User Chromatix

61 votes

Why was the return key symbol ↵ drawn differently from the motion of a CR-LF?

answered Mar 19, 2020 at 5:32

60 votes

Why were relays prevalent in early 1940s computers when vacuum tubes were also available?

answered May 16, 2021 at 4:26

49 votes

Accepted

Why were optical drives not used as secondary storage instead of magnetic drives?

answered May 16, 2020 at 7:26

36 votes

When did compilers start generating optimized code that runs faster than an average programmer's assembly code?

answered Sep 12, 2020 at 9:43

35 votes

Accepted

Why did the IBM PC have an internal power supply?

answered Oct 3, 2020 at 23:13

34 votes

What did the "programs" that "human computers" executed look like?

answered Jul 26, 2020 at 19:42

30 votes

Accepted

Did the 68000 separate A/D registers save circuitry?

answered Sep 7, 2020 at 12:21

30 votes

Accepted

Why does PAUSE key have a long make code and no break code?

answered Sep 6, 2019 at 23:14

28 votes

How fast were BASIC interpreters in the 80s? (Is this optimization for speed really necessary?)

answered Jun 20, 2021 at 13:49

26 votes

Accepted

3 beeps on a 486 computer with an American Megatrends bios?

answered Aug 5, 2019 at 20:43

25 votes

Accepted

Was it possible to write a novel on a BBC Micro 16kb/32kb memory era computer without expansions?

answered Jul 3, 2020 at 14:51

25 votes

What is DRAM refresh and why is the weird Apple II video memory layout affected by it?

answered Mar 3, 2020 at 14:19

24 votes

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

answered Apr 15, 2021 at 17:46

23 votes

Accepted

Why the change in layout of single and double precision in floating-point registers?

answered Sep 13, 2020 at 14:02

21 votes

Could you create a loop in direct-mode with BASIC?

answered Jul 20, 2020 at 5:33

21 votes

Accepted

How did 68k-based Macs (or other contemporary systems) detect how much RAM was installed?

answered May 21, 2020 at 21:04

19 votes

Was it possible programmatically to manipulate the volume as well as the pitch on computers with no sound chip?

answered May 3, 2020 at 3:20

19 votes

Why is the keyboard and cellphone / telephone numbers in a different order?

answered Jul 13, 2020 at 13:16

19 votes

Why was "C:" chosen for the first hard drive partition?

answered Dec 4, 2020 at 16:54

19 votes

Why did so many early microcomputers use the MOS 6502 and variants?

answered Jun 29, 2019 at 0:43

18 votes

Accepted

Are the 6809 and 6809E different from a programmer's point of view?

answered Oct 13, 2020 at 17:47

18 votes

Accepted

9-pin vs 10-pin serial port ribbon cables

answered Jun 14, 2021 at 20:54

17 votes

How did the Rush 3D engine in Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride work?

answered Feb 28, 2021 at 4:09

17 votes

Accepted

What was the 1 MHz bus used for on the BBC micro series?

answered Apr 1, 2021 at 16:45

17 votes

Accepted

x87 trigonometric instructions

answered Mar 28, 2020 at 18:22

17 votes

Do the holes in Jacquard loom punched cards represent input data or program code?

answered Nov 28, 2019 at 21:10

17 votes

Accepted

Cost of unrestricted sprites

answered Jan 17, 2020 at 16:23

16 votes

How slow was the 6502 BASIC compared to Assembly

answered Sep 29, 2019 at 0:36

16 votes

What does it take to recreate microchips like 68000 and 6502 in their original process nodes nowadays?

answered Sep 29, 2019 at 0:55

16 votes

Can special tools recover data from floppy disks when Windows Explorer fails to do so?

answered Jul 9, 2020 at 18:41

Stack Exchange Network

164 Answers

Why was the return key symbol ↵ drawn differently from the motion of a CR-LF?

Why were relays prevalent in early 1940s computers when vacuum tubes were also available?

Why were optical drives not used as secondary storage instead of magnetic drives?

When did compilers start generating optimized code that runs faster than an average programmer's assembly code?

Why did the IBM PC have an internal power supply?

What did the "programs" that "human computers" executed look like?

Did the 68000 separate A/D registers save circuitry?

Why does PAUSE key have a long make code and no break code?

How fast were BASIC interpreters in the 80s? (Is this optimization for speed really necessary?)

3 beeps on a 486 computer with an American Megatrends bios?

Was it possible to write a novel on a BBC Micro 16kb/32kb memory era computer without expansions?

What is DRAM refresh and why is the weird Apple II video memory layout affected by it?

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

Why the change in layout of single and double precision in floating-point registers?

Could you create a loop in direct-mode with BASIC?

How did 68k-based Macs (or other contemporary systems) detect how much RAM was installed?

Was it possible programmatically to manipulate the volume as well as the pitch on computers with no sound chip?

Why is the keyboard and cellphone / telephone numbers in a different order?

Why was "C:" chosen for the first hard drive partition?

Why did so many early microcomputers use the MOS 6502 and variants?

Are the 6809 and 6809E different from a programmer's point of view?

9-pin vs 10-pin serial port ribbon cables

How did the Rush 3D engine in Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride work?

What was the 1 MHz bus used for on the BBC micro series?

x87 trigonometric instructions

Do the holes in Jacquard loom punched cards represent input data or program code?

Cost of unrestricted sprites

How slow was the 6502 BASIC compared to Assembly

What does it take to recreate microchips like 68000 and 6502 in their original process nodes nowadays?

Can special tools recover data from floppy disks when Windows Explorer fails to do so?