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Google open-sources the Pebble OS
The source code for the Pebble operating system in now open, to support the volunteer community maintaining Pebble watches.
Topics /
History & Retro Computing
The most popular blog posts about history & retro computing on Hacker News. 72 posts.
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Debian 13 “Trixie”
After 2 years, 1 month, and 30 days of development, the Debian project is proud to present its new stable version 13 (code name trixie ).
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Microsoft makes Zork open-source
Microsoft’s Open Source Programs Office (OSPO), Team Xbox, and Activision are making Zork I, Zork II, and Zork III available under the MIT License.
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Nobel Peace Prize 2025: María Corina Machado
The Nobel Peace Prize 2025 was awarded to Maria Corina Machado "for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy"
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Happy 20th Birthday, Django
Posted by Thibaud Colas & Benjamin Balder Bach on July 13, 2025
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-2000 Lines of code (2004)
In early 1982, the Lisa software team was trying to buckle down for the big push to ship the software within the next six months. Some of the managers decided that it would be a good idea to track the progress of each individual engineer in terms of the amount of code that they wrote from week to week. They devised a…
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Why did Windows 7 log on slower for months if you had a solid color background?
It's waiting for Godot and eventually gives up.
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108B Pixel Scan of Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring
Girl with a Pearl Earring
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Nobel Prize in Physics 2025
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 was awarded jointly to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis "for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit"
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Joining Apple Computer (2018)
40 years ago today, I joined Apple Computer on April 27, 1978. It was a big turning point in my life and I am glad I said "Yes".
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When you opened a screen shot of a video in Paint, the video was playing in it
You copied the green screen.
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Celebrating 20 Years of MDN
MDN turns 20! Let's look at how we started, how MDN became the most trusted resource for web developers, the impact it's had on the open web, and yes, there's cake, too.
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The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)
It was the summer of 1952, and the executives of Tombow Pencil were about to revolutionize the Japanese pencil industry—or, possibly, fall flat on their faces. Hachiro Ogawa, the son of founder Harunosuke Ogawa, was Tombow's managing director, and he had just finished a years-long project, at
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A note on the USB-to-PS/2 mouse adapter that came with Microsoft mouse devices
It's a purely mechanical adapter that relies on smarts in the mouse itself.
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The Video Game History Foundation library opens in early access
For free. For everyone. Wherever you are.
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Twenty Eighth International Obfuscated C Code Contest
IOCCC Year 2024
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Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 was awarded jointly to Mary E. Brunkow, Frederick J. Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi "for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance"
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Why Bell Labs Worked
Or, how MBA culture killed Bell Labs
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Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 was awarded jointly to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi "for the development of metal–organic frameworks"
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Janet Jackson had the power to crash laptop computers (2022)
Not an artistic judgement. Just a technical one.
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20 years of Git
Twenty years ago, Git was born. How did this unlikely "information manager" take over the world?
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Sega Channel: VGHF Recovers over 100 Sega Channel ROMs (and More)
Our project to preserve the history of Sega Channel — including over 100 new Sega Channel ROMs.
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Understanding the Origins and the Evolution of Vi and Vim
The history of Vi & Vim goes hand in hand with the history of open-source software. This article looks at the historical events that shaped the evolution of these text editors.
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Nobel Prize in Literature 2025: László Krasznahorkai
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2025 was awarded to László Krasznahorkai "for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art"
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The Brief Origins of May Day
Most people living in the United States know little about the International Workers' Day of May Day. For many others there is an assumption that it is a holiday celebrated in state communist countries like Cuba or the former Soviet Union. Most Americans don't realize that May Day has its origins here in this country…
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So Long and Thanks for All the Words: A Toast to Douglas Adams
A Toast to the Frood Who Really Knew Where His Towel Was
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Demystifying DVDs
Hidden Palace and Last Minute Continue PROUDLY present... Shadow the Hedgehog (May 27, 2005 prototype) Shadow the Hedgehog (Sep 15, 2005 prototype) Shadow the Hedgehog (Sep 22, 2005 prototype) More Gifts and Stocking Stuffers: Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (Jan 12, 2006 prototype) Sega Classics...