Category Archives: Multi-Platform

My Lisa, All Fired Up for “Apple Month” at r/Retrobattlestations

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Blake Patterson

April was Apple Month at r/Retrobattlestations, so I fired up my Lisa 2/10 to give the shout out and enter the contest for u/Foxxtexx‘s lovely retro vinyl stickers. She’s a lovely girl, isn’t she?

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Have a Helping of 8-bit Holiday Cheer! (2015 Edition)

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Blake Patterson

‘Tis the season! And that means it’s time for the fifth annual retro computer Holiday demo / music / game collection to help get you into the spirit of the season! I’ve been a computer guy for a long time … Continue reading →

Posted in Multi-Platform | 1 Comment

On Being Featured in Retro Gamer’s “Collector’s Corner”

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Blake Patterson

The bookshelves down in my basement computer room hold hundreds of computer magazines primarily ranging from the late ’70s through the mid ’90s. Taken together, they more or less completely chronicle the “home computer” era; they detail the technology of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Rambling, Multi-Platform | 5 Comments

We See Farther: A Tribute to the EA that Once Was

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Blake Patterson

Some of my most treasured items in the basement computer room or “The Byte Cellar” (cue my daughter rolling her eyes) are on the wall. The room is full of system setups from the ’80s and ’90s, and I love … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaming, Multi-Platform | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

My Earliest Memories of Microcomputing — And How I Came About Them

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Blake Patterson

I was lately in a twitter back-and-forth with some of my vintage computing brethren when the topic of the earliest systems each of us owned came up. My first was a TI-99/4A gifted me (I coached the parents on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Down Memory Lane, Just Rambling, Multi-Platform | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Smithsonian’s “Places of Invention” Exhibit Highlights the Rise of the Personal Computer

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Blake Patterson

On the first of this month, the National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. re-opened its west wing, loaded with new attractions, among them the Places of Invention exhibit. While the entire exhibit is fascinating, a particular portion of … Continue reading →

Posted in Macintosh, Multi-Platform | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Don’t Let the FCC Impose Dial-Up Access Charges!

Posted on February 22, 2015 by Blake Patterson

Dial-up users, we have to unite! The FCC is attempting to impose access charges to interstate enhanced services, such as Sprint’s Telenet, that use local dial access. Or, they were…28 years ago…as can be seen in the above letter I … Continue reading →

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Bmp2DHR: The Best Apple II Graphics You’ll See This Week [UPDATED]

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Blake Patterson

I brought home my first Apple IIgs in the fall of 1987. That was year that CompuServe released the initial GIF specification (along with clarification that the “G” is soft). Up until then, the graphics files worth looking at existed … Continue reading →

Posted in Apple II, Multi-Platform | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Have a Helping of 8-bit Holiday Cheer! (2014 Edition)

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Blake Patterson

I’ve been a computer guy for a long time now, but I’ve been enjoying Christmas even longer. I got my first computer, a TI-99/4A, on Christmas morning, 1982. I was 10 years old, and from that Christmas on, it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Multi-Platform | 1 Comment

SGI Gets…Err…Got Medieval on Microsoft, HP, and Sun

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Blake Patterson

Just a quick one here, folks. Last week I posted about the crazy HP Series 700 marketing video from 1995, thinking it might be the enduring lord of all crazy tech marketing videos. And, it may be — but this … Continue reading →

Posted in Multi-Platform, UNIX | 1 Comment