Podcast

e10 – Triumph of the Nerds, part 2

This is the episode when we don't talk about Apple much. (Sorry!) We cover Triumph of the Nerds part 2, including IBM's reactions to the success of the Apple II, Steve Ballmer gesticulating wildly, and Microsoft trying to be nimble.

Links for this episode:

frog dot gif

frog dot gif

e9 – Triumph of the Nerds, part 1

We embark on watching the classic PBS documentary mini-series Triumph of the Nerds. We learn a little we didn't know about the early history of Apple, get excited with Woz, and facepalm with Jobs over the many offensive things that got said and done in the computer industry 20+ years ago (and, sadly, still today).

Links for this episode:

Triumph of the Nerds

Episode 1, scene by scene

I think a nerd is a person who uses the telephone to talk to other people about telephones. And a computer nerd therefore is somebody who uses a computer in order to use a computer.

e8 – Escape Velocity

We go on a galactic adventure with one of our favorite Mac shareware games, Escape Velocity by Ambrosia Software. We encounter delightful pop culture references, everyone's favorite parrot space pirate, and — of course — the most destructive forklift in the universe.

Links for this episode:

e7 – Early Internet

We remember how we first got on the internet on the Mac in the early 90s (hint: it came on a floppy disk in the mail). Then we recall the rise and fall of eWorld, getting Sherlocked, and other classic Mac OS internet essentials.

Links for this episode:

Non-sponsor: Street Atlas USA 3.0 2-pack
(Try Google Maps! It's 10 years old now!)

other dialup

e6 – Keyboards

Our first foray into Macintosh hardware, we examine a part of the Mac we often take for granted: the keyboard. We wind back the clock all the way to the Apple II to uncover all sorts of oddities including the BELL key, "open Apple", buckling springs, and chiclets galore.

Links for this episode:

The ADB era

Also notice there is a “BELL” key that is activated by typing “Control-G”. That’s another hold-over from old typewriters and teletype machines that actually did have a little metal bell in them!
 

Non-sponsor: Power Macintosh 9600

The USB era

  • iPhone 6 and 6 Plus landscape keyboard features