Classics Rock

Examining IT trends from the past live to help IT managers plan for the future.

  • Administrator // Jan 8, 2009 5:19pm

    Name that CPU

    We've played Guess The OS a few times before. This time let's see if you can figure out what CPU is being talked about in this article. Look back and see how arguments about computer performance have lingered forever.

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  • John Sheesley // Jan 7, 2009 8:21am

    Classic Tip: Control how programs start with batch files

    When using batch files, you sometimes may want a program to start minimized or full screen. This classic tip from 2000 shows how you used to do it in Windows 9x and how little things have changed.

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  • John Sheesley // Jan 2, 2009 3:15pm

    Y2K: The New Year's disaster that never happened

    Another New Years goes by in the 21st Century and we're still using computers. If you believed all the hype from 90's, we'd be living in the Stone Age by now. Here's a set of videos that look back at the Y2K bug and raise new conspiracy theories.

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  • John Sheesley // Dec 29, 2008 2:44pm

    Five 2008 cutting-edge technlogies that will look quaint in the future

    Like every year, 2008 introduced to dozens of new technologies and IT products. Shiny and new now, these things will look quaint in just a few years. Here are some of the new things for 2008 that we'll reminisce about.

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  • John Sheesley // Dec 26, 2008 2:37pm

    Classic Tip: A Notepad trick from 1999 that works in Vista

    Even though Microsoft makes major changes to Windows through the years, some things stay the same. This Notepad trick for Windows 98 that was featured in our 1999 Windows TechMail is a prime example.

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  • John Sheesley // Dec 22, 2008 11:44am

    Recapping classic Classic Rock posts for 2008

    We started Classics Rock in March 2008. Here's a recap of some of the posts that drew the most discussions for the year.

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  • Michael Banks // Dec 18, 2008 8:36am

    Prodigy: The pre-Internet online service that didn’t live up to its name

    One of the early online destinations before the Internet was Prodigy. Like many child prodigies that share the name, Prodigy started off with lots of promise, only to wind up a disaster. Guest contributor Michael Banks gives a look back at Prodigy's tortured journey.

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  • John Sheesley // Dec 15, 2008 12:10pm

    Bring out your dead!

    Calling all TR Members. Do you have any old equipment laying around that you'd like to get rid of and have featured in our Cracking Open series? Now's your chance. Read on to find out how to submit your old equipment, or pictures of them, to TechRepublic to appear on the site.

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  • John Sheesley // Dec 12, 2008 7:43am

    Classic Tip: Prevent your users from talking to each other

    Networks are supposed to foster communication, but sometimes you don't want users communicating TOO much. Here's a classic tip about how to stop NetWare users from messaging each other directly across a network. Doing so in Windows presents a challenge.

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  • John Sheesley // Dec 10, 2008 2:13pm

    An annual holiday tradition: Computer commercials

    Christmas, Hannukah, and all of the other traditional winter holidays are around the corner. That means its the time of year for lots of commercials, including ones for computers. Here are some Holiday Classics.

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  • John Sheesley // Dec 3, 2008 4:58pm

    1950's IT without tailfins and leather jackets

    Usually when talking computer classics, I stick to computers from the 70's, 80's and 90's. This video from IBM shows a state of the art accounting computer from the 1950's. See how far we've come.

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  • John Sheesley // Nov 25, 2008 9:02pm

    What's the biggest tech turkey of all time?

    This time of year, we're supposed to give thanks for our blessings. Sometimes one of the things we're thankful for is the technology nightmares we no longer have to deal with. What's the biggest Tech Turkey of all time? Place your vote.

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  • Michael Banks // Nov 24, 2008 9:23am

    Cloud computing? Been there. Done that.

    Cloud computing is nothing new. It's just a fancy name for technology that's been around since the 1980's and before. Classics Rock Guest Columnist Michael Banks talks about computing in the clouds in 1983 with his Tandy 100 and CompuServe.

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  • John Sheesley // Nov 21, 2008 12:37pm

    Guess the OS (Office Suite edition)

    Usually when we play Guess The OS, we're talking about classic operating systems. This time OS refers to office suites. Here's an article from Home Office Computing. What office suite is being discussed? See if you can guess.

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  • John Sheesley // Nov 20, 2008 2:58pm

    Questing before the age of WoW

    World Of Warcraft is the top online destination for questing today, but long before Kil'jaeden the Deceiver ever dreamed up the Lich King, there was another quest to be had. Almost all modern questing games can be traced back to Sierra's King Quest. This video has a run through and here's a look back.

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  • John Sheesley // Apr 24, 2008 1:20pm

    April 2000: TechRepublic editors put the *almost* in almostEverest

    During the DotCom boom era, Internet companies did all sorts of crazy things. TechRepublic was no exception. Eight years ago, two TechRepublic editors went to Nepal and participated in an adventure we called AlmostEverest. See how the trek went and what venture capital would buy you at the turn of the century.

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  • John Sheesley // Apr 25, 2008 10:50am

    Check out the almostEverest photo gallery

    Digging around the TechRepublic archives, I found a bunch of images from the almostEverest expedition. Click through and see what I found along with some personal observations from one of the climbers.

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  • John Sheesley // Apr 28, 2008 12:51pm

    Backward compatibility problems have long plagued Microsoft Office users

    Office 2007 and the introduction of the OpenXML file format has created all sorts of headaches when it comes to backward compatibility with previous versions. Here's a classic tip from April 2000 which shows that this is a long standing problem and how to get around it.

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  • John Sheesley // Apr 18, 2008 11:05am

    Who made the worst PC ever?

    Who made the worst PC ever? There are so many to choose from, it's hard to pick just one. But, that's what you've got to do in our poll. Pick the worst PC and see if it compares to the opinions of other TechRepublic members.

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  • John Sheesley // Apr 21, 2008 12:13pm

    How out of date are your IT skills?

    The longer your career as an IT professional, the more things you learn. Unfortunately, because the IT field changes so rapidly, many of the things you learn become obsolete. Check out list list of my obsolete IT skills that I found while looking around obsoleteskills.com.

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  • John Sheesley // May 5, 2008 11:59am

    The Windows Registry has a long history of problems

    The registry has been around since Windows 3.1. Here's a classic tip from May 2000 that shows one way to keep it straightened out along with some updates and further discussion about the registry.

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  • John Sheesley // Apr 30, 2008 6:38am

    The first stealth fighter retires, but the game flies on

    For a long time, the F-117 was top secret technology. In 1988, Microprose Software created a game called F-19 Stealth Fighter which allowed people to get the first experience with how a stealth fighter works. The F-117 has been retired, but you can check out this blog entry and associated photo gallery to see how the F-19 flies.

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  • John Sheesley // May 2, 2008 11:30am

    The things I go through for you people

    It may seem like something like gathering screen shots for an old game like F-19 Stealth Fighter is nothing but fun and games. Not so. When you start mixing old software with new technology, you can sometimes be in for a lot of work. Find out what I had to go through to build an F-19 Stealth Fighter photo gallery.

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  • John Sheesley // Apr 14, 2008 12:26pm

    Counting down to TechRepublic's 10th Anniversary

    You can't measure the lifespan of most Web sites in Dog Years. They usually don't last that long. On the other hand, TechRepublic just passed its 9th Birthday earlier this month and is closing in on its 10th Anniversary. Here's a brief recap of how TR got started and what we'll do as the big 1-0 gets closer.

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  • John Sheesley // Apr 16, 2008 8:25am

    Like all myths, the OpenMac has a basis from history

    Does the company that made the $400 Mac clone exist? Maybe, maybe not. However, history shows that Mac clones have existed before. History also shows that it's possible to legally reverse engineer what makes the Mac unique. Here's the history behind the myth.

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  • John Sheesley // May 7, 2008 9:28am

    What Windows Vista might have been

    Check out this concept video from PDC 2003 about Longhorn. Longhorn, of course, became Vista, but there's very little in Vista that we see here. What went wrong?

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  • John Sheesley // Mar 7, 2008 8:40am

    Remote Registry Editing in Windows NT 4.0

    The following Windows NT tip comes from the vast TechRepublic archives. It was featured in our Windows NT TechMail dated November 15, 1999. Will it still work today in Windows Server 2003? Yup! Check it out.

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  • John Sheesley // Mar 10, 2008 1:23pm

    Clearly Superior (?)

    Radio Shack's slogan for its Tandy line of computers in the early 80's stated that Tandy's were "Clearly Superior". Here's an ad by Bill Bixby for the Tandy 1000 from 1984. Just how superior was the Tandy 1000?

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  • John Sheesley // Mar 17, 2008 12:17pm

    Classic Tip: The Novell Client for Windows 9x (Now available in Vista flavor!)

    From the archives dated March 17, 2000:. To properly connect Windows 9x to a NetWare server, you should use the Novell IntraNetWare Client. That's good advice even today. Read on about how a tip from the past shows you how to connect Vista to a NetWare server.

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  • John Sheesley // Mar 19, 2008 9:38am

    5 of the best desktop operating systems you never used

    Chances are, you're reading this blog entry on a Windows machine. If not, you're probably running a Mac or Linux. Here are five of the best desktop operating systems that you probably never used, but paved the way for what you're running right now.

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