Latest in geek history

Written over two decades ago and with no updates since then, Archie provides a very different search experience than we're used to today. So how is it different, and could it still be useful today? I'll take you on a tour of this pioneering search engine and give you a perspective of how things have changed over the past 23 years.
Keep Reading »

The world is full of urban legends, and the technological world is no exception. While device or software rumors usually make up the largest portion of these, they are temporary as any rumors are proven correct or incorrect whenever official announcements are made. However, there are always a few myths which are much more complex, and the truths about them are hidden deep inside the Internet.
Keep Reading »

The games of today can't even be compared to my favorites from way back then, and I couldn't be happier that there are emulators and ROMs available that have managed to preserve them forever. More than just that though, the internet has managed to capture some nostalgic gaming memories in plenty of other ways. Let's check out how with the following three websites.
Keep Reading »

The new responsive design of the Webby Awards Winners Gallery + Archive is a roll-call of past Webby awardees. It is a showcase of the best the Web has given us in the past sixteen years, and is a perfect bow to the websites and Web services that created new standards and won the Webby Award in the process. The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising and online film and video.
Keep Reading »

Last week we discussed how glorious it can be when a game developer takes its time and reboots a franchise properly. Games like DMC and Tomb Raider were given a proper reboot, and the new versions are arguably better than the originals. When it goes down like this, it's great. Gamers get to enjoy a beloved franchise brought to modern standards, and developers and publishers get to make some profit from an idea that already existed. Of course, reboots are not always good.
Keep Reading »

Collecting video games is hard work. Sure, you can go on eBay and just buy up everything you want, but if you do, you will be paying full market value or more for every game and console you purchase. This is not the smartest way to collect, as you will be spending much more money than you need to. Instead, the best way to collect is to use your local resources such as pawn shops, flea markets, Craigslist, and if you're really lucky, Freecycle.
Keep Reading »

When most people think about video games, they think about Nintendo. When they think of Nintendo, they think of Shigeru Miyamoto is one of the first people we think of. He is the genius behind some of Nintendo's most beloved characters like Mario, Zelda, Link, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Fox, and the list simply goes on and on. While he might not be the godfather of video games in general, he is most certainly one of the most important figures.
Keep Reading »

There's virtually no place you can go without being in contact with Linux - it powers everything from regular computers to the most powerful servers to our handheld mobile devices. Most people who aren't techies like us don't even know what Linux is, nor do they know that Android runs using Linux. Whether you know it or not, Linux is everywhere, and that presence seems to only be increasing.
Keep Reading »

While computers and the Internet have moved into the public consciousness since the late 1990's, their importance wasn’t quite appreciated until recently. But the computer revolution that started in the 1960's was well into its stride when the following excellent documentaries were broadcast in the 1980's and 1990's. These must-watch films explain everything you need to know about the birth of computing and the development of the Internet.
Keep Reading »

I think at this point, all gamers have accepted that playing and buying video games is an expensive hobby. Between the cost of games, consoles, and accessories, it's easy for a gamer to drop a large portion of their income on gaming. This is to be expected, as we are involved in a hobby that often uses the latest and greatest technology, which is bound to cost a pretty penny. In some cases, the cost of being a gamer gets a little crazy.
Keep Reading »

The digital age we're now living in has changed our ideas of ownership and copyright. For better or worse. It's also changed the way we do various things. In the field of photography moving to digital formats has made a huge difference. Most of it positive. However, there is one aspect of the switch that may not be so positive, and could in fact come back to haunt many of us in years to come.
Keep Reading »

In 2012, the emoticon as we know it turned thirty years old. A lot of us take it for granted that we can convey emotion through text using constructs like :) and :( and O_O, but there was a time when using one of these faces would be met with a confused frown and ridicule. How did such a prominent feature of modern day communication even come about?
Keep Reading »

Today, free web hosting is a thing of the past. Major search engines like the aforementioned Yahoo! and Google weren't such monsters yet, either. You could search for popular keywords and some of the first results would actually be free websites running on GeoCities, made by people just like you and I. Here are some ways to venture back in time and see the remains of one of the coolest internet time capsules ever.
Keep Reading »

Time passes much quicker than most of us realize, often to the point that before we know it we're old and looking at our lives from the wrong end. It's then that nostalgia kicks in, and we begin to look back rather than forward, remembering particular moments that shaped our lives. Whether they were personal moments experienced just by us an individual, or events experienced by hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people.
Keep Reading »

I think for geeks, that first computer is a little bit like a first love. You remember it longingly, even though it isn't anything that would make you at all happy today. It has nothing that you need at this point in your life, but you still remember all of those feelings. Those emotions that felt so strong and so powerful back then. Yes, for geeks, our first computer is just like that.
Keep Reading »