computer

Franklin’s Bad Ads for Apple ][ Clones and the Beloved Impersonator They Relied On

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Franklin Computer Corporation built Apple ][ clones in the early 1980s, notably the ACE 100 series, which closely copied Apple’s designs including BIOS code, leading to legal battles. Their marketing featured the beloved Benjamin Franklin impersonator Ralph Archbold, whose image became closely tied to Franklin’s trademark despite the company’s controversial cloning practices. Though Franklin’s products were popular for their affordability and durability, the company eventually shifted away from desktop computers to handheld devices by the late 1980s.

https://buttondown.com/suchbadtechads/archive/franklin-ace-1000/

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Large Scale Systems Museum / Museum of Applied Computer Technology

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The Large Scale Systems Museum (LSSM) in New Kensington, PA, celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2025 as a public museum dedicated to the history of computing, focusing on minicomputers, mainframes, and supercomputers from the 1950s onward. As a physical, living museum, it features fully restored and operational computer systems maintained by experienced volunteers for demonstrations, education, and research, highlighting computing’s profound impact on modern life.

https://www.mact.io/start

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Original Apollo 11 Code Open-Sourced by NASA — Original Command Module and Lunar Module Code Repos Are Now Public Domain Resources

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The article reports that NASA has made the original Apollo 11 guidance computer software publicly available, including separate codebases for the Command Module and Lunar Module. The release allows people to study and run the historic assembly-language programs that helped guide the first Moon landing under extremely limited computing resources. The main point is that opening this code preserves an important part of computing history and highlights the efficiency and engineering required for early space missions.

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/original-apollo-11-code-open-sourced-by-nasa-original-command-module-and-lunar-module-code-repos-are-now-public-domain-resources

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Every GPU That Mattered

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The article presents a comprehensive timeline and comparison of 49 significant consumer GPUs launched over 30 years, from 1996 to 2025, highlighting key technical specifications, defining games, and market impacts of each generation. It showcases the evolution of GPU technology from the pioneering 3D accelerators like the 3dfx Voodoo Graphics to modern high-performance models such as NVIDIA’s RTX 5090, revealing trends in transistor count, memory, power consumption, and pricing, while also reflecting on user adoption through Steam Hardware Survey data.

https://sheets.works/data-viz/every-gpu

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Another Life Changed by the Mac

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Shelly Brisbin recounts how discovering the Macintosh and its desktop publishing capabilities in the mid-1980s transformed her career path, enabling her to overcome challenges related to her low vision and a difficult job market. By learning to use a Mac Plus with PageMaker, she launched a freelance publishing business and eventually secured a professional editing and layout job, with the skills gained continuing to benefit her throughout her career.

https://sixcolors.com/post/2026/04/another-life-changed-by-the-mac/

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This Machine Changed My Life

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In 1988, Antony Johnston’s introduction to the Macintosh Plus at his high school profoundly impacted his life by exposing him to a visual computer interface that made intuitive sense, unlike command-line systems. This experience led him to develop graphic design skills, ultimately shaping his career path into design and later professional writing, illustrating the transformative influence of early Mac computers.

https://sixcolors.com/post/2026/03/this-machine-changed-my-life/

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ENIAC, the General-Purpose Digital Computer, Is 80

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ENIAC, unveiled on February 15, 1946, was the first large-scale, general-purpose, programmable electronic digital computer, developed at the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering. It marked a major breakthrough in computing, making high-speed calculations practical and laying the foundation for modern computers and the digital economy, while also highlighting pioneering contributions from women programmers and influencing the evolution of technology over the past 80 years.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/eniac-80-ieee-milestone

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Thin Is In

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The piece discusses the historical context of “thick” vs. “thin” clients in computing, highlighting a shift towards thin clients re-emerging through AI interactions. In the past, thick clients (like PCs) dominated, but with AI, the focus on networks for processing has made complex local UIs less relevant, as chat-based interfaces allow for easy interaction regardless of device capability. Future AI advancements suggest an increased reliance on cloud computing due to better model performance and lower costs for shared resources. However, rising memory shortages could impact technology availability and prices, as demand surges from AI developments. Overall, the trend leans towards minimal local compute reliance due to enhanced cloud capabilities.

https://stratechery.com/2026/thin-is-in/

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Byte Magazine Artist Robert Tinney, Who Illustrated the Birth of PCs, Dies at 78

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Robert Tinney, the artist behind Byte magazine’s iconic covers from 1975 to the late 1980s, passed away at 78. His surrealist-influenced illustrations, created using airbrushed Designers Gouache, helped define the visual language of personal computing for a generation. Tinney’s work, characterized by its non-technical metaphors, made complex computing topics accessible and memorable.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/02/byte-magazine-artist-robert-tinney-who-illustrated-the-birth-of-pcs-dies-at-78/

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M8SBC-486 (Homebrew 486 Computer)

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M8SBC-486 is a homemade 486 computer motherboard, built from scratch, aimed at running Linux and DOOM. It’s “kinda PC compatible” with some limitations (e.g., missing DMA impacts sound support). Features include a 4-layer PCB, 5V 486 CPU socket, and support for certain ISA cards and DOS operating systems. The project is experimental and a hobby, reflecting extensive research on older x86 chips. Supported by PCBWay, the project has various compatibility notes for hardware and software. More details can be found on multiple dedicated subpages.

https://maniek86.xyz/projects/m8sbc_486.php

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