Tech Time Warp: Compaq introduces the Presario and dominates the PC market
If you owned a home computer in the 1990’s, chances are it was a Compaq Presario. Today, the name Compaq might incite nostalgia, but during the 1980’s and 1990’s, Compaq dominated the personal computer market. Compaq was one of the...
Tech Time Warp: SoBig.F worm creates some big problems
It’s amazing that the unwitting computer users of 2019 are still clicking on suspicious attachments considering the havoc such files have been wreaking for decades. Back in August 2003, the SoBig.F virus — the sixth variant of the SoBig worm...
Tech Time Warp: The superspy origins of Google Earth
If you’ve played around with Google Earth, you’ve probably been struck by the fact that it’s kind of creepy. It’s fascinating and technologically amazing, for sure, but it can feel a tad invasive. So it should really come as no...
Tech Time Warp: Was the Welchia Worm well-intended?
As the old saying goes, two wrongs don’t make a right — especially if the second “wrong” is a computer worm, albeit a benevolent one. In August 2003, hundreds of thousands of PCs were infected by the Blaster worm, which...
Tech Time Warp: Microsoft and Apple play nice
Let’s face it: You’re either a Mac or a PC user. However, that iconic advertising campaign glossed over some critical information: There’s a good chance Apple wouldn’t exist today, if it weren’t for Microsoft.
Tech Time Warp: A quick and dirty history of MS-DOS
In the world of tech history, MS-DOS seems archaic and simplistic to the untrained eye — a command-prompt today’s “digital natives” wouldn’t recognize, let alone appreciate. Of course, the GUIs of today wouldn’t exist without MS-DOS, which was born out...
Tech Time Warp: The legacy of the Apollo Guidance Computer
Looking back at the Apollo 11 mission 50 years ago, it might be easy to overlook the lasting impact of man’s first steps on the moon. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins captivated not only their fellow Americans, but...
Tech Time Warp: IBM Watson and Wimbledon make a match
Few sporting events are as steeped in tradition as Wimbledon, the Grand Slam tennis tournament taking place at the All England Club through July 19. Look past your cup of Pimm’s and the British royalty in attendance, and you’ll note...
Tech Time Warp: Where in the world did Carmen Sandiego come from?
The same generation of schoolchildren who traveled the Oregon Trail also crisscrossed the globe in hot pursuit of one international supervillain named Carmen Sandiego. Apple’s early investment in the education market meant schools were filled with Apple IIs and children...
Tech Time Warp: The Origin of the Oregon Trail
The real Oregon Trail began in Independence, Missouri, but for generations of American schoolchildren, the trail began in a Minneapolis classroom in 1971, when three student teachers combined their penchant for history with their knowledge of BASIC.