), inventor of Copy/Paste at Xerox PARC, member of Apple Lisa team, human-computer interaction expert Tesler was a giant in the field of human-computer...
View ArticleLife in the Age of COVID-19
How is everyone doing out there? We’re living through historic times, with most of the world on lockdown due to COVID-19 (AKA novel coronavirus). My family and I have been staying at home since early...
View ArticleBenj Writes History at How-To Geek
Back in February, I landed a full-time job at How-To Geek as a Staff Writer. It’s been a great gig, and I am enjoying helping people with tricky (and sometimes very simple) tech problems. I’ve written...
View ArticleMore How-To Geek History Articles from Benj
As I mentioned back in April, I joined up with How-To Geek in February, and I’ve been regularly writing tech history-related features in addition to my usual how-to pieces. Since that first post, I’ve...
View ArticleWhy the Apple II Didn’t Support Lowercase Letters
[Editor’s Note: I recently asked Steve Wozniak via email about why the original Apple II did not support lowercase letters. I could have guessed the answer, but it’s always good to hear the reason...
View ArticleVintage Computing and Gaming Turns 15
Greetings, fellow retro tech fans. 15 years ago today, I launched Vintage Computing and Gaming. The origins of the site have been well-covered elsewhere, so I’ll spare you the rehash. While I haven’t...
View ArticleReverse Engineering Prodigy, Part 1
[ Please welcome Phillip Heller, VC&G’s newest contributor, who is a member of the Prodigy Preservation Project. Phillip will post more updates on his progress here in the future. –Benj ] Beginning...
View Article[ Retro Scan ] The 1989 Game Boy Box
Now you’re playing with…glowing robot hands?! Brother and sister are finally getting along with “Multiple Player Action.” A friend recently noticed I haven’t posted a new Retro Scan since 2019 (by the...
View ArticleWowzers! 46 More How-To Geek History Articles
I joined How-To Geek in February 2020, and I’ve been regularly writing tech history-related features in addition to my usual how-to pieces. At the moment, they’re usually published every Monday or on...
View ArticleHP 95LX Games From CompuServe in the 1990s
In the mid-1990s, my dad gave me a Hewlett Packard HP 95LX he bought from a friend and never used. The HP 95LX (1991) is a really cool handheld PC that runs DOS from ROM. While looking for 95LX...
View ArticleClive Sinclair (1940-2021)
In Memoriam: Clive Marles Sinclair (1940-2021) British inventor, Founder of Sinclair Research, Creator of Sinclair computers — See Also: RSOTW: Where’s the Bits? (2008) RSOTW: Memotech ZX81 Modules (2014)
View Article[ Retro Scan ] The Tandy Sensation!
“Now computing can be fun and easy for the entire family.” The Tandy Sensation was an early attempt at a specialized Multimedia PC. In this case, Tandy came up with a 25 MHz 486SX computer with a 107...
View ArticleReverse Engineering Prodigy, Part 2
[ Phillip Heller is a member of the Prodigy Preservation Project. Here, he writes about his progress since Part 1 in January. –Benj ] Reverse engineering Prodigy is not without challenges. Though the...
View Article[ VC&G Anthology ] The Making of Pong (2012)
Atari founders circa 1972-73 (from left to right):Ted Dabney, Nolan Bushnell, Larry Emmons, and Allan Alcorn [ Atari Pong turns 50 years old today, and I thought it might be fun to revisit an article I...
View ArticleBenj Writes Tech History at Ars Technica
In August 2022, I joined up with Ars Technica as their AI and Machine Learning Reporter. Of course, even while documenting one of the wildest cutting-edge stories in tech at the moment, my heart never...
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