Userlandia

Vintage Computer Festival Midwest made a massive change for 2024: they moved to a new venue! Can the Schaumburg Convention Center contain this massive mix of retro computer goodness? Join me as I try to cover almost everything at an impossibly huge at VCFMW. Blog Post: https://www.userlandia.com/home/vcfmw2024 Join the Userlandia Patreon at https://patreon.com/Userlandia Visit VCFMW at http://www....

I love the Apple IIGS. It's a great computer, but could it have been greater? The legend goes that Apple purposefully underclocked its CPU during development to avoid competing with the Macintosh. But is this actually true? Join me for a deep dive into the IIGS architecture, the life of the 65816 CPU, and the ghosts of keynotes past. Blog Post: https://www.userlandia.com/home/IIGS-MHz-Myth Join th...

I've hit 5,000 subscribers, and what better way to celebrate than to install an old operating system on a lumbering battlestation? In a past video I said I'd install IBM's OS/2 on the PS/2 Model 80 386, and now we're doing it. How well does it run? Will I learn to love the Workplace Shell? I'm also giving a big channel update about ongoing projects and some of my thoughts about the vintage / retro...

Vintage Computer Festival East is back for 2024 with more to see than ever before. After a banner crowd in 2023 the show needed to make some adjustments in 2024 to account for more people. Were those changes a success? Join me for a tour of the east coast's big retro tech expo. Blog Post: https://www.userlandia.com/home/vcf-east-2024 -=- Chapters -=- 00:00 - Intro 00:18 - Exhibits, Vendors, and Th...

Computer museums are a great place to check out the coolest of vintage tech. I've been to my share in America, but what about the rest of the world? Join me as I fly across the pond to check out some of the UK's coolest collections of classic computers. There's Sinclairs, Acorns, and Amstrads—oh my! Blog Post: https://www.userlandia.com/home/british-computer-museums -=- Chapters -=- 00:00 - Intro...

Garmin iQue 3600   We take for granted that we can pull out a phone and get directions to almost anywhere on Earth. But years before Apple and Google gave us the tools to navigate our lives a GPS maker gave us the first pocketable personal digital assistant with an embedded GPS. Featuring dynamic turn-by-turn directions, the Garmin iQue 3600 built an amazingly powerful navigational tool on top of...

IBM was late to the 386 PC party, but when they finally arrived they made a statement about what they thought the future of computing would be. With a 32-bit Micro Channel bus and room for six drives IBM aimed this tower directly at the likes of Compaq. But what's inside this monstrous machine and how can it be upgraded? And what can you do with an old boat anchor like this? Join me as I pull this...

What was the first retro or vintage computer you collected? I saved an obsolete PS/2 Model 30 286 from the scrap heap back in 1997. This machine was a footsoldier in IBM's war to reclaim their ownership of the PC platform they invented. But why did they bring out a machine featuring ISA after hyping up Micro Channel? And where do these machines fit in for the modern collector? Watch to find out. B...

I'm back at the Vintage Computer Festival Midwest for another convention of old and obsolete technology. With tons of retro computers and video games it's a celebration of old technology and the people that made them. VCF is bigger than ever in 2023, with more panels, more exhibitors, more vendors, and more attendees. But being bigger also means more challenges. Did VCFMW rise to the occasion and...

Any self-respecting beach town in the United States has an arcade. But there's a certain variety that lives along the northeast Atlantic coast. When kids of all ages tire of the sand and surf, they can hop on to the boardwalk for video games and the chance to win big prizes. Join me as we experience Fun-O-Rama in York Beach, Maine, a classic beach arcade I've been visiting for over thirty years. B...

The SE/30 is a Macintosh that's larger than life. It's hailed as one of the greatest Macs ever. So when I had the chance to pick one up, complete in box, for free, I couldn't pass it up. But was it functional or blown up by a battery bomb? Join me as I restore an SE/30 and go through its history and impact on Apple and computing at large. Check the Blog Post for links and more: https://www.userlan...

Spring has sprung and that means old computers have migrated north once again! Join me for a review of the 2023 Vintage Computer Festival East. What's changed from prior events? What's for sale? And what cool stuff could you see? Watch to find out. Check the Blog Post for links and more: https://www.userlandia.com/home/2023/4/vcf-east-2023 -=- Chapters -=- 00:00:00 - Opening 00:01:59 - Exhibits an...

Will Wright's SimCity is one of gaming's all-time hits. The classic original SimCity started on the Commodore 64 and topped out on PCs and Macs. With ports to over a dozen platforms, you can play it on pretty much anything. Even the Super Nintendo and the Commodore CDTV can run SimCity! But which one is my favorite? Well, you'll just have to watch to find out. This episode was originally written a...

Steve Jobs thought he would user in the NeXT generation of computing, but his little black cube of darkness flopped. When you bought a $10,000 computer, what did you get in the box? There's books, disks, tools, and stickers too. Take the NeXTstep with me as I explore a complete package of NeXT accessories included with the first NeXT computers. See the Blog Post for Transcript and Links: https://w...

What happens when two companies don't get along? Their customers lose. Adobe has let their license for Pantone colors lapse, with the hues disappearing from their apps. Pantone wants you to pay them for digital color libraries with, what else, a subscription scheme. What does this mean for digital content creators and the design industry? I've created an FAQ to answer many questions, clear misconc...

Here, in Userlandia, be very quiet. We're hunting dogcows. Disney has Disneyland. Boeing's 747 megafactory is the world's largest building. Apple has infinite loops and spaceships. Join me as I visit both of Apple's corporate campuses, explore their history, and see if I can find the elusive dogcow. See the Blog Post for Links: https://www.userlandia.com/home/2022/10/apple-headquarters Published O...

Here, in Userlandia, my Windows color scheme is Portillo's Hot Dog. Want to see some of the coolest old computers out there? Take a trip to the Vintage Computer Festival Midwest just outside of Chicago! I visited VCFMW this year to see how it compared to other vintage computer shows, and I've got all the details about the people, events, and stuff for sale. See the Blog Post for Links: https://www...

Here, in Userlandia, I think I'm a clone now… Compaq was in a crisis in the early 90s. Upstarts were undercutting them just as they had undercut IBM. Facing their first loss, massive layoffs, and the departure of their founder, they needed something special to turn their company around. That something special was the ProLinea, their first PC targeted directly at value customers. Listen to find out...

From the desk of Userlandia… What does it take to build a custom computer desk? Sure, people on Reddit say "throw some wood on some cabinets," but what does that mean, exactly? Join me as I build a battlestation in my home office. See the Blog Post for Transcript for Links: https://www.userlandia.com/home/2022/7/the-new-computer-desk-workshop Published July 20, 2022 -=- Chapters -=- 00:00:00 - Int...

Here in Userlandia, it's the case of the Lian Li Aluminum PC Case. Back in the year 2000, Aluminum was the hot new metal for crafting PC cases. Strong, lightweight, and stylish, it took the LAN party world by storm. What made them so great, and why did they fall out of the spotlight? Let's review a mint condition Lian Li case and find out. See the Blog Post for Transcript for Links: https://www.us...

It's time for an off-the-cuff post-event podcast! With Apple's announcement of the new Mac Studio, has the mythical xMac finally come to pass? Will working pros and enthusiast users be satisfied? Or is it just a Cube all over again? Let's find out. Blog Post: https://www.userlandia.com/home/2022/3/the-mac-studio-report-x-marks-the-mac Published March 9, 2022 -=- Chapters -=- 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01...

When you think of an Apple II, odds are you think of the Apple IIe. Overshadowed by both the Apple III and Lisa, the humble IIe was Apple's unlikely savior in its time of need. How did it become the dominant educational computer in America while also being a beloved home and business machine? Listen to find out. Blog Post: https://www.userlandia.com/home/2022/2/the-apple-iie-computers-of-significa...

Dropbox has grown from a small indie file sync utility to a giant of cloud storage. During that time many users fell in love with its simplicity and reliability. But with rising prices and difficult software dependencies, it's hard to keep the flame alive. What happened to Dropbox? Blog Post: https://www.userlandia.com/home/2022/1/dropbox-drops-the-ball Published January 18, 2022 -=- Chapters -=-...

It's been twenty years since Steve Jobs unveiled the first flat panel iMac: the iMac G4. Whether you call it Luxo, iLamp, or Sunflower, it's one of Apple's most distinctive designs ever. He thought it would redefine desktop computing for the next decade. Was he right? Listen and find out. Blog Post: https://www.userlandia.com/home/2022/1/happy-twentieth-birthday-imac-g4 Published January 10, 2022...

Before computers, page layout was the domain of wax, scissors, cameras, and tape. And maybe some hot lead type. Aldus Corporation's PageMaker helped kick off the desktop publishing revolution, and I recently discovered a copy at a local thrift store. Let's run PageMaker 4.0 and experience how computers democratized graphic design. Blog Post: https://www.userlandia.com/home/2021/11/nifty-thrifties-...