The latest blog posts to take off on Hacker News. 422 posts.
While working on my Windows 3.x display driver , I ran into a vexing problem. In Windows 3.1 running in Enhanced 386 mode, I could start a DOS session and switch it to a window. But an attempt to set a mode in the DOS window (e.g. MODE CO80 ) would destroy the Windows desktop, preventing further drawing from happening…
Welcome to the Rise of Steel part II.
CHM publicly releases the source code to Apple's Lisa computer, including its system and applications software.
Date: 01 Apr 88 1620 PST From: Les Earnest < LES...@S... > Subject: The "previous account" referred to in RISKS-6.51
When I owned Piper N47943, a four seat single engine airplane, I thought it prudent not to fly myself to assignments. I did not want the…
Many point to the fact that the Soviet Union collapse occurred as the Soviets were baited into trying to compete with the defense build-up ...
How many transistors are in Intel's 8086 processor? This seems like a straightforward question, but it doesn't have a straightforward answ...
blog dot information dash superhighway dot net2023273 points123 commentsProgramming Languages details
Forth is perhaps the tiniest possible useful interactive programming language. It is tiny along a number of dimensions: The amount of c...
History of Web Browser Engines from 1990 until today
How does a vintage airspeed indicator work? CuriousMarc picked one up for a project, but it didn't have any documentation, so I reverse-en...
Has nerd sniping gone too far?
While running around South Alabama, I came across the sleepy shrimping capital of Bayou La Batre along the Mississippi Sound. The basis for Winston Groom’s (who grew up in Mobile County and f…
On Saturday, September 18 1993, Sierra's Macintosh games stopped working. Franchises froze as King's Quests, Space Quests, and even the Leisurely Suited Larries locked up. Practically every Mac SCI game had broken overnight. Sierra developed a patch within nine days, released it on their BBS, and announced it in their…
Intel introduced the 8086 microprocessor in 1978, and its influence still remains through the popular x86 architecture. The 8086 was a fai...
Douglas Adams on Hypercard + New Educational Models
How a series of errors on the ground and in the air caused a fully loaded passenger jet to run out of fuel in the mid-Atlantic.
Alan Kay answered: “Actually quite the opposite, if “document” means an imitation of old static text media (and later including pictures…
Imagine someone let you into an alien spaceship they landed in your backyard, sat you at the controls, and encouraged you to fly the ship...
I’ve covered PC compatibility in the past, and tried to explain how just having an x86 CPU and running DOS does not necessarily make your machine compatible with an IBM PC. At the time, this …
One of the defining characteristics of the modern world is the ubiquity of steel.
Researchers have discovered ancient Roman concrete-manufacturing strategies that incorporated self-healing. Applying this knowledge toward modern cement production, they hope to improve the material’s environmental impact.
For thousands of years, a hidden rule limited the size of empires, unbeknownst to their rulers.
Have you ever wondered what our curators' favourite collection items are? Here, assistant curator Lewis takes us through his rather surprising pick.
“Science would become something like a parlor game. There would be fashions. Those who followed the fashion would get grants”
(Source: Infoworld, 25th May 1992, p56) We need to start at the beginning, because understanding the timeline of the 486 - Intel's 4th gener...
It's dark and funny and unlike anything else
The groundbreaking 8086 microprocessor was introduced by Intel in 1978 and led to the x86 architecture that still dominates desktop and se...
When BU’s Fallou Ngom found a note written by his late father, in a language that looked like Arabic but sounded like Wolof, it opened the door to a lifetime of discovery in African language and history.
👶 From when Mosaic took over Gopher. 🏢 VP of Engineering @ Cloudflare 🕹️ Slightly addicted to retrocomputing 🔍 Hit Ctrl-K to Search
