Hacker News: cfmcdonald

The IBM PC, Part 2: Tsunami

cfmcdonald — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 22:41:47 +0000

Article URL: https://technicshistory.com/2026/08/29/the-ibm-pc-part-2-tsunami/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49635630

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

The IBM PC, Part 2: Tsunami

cfmcdonald — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 13:45:32 +0000

Article URL: https://technicshistory.com/2026/08/29/the-ibm-pc-part-2-tsunami/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49498614

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

The IBM PC, Part 2: Tsunami

cfmcdonald — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 01:30:00 +0000

Article URL: https://technicshistory.com/2026/08/29/the-ibm-pc-part-2-tsunami/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49486107

Points: 13

# Comments: 0

The IBM PC, Part 1: Arrival

cfmcdonald — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:13:59 +0000

Article URL: https://technicshistory.com/2026/07/24/the-ibm-pc-part-1-arrival/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49033916

Points: 69

# Comments: 24

New comment by cfmcdonald in "AI children's books, body horror edition"

cfmcdonald — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 03:00:29 +0000

This seems like an opportunity to celebrate great children's books created with craft and care by humans.

I'll start: John Rocco, How We Got to the Moon. (http://www.howwegottothemoon.com/)

Computer Lessons

cfmcdonald — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 22:02:47 +0000

Article URL: https://technicshistory.com/2026/06/06/computer-lessons/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48452901

Points: 24

# Comments: 0

Computer Lessons

cfmcdonald — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 16:18:39 +0000

Article URL: https://technicshistory.com/2026/06/06/computer-lessons/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48426421

Points: 17

# Comments: 0

An Apple (II) for Teacher

cfmcdonald — Tue, 19 May 2026 00:25:50 +0000

Article URL: https://technicshistory.com/2026/05/19/an-apple-ii-for-teacher/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48187752

Points: 60

# Comments: 24

New comment by cfmcdonald in "The home computer war"

cfmcdonald — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 17:18:15 +0000

While writing this post I actually got an itch to buy a Commodore 64 Ultimate, even though I never owned a Commodore 64 before. (I believe I used one once at friend's house.) Nostalgia by contagion.

The home computer war

cfmcdonald — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 02:04:04 +0000

Article URL: https://technicshistory.com/2026/03/06/the-home-computer-war/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47269914

Points: 55

# Comments: 25

New comment by cfmcdonald in "CIA to Sunset the World Factbook"

cfmcdonald — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 19:31:00 +0000

I think it's instructive to compare the U.S. and Soviet stances in Europe after WW2. To maintain a military presence in Eastern Europe, the Soviets had to rely on repression, coercion, and occupation. This was expensive and fragile and eventually fell apart. The U.S. was openly welcomed into Germany and other countries in Western Europe. This was the value of "soft power."

New comment by cfmcdonald in "CIA to Sunset the World Factbook"

cfmcdonald — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 16:27:26 +0000

This video [0] shows someone using Gopher (and other common pre-web Internet tools) in the early 90s.

I used Gopher when I did a high school summer science camp at Indiana University in 1994. It was a really interesting time of transition when the graphical Web was just coming on-line with Mosaic, but most tools were still textual/command line (FTP, pine/elm email/Usenet clients, MUDs, etc.)

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDV4zrex18o

New comment by cfmcdonald in "The Home Computer Hybrids: Atari, TI, and the FCC"

cfmcdonald — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 16:39:25 +0000

Yes, I suck at titles. I'm glad you enjoy the blog.

New comment by cfmcdonald in "The Home Computer Hybrids"

cfmcdonald — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 20:55:27 +0000

Author of the OP here. The "spray" technique was known in the early 80s, if not earlier. It's mentioned in Michael Tomczyk's "Home Computer Wars":

> The solution came in several forms. One way was to embed ferrite balls in the plastic case. Another way was to spray the inside of the case with a metal coating. But the best way was to encase the offending electronics in a small metal box inside the case, which is what was done with the VIC-20. [0]

Why a metal box is the best way, he doesn't say and I don't know. My best guess is that it was more effective/reliable at passing the tests.

[0]: https://archive.org/details/the-home-computer-wars/page/205/...