User Brian H

97 votes

11 answers

15k views

What key factor led to the sudden commercial success of MS Windows with v3.0?

asked Mar 2, 2017 at 21:26

93 votes

10 answers

34k views

How much better was DEC Alpha than contemporaneous x86?

asked Feb 6, 2020 at 13:44

91 votes

9 answers

20k views

Why did modems have speakers?

asked Jul 22, 2019 at 16:30

76 votes

8 answers

22k views

Why did IBM make the PC BIOS source code public?

asked Aug 13, 2019 at 13:27

75 votes

7 answers

9k views

What technological factors drove the rise of "high-speed" modems in the early 1990s?

asked Nov 22, 2017 at 15:25

62 votes

7 answers

12k views

Why did the MS-DOS API choose software interrupts for its interface?

asked Feb 25, 2020 at 16:36

61 votes

19 answers

20k views

Why were computer customers called "Users"?

asked Jun 16, 2020 at 12:19

61 votes

4 answers

11k views

Why did F1 become the Help Key?

asked Jun 14, 2018 at 14:05

53 votes

10 answers

11k views

Why was preemptive multitasking so slow in coming to consumer OS's?

asked Sep 26, 2018 at 16:20

52 votes

7 answers

13k views

Why does the Commodore C128 perform poorly when running CP/M?

asked Feb 26, 2017 at 18:03

48 votes

3 answers

9k views

What's the relationship between early 90s Pentium microprocessor and today's Intel designs?

asked Jul 25, 2017 at 16:20

47 votes

4 answers

9k views

How do DOS games like DOOM benefit from a PCI graphics card?

asked May 4, 2021 at 14:20

46 votes

6 answers

16k views

How should we interpret Dave Cutler's criticism of Unix?

asked Mar 17, 2020 at 15:15

45 votes

2 answers

8k views

Did IBM encourage Bill Gates to retain the rights over PC-DOS?

asked Nov 20, 2018 at 3:28

39 votes

5 answers

6k views

Why do programmable sound generators like SID include a noise generator?

asked Mar 29, 2017 at 15:22

38 votes

4 answers

5k views

How did "Ballblazer" pull off fast, smooth, first-person, solid-model 3D on Atari 8-bits?

asked Mar 11, 2017 at 17:07

37 votes

6 answers

14k views

Is there a simple way to display ANSI art and animation files in a modern terminal window?

asked Mar 6, 2017 at 15:19

36 votes

8 answers

10k views

Why were floppy disks invented after hard disks?

asked Aug 16, 2018 at 15:38

35 votes

4 answers

9k views

How much did IBM save by limiting the PC to 4.77 MHz?

asked Mar 11, 2020 at 20:00

32 votes

5 answers

5k views

Does every retrocomputer and console with NTSC composite output have 'artifact color' ability?

asked Apr 3, 2017 at 4:19

32 votes

3 answers

4k views

What was the technical reason behind the octal digits used for CompuServe User IDs?

asked Nov 24, 2017 at 17:55

30 votes

5 answers

9k views

Are MS-DOS and Windows 9x vulnerable to Meltdown?

asked Jan 5, 2018 at 21:26

30 votes

9 answers

8k views

Why weren't discrete x86 CPUs ever used in game hardware?

asked Apr 18, 2019 at 15:24

29 votes

3 answers

7k views

Why did Intel abandon unified CPU cache?

asked Jun 6, 2019 at 21:39

28 votes

13 answers

3k views

BYTE Magazine outside the U.S

asked Nov 17, 2021 at 17:07

28 votes

9 answers

7k views

Fastest 8-bit microprocessor for multiply-accumulate?

asked May 9, 2022 at 15:26

27 votes

2 answers

8k views

How did the "Programmer's Switch" work on early Macintosh Computers?

asked Apr 15, 2021 at 15:57

27 votes

5 answers

7k views

Why was IBM BASIC so Huge?

asked Jan 4, 2020 at 21:46

27 votes

2 answers

5k views

How did Z80 multiprocessing work in the Namco Galaga hardware?

asked Sep 14, 2017 at 16:23

27 votes

4 answers

4k views

Why did the Atari 800 designers choose such a radical system design?

asked Apr 30, 2017 at 15:21

Stack Exchange Network

135 Questions

What key factor led to the sudden commercial success of MS Windows with v3.0?

How much better was DEC Alpha than contemporaneous x86?

Why did modems have speakers?

Why did IBM make the PC BIOS source code public?

What technological factors drove the rise of "high-speed" modems in the early 1990s?

Why did the MS-DOS API choose software interrupts for its interface?

Why were computer customers called "Users"?

Why did F1 become the Help Key?

Why was preemptive multitasking so slow in coming to consumer OS's?

Why does the Commodore C128 perform poorly when running CP/M?

What's the relationship between early 90s Pentium microprocessor and today's Intel designs?

How do DOS games like DOOM benefit from a PCI graphics card?

How should we interpret Dave Cutler's criticism of Unix?

Did IBM encourage Bill Gates to retain the rights over PC-DOS?

Why do programmable sound generators like SID include a noise generator?

How did "Ballblazer" pull off fast, smooth, first-person, solid-model 3D on Atari 8-bits?

Is there a simple way to display ANSI art and animation files in a modern terminal window?

Why were floppy disks invented after hard disks?

How much did IBM save by limiting the PC to 4.77 MHz?

Does every retrocomputer and console with NTSC composite output have 'artifact color' ability?

What was the technical reason behind the octal digits used for CompuServe User IDs?

Are MS-DOS and Windows 9x vulnerable to Meltdown?

Why weren't discrete x86 CPUs ever used in game hardware?

Why did Intel abandon unified CPU cache?

BYTE Magazine outside the U.S

Fastest 8-bit microprocessor for multiply-accumulate?

How did the "Programmer's Switch" work on early Macintosh Computers?

Why was IBM BASIC so Huge?

How did Z80 multiprocessing work in the Namco Galaga hardware?

Why did the Atari 800 designers choose such a radical system design?