16-Bit – Retro Viator

A handful of product names are so ubiquitous and defining they become synonymous with their industry: Coke, Aspirin, Band-Aids, Post-Its, etc. In computing, the IBM Personal Computer was that product. In the early days of the microcomputer revolution, tech enthusiasts and business insiders were curious if “Big Blue” would step outside its dominant position in business and university computer rooms and enter the nascent small computer market. In the 1970s, IBM rolled out the portable 5100 series of computers, showing that it could build machines designed for desktops, but these systems were expensive and niche at best. After the explosion of interest following the 1977 West Coast Computer Faire, the microcomputer industry was moving at a breakneck speed and becoming…

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The original Apple II first rolled off the assembly line in 1977, and Apple offered only modest improvements for nearly a decade. While the IIc provided a new form factor, the introduction of the IIGS in 1986 took the Apple II family to another level. While I remember a television ad or two, I never had the opportunity to use a IIGS in its prime. Only recently did I realize how capably it bridged the 8-bit and later 32-bit eras of home computing. Apple begrudgingly advanced the Apple II platform after the collapse of the Lisa and Apple III (and with a sluggish start for the Macintosh). A new wave of personal computers emerged in the mid-80s that eclipsed…

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IBM Personal Computer

Apple IIGS