Latest posts
- Blue Monday by New Order released, 1983Mar 06, 2026Dave Farquhar
On March 7, 1983, one of the greatest New Wave songs of all time was released. And it shipped in an unusual record sleeve shaped like a floppy disk, complete with cutouts so the record could show through like the The post Blue Monday by New Order released, 1983 appeared first on The Silicon Underground.
- Remembering the Michelangelo virusMar 05, 2026Dave Farquhar
Remember the Michelangelo virus? If you don’t remember, on March 6, 1992, Michelangelo was programmed to overwrite the first 100 sectors of a hard drive–not quite as destructive as formatting a drive, but to the average user, the effect is The post Remembering the Michelangelo virus appeared first on The Silicon Underground.
- Homebrew Computer Club in Menlo ParkMar 04, 2026Dave Farquhar
The Homebrew Computer Club was a legendary early computer hobbyist group in Menlo Park, California. The book Fire in the Valley and the 1999 movie Pirates of Silicon Valley describe the group’s pivotal role in the computer industry. Its first The post Homebrew Computer Club in Menlo Park appeared first on The Silicon Underground.
- Intel 486DX2 CPUMar 03, 2026Dave Farquhar
The Intel 486DX2, introduced March 3, 1992, was the first clock-multiplied x86 CPU. It was a clock-doubled version of the earlier 486 CPU. A DX2 ran at speeds of 50 or 66 MHz, using a 25 or 33 MHz front The post Intel 486DX2 CPU appeared first on The Silicon Underground.
- AMD Am386 released March 2, 1991Mar 02, 2026Dave Farquhar
There is a popular misconception that AMD wasn’t good at cloning Intel CPUs. This is largely based on the observation that Intel released its 386 CPU in 1985, and AMD didn’t counter with its Am386 clone until March 2, 1991, The post AMD Am386 released March 2, 1991 appeared first on The Silicon Underground.
- What happened to GEM?Feb 27, 2026Dave Farquhar
GEM was an early GUI for the IBM PC and compatibles and, later, the Atari ST, developed by Digital Research, the developers of CP/M and, later, DR-DOS. (Digital Equipment Corporation was a different company.) So what was it, and what The post What happened to GEM? appeared first on The Silicon Underground.
- Pentium III launched Feb 28, 1999Feb 26, 2026Dave Farquhar
26 years ago this week the Pentium III launched. It was noteworthy for being the CPU that broke the gigahertz barrier, but also for being a better chip than its successor. The Pentium 4 clocked higher, but a Pentium III The post Pentium III launched Feb 28, 1999 appeared first on The Silicon Underground.
- Game designer Sid Meier born Feb. 24, 1954Feb 25, 2026Dave Farquhar
Legendary game designer Sid Meier was born February 24, 1954. After creating a run of popular flight simulators in the early and mid 1980s, he shifted to strategy games in the second half of the decade, creating some of the The post Game designer Sid Meier born Feb. 24, 1954 appeared first on The Silicon Underground.
- What happened to Fry’s ElectronicsFeb 24, 2026Dave Farquhar
For about three decades, Fry’s Electronics was the go-to computer store for enthusiasts, almost an Ikea of computer stores. It was a big box store, larger than Comp USA, selling not just software and pre-built computers and peripherals, but also The post What happened to Fry’s Electronics appeared first on The Silicon Underground.
- History of Dell computersFeb 23, 2026Dave Farquhar
The history of Dell computers is a classic story of how a little guy took on a titan of business and ended up becoming a titan himself, the kind of story Americans love to tell. Like many computer industry stories, The post History of Dell computers appeared first on The Silicon Underground.