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Computer Chronicles Revisited
@deviledeggpress.com
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"Computer Chronicles Revisited" is a monthly newsletter reviewing the people, products, and companies featured on the PBS series that aired from 1983 to 2002. Published by Deviled Egg Press. Edited by S.M. Oliva.
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Computer Chronicles Revisited @deviledeggpress.com · 8d
"Computer Chronicles Revisited" is a monthly newsletter published by Deviled Egg Press, LLC. Each issue covers an episode of the classic PBS series that aired from 1983 to 2002.

Each issue is available as a free download. We also sell subscriptions! Visit us at computerchronicles.blog.
Reposted by Computer Chronicles Revisited
foxhack.bsky.social
... The answer might be even simpler than you think.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qicQ...
Filming Video: CRTs On Set
YouTube video by Cathode Ray Dude - CRD
www.youtube.com
September 16, 2026 at 7:51 PM
deviledeggpress.com
@lgr-yt.bsky.social You know the answer to this? Feels like this question is more within your jurisdiction than mine? 😛
cosmossoup.bsky.social Cosmos Soup @cosmossoup.bsky.social · 1h
So upon learning more about Star Trek IV's inability to get an Amiga, and using a Mac instead, and all the fakery they had to go through just to photograph a screen (due to difficulties from different scan/refresh rates) and knowing video has even worse problems that way..., how the heck did CC ever
September 16, 2026 at 7:02 PM
deviledeggpress.com
One benefit of the going through the old Newsbytes archive, which @savetz.bsky.social has made publicly available, is that you can see there was a time when tech journalists weren't completely in awe of people like Steve Jobs and actually called them out on their self-aggrandizing nonsense.
An October 1988 report from Wendy Woods' Newsbytes on the launch of the NeXT Computer. The full text reads: THE BUM'S RUSH FOR THE UNINVITED/A "WIERD" EVENT SAN FRANCISCO (NB) -- "I felt I was being manipulated, from start to finish," one developer, who asked not to be named, said of the NeXT computer unveiling. The event was tightly orchestrated from the invitations to the visuals and right through the front door of the symphony hall. Invitations were checked so carefully that the event got underway 40 minutes late, and of the 3,000 invited, only 260 were journalists, hand-picked for their friendliness to Steve Jobs' company or their publication's influence. John Dvorak, writing in the San Francisco Examiner, says that NeXT even sent out "dis-invites" or "memos telling people that they could no longer be accommodated." While little of the computer news media was allowed to enter, the guest list included a wide variety of others: Richard Smolan, creator of the "Day in the Life" books, Steve Arnold of LucasFilms computer game division, and a slew of investor capitalists, whose potential for investment in NeXT was generally seen as the reason for the unveiling 6 to 9 months before a product ships. NeXT planners left no room for unflattering or stray shots either verbal or visual. While all local and national television news operations were invited, none could bring in video cameras. Theirs was a hand-out tape, pre-cut and packaged, for reporter voice-overs. And in case applause not greet Jobs at the proper times, the audience appeared to be peppered with NeXT cheerleaders. When Jobs announced the machine would have an optional 330 megabyte hard drive for $2,000, people started clapping; when he announced a 660 megabyte drive for $4,000 was also an option, more hysterical clapping. "It was very weird," commented one spectator to NEWSBYTES, "I felt I was in a commercial and was the only one who hadn't seen the script."
September 16, 2026 at 6:57 PM
deviledeggpress.com
I would seriously buy a folding phone that came with GEM...
A satirical post from my Mastodon account portraying a fictional conversation between Gary Kildall and Atari Corporation chairman Jack Tramiel. Kildall: "Jack, we've heard about Apple's new 'folding' smartphone, which is expected to sell for around $2,000. How will Atari compete in that space?" Tramiel: "Our folding phone will be more powerful, easier to use, and available through mass-market retailers. And you can be damn sure any money we make from our phones won't be used to finance Nazis."
September 16, 2026 at 5:30 PM
deviledeggpress.com
Back in the early 90s, when CD-ROM set off the first "games should be interactive movies" boom, developer Will Harvey gave a quote that I think is still relevant today:

“I’m on a 10-year plan to make interactive movies. But nobody really knows what that is, including me.”
yunalockheart.bsky.social Pyra lockheart @yunalockheart.bsky.social · 14h
So wasn’t expecting to talk about this tonight but why not.

I think one of my issues current day gaming runs into is games want to be a movie. To the point they forget they are actually a game.

It’s been frustrating to see this happen. Miss when games could actually be games.
September 16, 2026 at 4:47 PM
deviledeggpress.com
In 1985, "Computer Chronicles" profiled the short-lived Gavilan Computer Corporation, which produced what it dubbed "the first mobile computer." I explored Gavilan's short history for a 2024 podcast. You can read the transcript here:

www.computerchronicles.blog/transcript-g...

#retrocomputing
Transcript — Gavilan's $31 Million Ride to Bankruptcy
Editor's note: In December 2024, I published an episode of Chronicles Revisited Podcast on the history of Gavilan Computer Corporation. Below is a lightly edited version of my recording script for tha...
www.computerchronicles.blog
September 16, 2026 at 1:10 PM
deviledeggpress.com
Remember when computer programmers did ads for Scotch instead of peddling society-destroying scams?

Peter Norton remembers.

#retrocomputing
A 1980s ad for Dewar's Scotch whiskey. Computer programmer Peter Norton is seated and holding an IBM PC-style keyboard. On a small table next to him is an open bottle of Dewar's and a half-filled glass. Everything except the Dewar's is in black and white. The ad copy contains a "Dewar's Profile" of Norton with various facts about him, such as that he's the Chairman and CEO of Peter Norton Computing, Inc, and that his preferred Scotch is Dewar's "White Label" with water.
September 16, 2026 at 2:31 AM
deviledeggpress.com
Imagine that. When you have an independent commission overseeing judicial ethics, you can actually force the Chief Justice of a state supreme court to resign for improper conduct benefiting one of his friends.

www.wmur.com/article/chie...
NH Supreme Court Chief Justice MacDonald resigns after Judicial Conduct Committee investigation
New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Gordon MacDonald has resigned his position following an investigation by the Judicial Conduct Committee.
www.wmur.com
September 16, 2026 at 12:40 AM
Reposted by Computer Chronicles Revisited
rustyshackles.bsky.social
It’s funny that after the doc a few years ago and numerous other exonerations of Howard Warshaw this is still a topic
September 15, 2026 at 7:01 PM
deviledeggpress.com
One of the product managers who appears in the next episode I'm covering later became a magician. A Christian magician. As in, he spreads the Gospel to children through magic tricks.

Eh. At least he's not a venture capitalist. 😆
September 16, 2026 at 12:08 AM
deviledeggpress.com
It's the 40th anniversary of the Apple IIgs! Apple's Curtis Sasaki appeared in a September 1986 episode to demo EA's "Music Construction Set," which developer Will Harvey ported from his original Apple II version.

www.computerchronicles.blog/computer-chr...

#retrocomputing #apple #midi
Computer Chronicles Revisited 64 — The Music Studio, EZ-Track, Soundscape, the Apple IIgs, and the CompuSonics DSP-1000
The Computer Chronicles discusses MIDI music.
www.computerchronicles.blog
September 15, 2026 at 11:41 PM
deviledeggpress.com
While doing some research awhile back, I came upon an article describing Steve Jobs and Ross Perot attending a swanky dinner party for King Juan Carlos of Spain in northern California.

Now I just want to see a "road trip" film with the antics of those three guys driving to Vegas after the party.
September 15, 2026 at 8:17 PM
Reposted by Computer Chronicles Revisited
aftermath.site
What really caused the video game crash of 1983?

aftermath.site/podcasts/you-a...
September 15, 2026 at 6:21 PM
deviledeggpress.com
Part of me wants to see him try and run for a third term just so I can read Thomas and Alito's constitutional fanfic about how that doesn't violate the 22nd Amendment.
September 15, 2026 at 5:33 PM
deviledeggpress.com
Longtime "Computer Chronicles" contributor Wendy Woods Gorski was the founder and editor of Newsbytes for its entire run. Wendy was kind enough to give me a copy of her archive when I started my project. Great to see it's now preserved and available to everyone!
savetz.bsky.social Kay Savetz @savetz.bsky.social · 1d
I created something I've wanted for a long time: a searchable archive of Newsbytes News Network articles: technology reporting from 1983 to 2002. www.savetz.com/newsbytes/

73,000+ articles, and a fun image gallery.
Newsbytes Archive
Search 73,350 technology news stories from the Newsbytes News Network archive.
www.savetz.com
September 15, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by Computer Chronicles Revisited
theycreateworlds.bsky.social
Atari’s best-selling VCS games hold a few surprises. Sales records glimpsed in Once Upon Atari show what really sold and how the crash hit Atari. We dig into the stories behind these games and the people who made them. youtu.be/7Zj61ykgVk8

#Atari #AtariVCS #Atari2600 #VideoGameHistory #RetroGaming
TCW 266 - The 10 Best Selling Atari Games
YouTube video by They Create Worlds Podcast
youtu.be
September 15, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Computer Chronicles Revisited
tedium.co
Usenet is many things, but one thing it was not, until recently: Easy for a normal person to search through.

tedium.co/2026/09/14/u...
Usenet’s Back, Baby. (This Time, The Search Works.)
Usenet-Rewind, a new tool for digging into Usenet history, holds much potential for researchers. But seeing your old posts on Usenet is gonna feel weird.
tedium.co
September 15, 2026 at 3:56 AM
deviledeggpress.com
When tech journalists weren't afraid to ask the *tough* questions. 😛
This is a joke post. There's a picture of Paul Schindler facing a picture of another man, Roy Nierenberg, who I am using as a stand-in for this made-up exchange. Paul: "Many people are concerned about the ethics of this type of software. Is there any risk that your program might 'escape containment' and cause the death of humanity within a decade?" Guest: "Actually, Paul, our software helps you plan a fancy dinner party. It runs on a Commodore 64. I suppose if you don't follow the recipes, your guests might get sick from under-cooked pork. Or maybe they won't like our suggested wine pairings. But I think the risk of an existential threat to humanity is pretty low."
September 15, 2026 at 1:18 PM
deviledeggpress.com
When Osborne Computer Corporation filed for bankruptcy in September 1983, there were 1,000 unsold Osborne-1 computers stranded in a Toronto warehouse. For some reason, they were not FCC-approved for sale in the US. I wonder whatever became of them...

(cc: @quarterpast.bsky.social)

#retrocomputing
A section from the Osborne bankruptcy filings: "(The Toronto Finished Goods have been refused by the purchaser, Lanpar Technologies, Inc., who is indebted to Debtor [Osborne] but who has asserted various claims and offsets against Debtor. The amounts Debtor claims are owed it by Lanpar for these goods are included in the valuation of accounts receivable forming a part of the Orderly Liquidation Value. These units of finished goods have not been approved for sale by the Federal Communications Commission for use or sale in the United States. Debtor could realize value from these units if it could recover them and sell them in other overseas markets. In the event the Court approved a settlement of the Lampar dispute which also allows Lanpar to keep or sell said goods and which permits Lanpar to pay less than the full value of the Debtor's receivable, the Adjusted Orderly Liquidation Value will be correspondingly reduced."
September 15, 2026 at 1:27 AM
deviledeggpress.com
George Morrow on people who buy computers:

"About 35 percent of the people who buy computers don't need them. They're potentially unhappy users who'll spread bad news about computers."

#retrocomputers
George Morrow on the set of "Computer Chronicles" holding a copy of Ashton-Tate's "Byline" software package.
September 14, 2026 at 11:23 PM
Reposted by Computer Chronicles Revisited
siliconundergro.bsky.social
Osborne Computer Corp invented the portable computer and self-destructed less than five years later. The usual story is it was too quick to announce a new product. But it turns out that was a lie to cover up its other problems. dfarq.homeip.net/osborne-comp... #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing
Osborne Computer's bankruptcy and the Osborne Effect
Adam Osborne learned the hard way that building a tech startup is hard
dfarq.homeip.net
September 14, 2026 at 9:29 PM
Reposted by Computer Chronicles Revisited
michaelklamerus.bsky.social
I think my blog where I regularly post about indie games on a variety of platforms like itch.io as well as other odd bits is pretty neat and worth adding to your RSS reader

virtualmoose.org
The Virtual Moose
virtualmoose.org
September 14, 2026 at 4:26 PM
deviledeggpress.com
During the 1980s #AI hype, former Minnesota Vikings QB Fran Tarkenton bought up a bunch of software startups with the goal of replacing programmers with "automated" software development. Below is a September 1986 report from Wendy Woods. Spoiler: Fran's plan failed and he sold his company at a loss.
A photograph of Fran Tarkenton playing quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. A September 16, 1986, report by Wendy Woods for her Newsbytes service: TARKENTON GAME PLAN IS TO MAKE PROGRAMMERS OBSOLETE Fran Tarkenton, former quarterback, wants to make computer programmers obsolete, and he's running toward his goal with the tenacity of the Georgia Bulldog he once was. Last week he bought his third computer software firm, KnowledgeWare Inc., of Ann Arbor, MI, and reitterated his goal of automating the production of computer software. Tarkenton, now based in Atlanta, already has GAMMA, which automates the back end of system development, and programs which automate the front end of system design. KnowledgeWare adds artificial intelligence technology that automates the analysis and design steps at the front end of the cycle. New software based on the merged technologies was promised in 60 days.
September 14, 2026 at 6:01 PM
deviledeggpress.com
PRAY FOR ERNIE
ernie.tedium.co Ernie Smith @ernie.tedium.co · 5d
Hi, I would like to tell you about the company whose AI agents spammed me four times in the past three hours.

If you are a creative, particularly one who does #freelance, you need to know about the dystopian iLands business model. Keep yourself safe.

tedium.co/2026/09/11/i...

new @tedium.co
The Worst Spam Emails: Inside iLands' AI Agent Hustle
iLands, a new AI agent-centric startup, is spamming creatives like me numerous times a day. What do its agents want? My job. Why? They need to buy more tokens.
tedium.co
September 14, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Computer Chronicles Revisited
kaye.zone
This is the one nuance about AI that I’ll buy into: rebranding every computer assisted tool to being “AI” makes artists vulnerable to stigma if someone misunderstands their workflow.

Taken to extremes: are blending modes cheating? The artist didn’t hand-alter those pixels themselves.
moomanibe.bsky.social Aura/Moom @moomanibe.bsky.social · 2d
casually: I don't think it's a good idea to equate basic rigging tools like follow-through automation with AI slop. acting like there's an equivalence between handmade, purpose-built, non-blackbox generative tools and "AI" is ceding a point to that crowd. they WANT you to make that comparison.
September 14, 2026 at 4:57 PM