In Pictures: Groovy 1970s consumer tech

The 1970s played host to an explosion in consumer electronics gadgets that changed how we educate, entertain, calculate, and communicate.

By Benj Edwards | 18 April, 2012 09:37

Tags: 1970s, consumer tech, slideshow

In Pictures: If it ain't broke, don't fix it: ancient computers in use today

From 1970s minicomputers used for military programs (including nuclear weapons) to an IBM punch-card system still keeping the books at a Texas filter supplier, these are the computers that time forgot.

By Benj Edwards | 27 March, 2012 09:16

Tags: Components, mini-computer, old computers, pc, punch-card system, slideshow

In Pictures: The 11 most influential online worlds of all time

From MUD to Minecraft, these digital universes have shaped massively multiplayer games and kids' toys.

By Benj Edwards | 20 May, 2011 11:21

Tags: online worlds

The history of Atari computers

Atari hasn't always been all about gaming. From the late '70s to the early '90s, the company produced a series of interesting and unusual desktops and laptops, including one that had a starring role in 'Terminator 2.'

By Benj Edwards | 28 April, 2011 14:28

Tags: atari

A brief history of computer displays

From blinking lights and punch cards to LCDs and 3D flat panels, we trace the 70-year history of the tech that users rely on to see what a computer is doing.

By Benj Edwards | 03 November, 2010 11:52

Tags: desktops, hardware

Finding stuff online: 20 years of innovative search engines

Twenty years ago today, a student at McGill University and some friends launched what many people consider to be the world's first Internet search engine: Archie.

History of Video Calls: From Fantasy to Flops to Facetime

A visual history of the science and sci-fi of phone calls you can see. (And, no, it didn't start with The Jetsons.)

By Benj Edwards | 18 June, 2010 08:56

Tags: videoconferencing

From Paper Tape to Data Sticks: The Evolution of Removable Storage

Brave users of history's earliest computers programmed those massive electronic beasts through jumper wires plugged into arrays of sockets.

By Benj Edwards | 12 February, 2010 11:57

Tags: storage

In Pictures: 3 decades of hand-held game systems

Three decades after the debut of Milton Bradley's Microvision, here's a look at how handheld video game systems evolved, from early flops like the Atari Lynx to the gaming innovations of the iPhone.

By Benj Edwards | 08 December, 2009 11:39

Tags: games consoles

Inside the Atari 800

It's the 30th anniversary of this 8-bit PC classic. We celebrate the occasion as we always do, by tearing the product apart and showing you the pieces.

By Benj Edwards | 06 November, 2009 08:57

Tags: atari

The 10 worst video game systems of all time

Since the appearance of the first video game console--the Magnavox Odyssey--in 1972, dozens of companies have tried their hands at crafting successful and lucrative game platforms. Each new machine brought with it the promise of a compelling, novel gaming experience, but the vast majority failed miserably to deliver.

The world's weirdest mice

A mouse is such a simple device that not even the worst inventor could screw it up, right? Wrong! We'll give you 13 examples.

Inside the Commodore 64

This pioneering PC made instant geeks out of millions of people back in the '80s. But what lies within the Commodore 64's fetching brown shell?

Microsoft Word turns 25

If you've been using Microsoft Word for the past quarter of a century, it can seem like Word has always been the top dog of the word-processing world--and for years, it's been incorporated into Microsoft's Office suite. Today, Microsoft's domination is so complete that, from the public's point of view, there is almost no "word-processor market." (Does anyone remember Lotus Manuscript?)

By Benj Edwards | 27 October, 2008 08:14

Tags: microsoft word

Birth of a standard: The Intel 8086 microprocessor

The release of Intel's 8086 microprocessor in 1978 was a watershed moment for personal computing. The DNA of that chip is likely at the centre of whatever computer--Windows, Mac, or Linux--you're using to read this, and it helped transform Intel from merely one of many chip companies to the world's largest.