Vintage, Retro, Old and Fun: A Journey to the First Days of the PC

Those were the days. The Apple ][e is the best computer ever made. Hours playing Karateka. The sound of the Commodore tapes. When 4 colors were an amazing thing on a screen. When they still made TV commercials for PCs. When Internet was only BBS. Those were the days.

Here are some clips that will take you back to the old days, the first days of personal computing - from Amiga to Commodore to Apple ][e and much more:

Apple II forever! (Hell, yes!)



100 Amiga games in 10 minutes



100 Commodore 64 games in 10 minutes



Karateka - This game never gets old!



Another Classic: Tapper!



Browsing the web with an Apple II - AMAZING!



Mac classic



Alleycat! No more explanations are needed.



Beyond Castle Wolfenstein Gameplay (More of a speedrun, really)

Yet More Proof that Vista is a Piece of Shit

The hell that a simple computer user goes through with Vista is hard to describe. A while back, a friend of mine needed my help - his laptop was sluggish and buggy, although it was a new one. The obvious culprit was Vista. After a long, hard battle, I managed to get his computer to a manageable level.

The troubles didn't end there. He wasn't the only one with Vista problems. Complaints about the new Microsoft junk-OS are all over the place - friends, colleagues, bloggers, surfers - all tell the tale of the Vista Horror Show. My friend and his laptop finally gave up. I "upgraded" him back to XP, and all is well, for now.

And lo and behold - even Microsoft employees can't handle the piece of crap that's Vista. Internal e-mails of Microsoft employees, published online by The New York Times, reveal that corporate vice president for Windows product management Mike Nash, says he "got burned" after purchasing a notebook computer advertised as "Vista Capable" that was actually incapable of running Vista.

Nash wasn't the only one - Microsoft's chief operating officer, Jon Shirley, chose not to install Vista after discovering it was not compatible with his printer and two scanners.

So, even Microsoft can't handle Vista. Why should we, then?

101 Computers and Programming Quotes

Who said "Computers are useless. They can only give you answers"?

And who claimed that you should never trust a computer you can't throw out the window?

Check out these funny and interesting 101 computers and programming quotes and find out!

Top 10 Worst Computer Worms of All Time

A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program. It uses a network to send copies of itself to other computers, and it may do so without any user intervention. Unlike a virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms almost always cause harm to the network, if only by consuming bandwidth, whereas viruses almost always corrupt or modify files on a targeted computer (Wikipedia).

So, what are the worst worms that ever hit the computer universe? According to The Free Dictionary, the worst one was Morris Worm, AKA The Great Worm. On November 2nd, 1988, a shy programmer named Robert T. Morris was set to unleash a digital plague that infected 10 percent of the internet. The Morris case involved a 99-line program written to infiltrate Digital VAX and Sun 3 systems. The so-called worm didn't contain any malicious code. Instead, Morris simply wanted to prove that he could use programs like sendmail to propagate a worm across the Internet.

But when Morris released the program on the Internet, a design flaw caused the worm to reproduce. It quickly penetrated 10% of the Internet and bogged down thousands of systems. Dozens of major colleges, government facilities and research centers fell victim to the worm.

You can read more about it here.

Protect yourself from worms and viruses!

How can you tell for sure that Vista is a failure?

A small item I came across (Thanks to the Mixx Community!) states that Microsoft reports that the counterfeit rate of Vista is half that of XP. Microsoft is basing their statement on Windows Genuine Advantage validation failures, along with other internal data.

Microsoft, of course, attributes this success to the "robust security" of Vista. They are almost claiming that the war on piracy has been won.

I think there must be a different reason as to why Vista is not pirated as Windows XP - it's because Vista is such a terrible OS, that very few actually want to try it out - even as a pirated version. After a very annoying expericnce with Vista a while ago, I wouldn't install this horrible thing on a computer of mine, even if Bill Gates himself offers it to me for free.

There are more and more options out there to those who want a good operating system - a lot of them are free or close to it. If you insist on a Microsoft product, my advice to you is the rule of thumb I always give: Never install a new Microsoft product. Wait AT LEAST two years for most of the bugs to die. And even then - reconsider.

Kill Programs Quickly and Efficiently

If you are using Windows, you can probably hit CTRL+ALT+DEL with your eyes closed. We have done it so many times, those keyboard keys are almost worn out.

The worst part is that the Task Manager doesn't always do its job. You tell it to kill a process - it refuses. You try to shut down a stuck program - and nothing happens.

Task Killer 2.30 offer a neat solution. Just install it and get control over all programs and processes. Instead of hitting CTRL+ALT+DEL and getting annoyed, just click on the killer icon, and choose a program to terminate.

Task killer works on Win95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP - and is completely free. Yet another excellent freeware solution. Well done!

Top 7 Annoying Computer Sounds of all Times

Computers aren't the most silent machines in the world. Although they don't blip and chirrup every second, like in stupid movies, but they still produce a fair amount of sound. Some people consider it extremely cool that their computer can make digital noises. I am sure all of you cubical-dwellers have silently (or loudly) cursed your co-workers for leaving their speakers on.

Be it software or hardware, there are a few sounds made by computer that should forever be damned. And they are:

1. The ICQ incoming message ("Uh-Oh"): Yeah, it was cute in the nineties, for about two seconds, but when it started to be the most common sound coming out of a computer, it began to be annoying. Pretty soon it was considered a plague. ICQ usage has declined over the years, but there are still a lot of kids using it. The Uh-Oh sound continues to reign supreme, and annoy the heck out of people.
   
   (The loudest-ever-horn sound that you can hear when you open ICQ gets an honorable mention).
   
   
2. Any PowerPoint Sound: It's bad enough that everyone uses PowerPoint - from businessmen to teachers, from students to army officers - but it appears that some of them still think that PowerPoint default sounds are cool. Bursts, bombs and Ta-Da sounds are still a regular thing in PP presentations, and there is nothing much to do about it, except to hope that those wavs will someday die a slow death, along with their creators.
   
   
3. Dial-Up Modem, unable to connect: The sound of a modem isn't exactly music to the ears in itself, but a modem unable to connect is a master-screech of hell, the embodiment of annoyance. Especially because it usually meant you couldn't connect to the net and your porn consumption suffered accordingly.
   
   
4. Yahoo Messenger, User Signing Out: Oh, yes, THANK YOU! Don't we all love the sound of a squeaky door slamming shut in our faces? OVER and OVER again? All DAY long?
   
   
5. Ad-Aware, End of Scan: When Ad-Aware finds spyware it lets you KNOW. The flashing bug icon and the text message isn't enough. Oh, no. Let's scare the shit out of you by making a weird-bug-like-buzzing sound, just to get your attention. Spyware is a scary business, after all. Reminds me of that horrible blurting beep we used to hear when Carmel Anti-Virus found a virus in a computer, back there in the early nineties.
   
   
6. Computer Fan, Malfunctioning: Here you have your choice between numerous variations of annoying sounds. It can be a rattle of a broken fan, a high-pitch whine or just a plain hum that can drive you up the wallpaper. Sure, today there are many silent fans. Sure, I'll get some when I buy a new computer. In the mean time, I'll just keep the work-room door closed, just in order to avoid losing my sanity.
   
   
7. The Windows Critical Stop (AKA chord.wav and Asterisk): For me, this is the top of the list. The winner. The absolute peak. The undefeated champion of all the years to come. That was the sound of death. The sound of a program crashing. The sound of error and despair. And if you ever had Windows 95, you heard it all the fucking time. Nothing can beat that. Well done, Bill! You are the winner again!!!

10 Reasons why the Apple ][e is the Best PC Ever Made

Computer nostalgia is one of my favorite subjects. I suppose that growing up in the 80s had its effects on me. I got my first computer at age 6 - it was a hand-me-down from my uncle. And, you guessed it - the machine was a fabulous Apple ][e.

It was the best PC I have ever owned or worked on - and I have tried and typed on many different kinds of computers: from original IBMs to Mac Classics, through horrible Compaqs and wonderful ThinkPads. Still, no matter what happened, I can't forget my first ever personal computer.

Discovering the existence of emulators, some 10 years ago, was a very happy moment for me and my 80s friends. Hearing the old beeps again made us really jump for joy - and I still play the Apple ][ emulator every now and then.

So, why is the Apple ][e so grand? Trust me, it's not just because of the memories:

1. My TV was my monitor: A computer wasn't a cheap thing in the 80s. A computer monitor was pricey. I don't remember how exactly, but my Apple ][e was connected straight to my TV set. I bet I was one of the few who enjoyed a 19" screen back then.
   
   
2. It hardly ever crashed: I don't really recall it getting stuck, frozen or slow. It worked all the time, and it was very reliable.
   
   
3. Instant Boot: Turn it on and it was on and ready for you. That's about it. No waiting.
   
   
4. All in the keyboard: The entire computer was inside the keyboard! If I needed to open it, I just did - and every card and chip was right there in front of me. Easy, small, convenient. No ducking under the table and eating dust just to hook up a pair of speakers.
   
   
5. It taught me English: There was only one language on the Apple ][e - and it was English. I needed to learn the language pretty quickly in order to operate the computer and enjoy the games. So I did. How many Hebrew-speaking 6-years-olds can spell "catalog"?
   
   
6. Gaming was GOOD: This marvelous piece of work came with 2 floppy-disk drivers and a joystick, which made for a mean, lean, gaming machine. The games were sophisticated and cool - still, most of them were no larger than 50 KB. I remember "Summer Games" and hours of fun trying to make the perfect pool dive. The games were also cracked, which was amazing by itself.
   
   
7. Hundreds of games: I think I had about a hundred disks (5.25" of course), each contained at least 3-4 games. All in all I had hundreds of games to play with - and I never got bored.
   
   
8. Oh so quiet: No fan noise whatsoever. How much do you pay for that kind of stillness these days?
   
   
9. It had a voice: There was an actual speech program for the Apple ][e, and it worked rather well. Of course, we mostly fed it curse words, but it gave us hours of fun. My personal favorite was entering "jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj". I still find it funny, for some reason.
   
   
10. Karateka: Need I say more?

The Internet in 1993

One of my favorite activities is indulging in computer nostalgia. Along with keeping up with the hottest, newest developments on the internet and in the computer industry, I boldly claim that the Apple ][e was the best PC ever made, I enjoy emulators very much and I miss the BBS days.

So, it was a great pleasure to encounter this particular video, which shows a news report about the Internet, way back in 1993. I must admit I wasn't connected to the internet in 1993. I was still struggling with busy BBS lines, chatting with 3-4 people maximum on the same time, and downloading files at 0.9 KB/s. Still, I was ONLINE, and it's wonderful to look back and see how it was 14 years ago.

Some of the things changed dramatically, but a lot stayed unchanged - we still chat and socialize, we download files and the trolls and flamers are still out there, in full force.

Enjoy:

The Internet In 1993 - Watch more free videos