The 1994 Computer Dealers Expo via Computer Chronicles
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Date: 2025-05-10
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Comments and reviews: 20
Charlesb88
Regarding the guy in the video who claimed that Win 95 doesn’t run on top of DOS they way Win 3. 1 did, well he’s only partially correct. To understand that situation better we need an overly simplistic explanation of what was going on with Win 3. 1 and then how things change 95 to understand the reality. Contrary to how Win 3. 1 is typically described, it wasn’t simply JUST a GUI shell running on top of DOS. Yes, there is a shell involved and it did require DOS to be installed in order to run but underneath things where a bit more complicated then many people think.
Here how Win 3. 1 worked on a 386 machine (Win 3. 1 works somewhat differently on a 286): Basically, DOS was used as boot-loader, in a manor similar to GRUB in Linux, but also served a purpose beyond a simple boot loader in Win 3. 1. DOS would either boot straight to a command line ( command. com) or load windows in which case command. com wasn’t loaded and WIN386. EXE was loaded instead (Depended on your autoexec. bat settings. Typing win at the command line also loads WIN386. exe and exits command. com. WIN386. EXE functions like a hypervisor thought not in modern hyper-v sense as it doesn’t isolate the whole OS. WIN386 is in charge of loading virtual machines, one of which is the Windows 3. 1 desktop environment but also DOS program instances as they don’t understand multitasking (Win 3. 1 apps support cooperative multitasking, does doesn’t. DOS virtual machines in WIn 3. 1 support preemptive multitasking. WIN386. EXE virtual machine architecture allows DOS apps and Windows (and windows Apps) to operate side by side safely. This all means that while DOS (either MS-DOS/IBM-DOS or Dr DOS, Free-DOS, or some other compatible DOS is needed to run Windows but Win 3. 1 isn’t technically just running on top of DOS. WIN386. EXE functions like a kernel but their is also System VM which also function like a kernel and is in charged of running Win16 apps (aka 16 bit Windows 3. 1 apps.
Another important function of DOS in Win 3. 1 was device drivers. While Win 3. 1 supports native drivers, many DOS compatible devices lack Win 3. 1 drivers due to Win 3. 1 availability not being guaranteed yet unlike DOS. So Win 3. 1 includes a way to use DOS device drivers with Win16 GUI apps. Windows being forced to rely on DOS drivers was common for hardware like graphics & sound cards as well as mice in that era.
Now with Win 95, things changed a bit. DOS is still used as boot loader using customized version of MS-DOS 7. 0 (7. 1 in OSR2. Win 95 is 32-bit so Win16 and DOS apps run in virtual DOS machine. Win 95 is more a hybrid OS providing a more complete and better integrated experience. MS-DOS continued to be used to handle the file system and disk partitioning in Win 95. For drivers, Win 95 had it’s own driver model but continued to support Win 3. x and DOS drivers for backwards compatibility. But for system reliability sake, they forced all calls to DOS/16-bit Windows drivers to go through the Win 95 system so that Win 95 can make sure that older drivers don’t misbehave and take down the system. Thus your DOS or Win16 hardware might not work completely right in all cases but it won’t cause a system crash they way it could otherwise. Yes, Win 95 could boot directly to DOS but that was done more in a dual-boot manor like dual-booting Windows and Linux using Grub.
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Regarding the guy in the video who claimed that Win 95 doesn’t run on top of DOS they way Win 3. 1 did, well he’s only partially correct. To understand that situation better we need an overly simplistic explanation of what was going on with Win 3. 1 and then how things change 95 to understand the reality. Contrary to how Win 3. 1 is typically described, it wasn’t simply JUST a GUI shell running on top of DOS. Yes, there is a shell involved and it did require DOS to be installed in order to run but underneath things where a bit more complicated then many people think.
Here how Win 3. 1 worked on a 386 machine (Win 3. 1 works somewhat differently on a 286): Basically, DOS was used as boot-loader, in a manor similar to GRUB in Linux, but also served a purpose beyond a simple boot loader in Win 3. 1. DOS would either boot straight to a command line ( command. com) or load windows in which case command. com wasn’t loaded and WIN386. EXE was loaded instead (Depended on your autoexec. bat settings. Typing win at the command line also loads WIN386. exe and exits command. com. WIN386. EXE functions like a hypervisor thought not in modern hyper-v sense as it doesn’t isolate the whole OS. WIN386 is in charge of loading virtual machines, one of which is the Windows 3. 1 desktop environment but also DOS program instances as they don’t understand multitasking (Win 3. 1 apps support cooperative multitasking, does doesn’t. DOS virtual machines in WIn 3. 1 support preemptive multitasking. WIN386. EXE virtual machine architecture allows DOS apps and Windows (and windows Apps) to operate side by side safely. This all means that while DOS (either MS-DOS/IBM-DOS or Dr DOS, Free-DOS, or some other compatible DOS is needed to run Windows but Win 3. 1 isn’t technically just running on top of DOS. WIN386. EXE functions like a kernel but their is also System VM which also function like a kernel and is in charged of running Win16 apps (aka 16 bit Windows 3. 1 apps.
Another important function of DOS in Win 3. 1 was device drivers. While Win 3. 1 supports native drivers, many DOS compatible devices lack Win 3. 1 drivers due to Win 3. 1 availability not being guaranteed yet unlike DOS. So Win 3. 1 includes a way to use DOS device drivers with Win16 GUI apps. Windows being forced to rely on DOS drivers was common for hardware like graphics & sound cards as well as mice in that era.
Now with Win 95, things changed a bit. DOS is still used as boot loader using customized version of MS-DOS 7. 0 (7. 1 in OSR2. Win 95 is 32-bit so Win16 and DOS apps run in virtual DOS machine. Win 95 is more a hybrid OS providing a more complete and better integrated experience. MS-DOS continued to be used to handle the file system and disk partitioning in Win 95. For drivers, Win 95 had it’s own driver model but continued to support Win 3. x and DOS drivers for backwards compatibility. But for system reliability sake, they forced all calls to DOS/16-bit Windows drivers to go through the Win 95 system so that Win 95 can make sure that older drivers don’t misbehave and take down the system. Thus your DOS or Win16 hardware might not work completely right in all cases but it won’t cause a system crash they way it could otherwise. Yes, Win 95 could boot directly to DOS but that was done more in a dual-boot manor like dual-booting Windows and Linux using Grub.
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mar4kl
1: 43, Who takes their infant to COMDEX Oh, you'd have been surprised back in the day! Not just with how many people showed up with children of all ages, but just what a motley crew the attendees could be. In its heyday, interest in COMDEX was almost as high as interest in auto shows, at least among people with an interest in technology. Tickets were never sold directly to the public as far as I know, but companies, whether exhibiting or just expected to attend, were typically given plenty of extras, which they handed out like candy to favored contacts. So, yeah, those who were favored with enough tickets often did show up with kids, significant others, friends, relatives, etc. I first found out about the show in 1987, at the beginning of my career, and used to practically salivate over the prospect of somehow snagging a ticket and experiencing the hoopla firsthand. That year, I was employed by a software company, but the show was all the way across the country that year, and the company wasn't flying a newly hired junior programmer out to Las Vegas and putting him up in a hotel just for a trade show. I think one of the company partners went that year, and the next year I took a new job with a bank. It would be another 7 years before I'd again be employed by a company favored with COMDEX tickets. I finally did get my shot in 1996, when COMDEX was held in my city. And, after all the anticipation. I was bored stiff within minutes!
COMDEX was a show intended primarily to give exhibitors a chance to show salespeople for VARs (Value Added Resellers - think CDW, Zones, SHI, although there were a lot more of them back in the day) new and soon-to-be-released products and help them form ideas of how to sell them. Oh, yes, and for the trade press, of course. Sure, there was neat stuff to be seen, but most of it was in tightly controlled demo form or, more often, in glossy literature packages. There wasn't a whole lot for someone like me to sit down and play with. Even worse, most of the people showing the stuff off were paid actors following scripts; they couldn't answer technical questions that weren't covered in the script. There were industry bigwigs present, but for the most part, anyone not representing a major purchaser or major publisher couldn't get close to them. So, at the end of it all, there were lots of flashy displays and noise and an occasional entertaining 5-minute sideshow, but nothing much to experience after the initial wow factor wore off. I paid zero attention to articles about COMDEX after that day, and didn't notice when the decision was made to discontinue the show.
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1: 43, Who takes their infant to COMDEX Oh, you'd have been surprised back in the day! Not just with how many people showed up with children of all ages, but just what a motley crew the attendees could be. In its heyday, interest in COMDEX was almost as high as interest in auto shows, at least among people with an interest in technology. Tickets were never sold directly to the public as far as I know, but companies, whether exhibiting or just expected to attend, were typically given plenty of extras, which they handed out like candy to favored contacts. So, yeah, those who were favored with enough tickets often did show up with kids, significant others, friends, relatives, etc. I first found out about the show in 1987, at the beginning of my career, and used to practically salivate over the prospect of somehow snagging a ticket and experiencing the hoopla firsthand. That year, I was employed by a software company, but the show was all the way across the country that year, and the company wasn't flying a newly hired junior programmer out to Las Vegas and putting him up in a hotel just for a trade show. I think one of the company partners went that year, and the next year I took a new job with a bank. It would be another 7 years before I'd again be employed by a company favored with COMDEX tickets. I finally did get my shot in 1996, when COMDEX was held in my city. And, after all the anticipation. I was bored stiff within minutes!
COMDEX was a show intended primarily to give exhibitors a chance to show salespeople for VARs (Value Added Resellers - think CDW, Zones, SHI, although there were a lot more of them back in the day) new and soon-to-be-released products and help them form ideas of how to sell them. Oh, yes, and for the trade press, of course. Sure, there was neat stuff to be seen, but most of it was in tightly controlled demo form or, more often, in glossy literature packages. There wasn't a whole lot for someone like me to sit down and play with. Even worse, most of the people showing the stuff off were paid actors following scripts; they couldn't answer technical questions that weren't covered in the script. There were industry bigwigs present, but for the most part, anyone not representing a major purchaser or major publisher couldn't get close to them. So, at the end of it all, there were lots of flashy displays and noise and an occasional entertaining 5-minute sideshow, but nothing much to experience after the initial wow factor wore off. I paid zero attention to articles about COMDEX after that day, and didn't notice when the decision was made to discontinue the show.
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Otakunopodcast
I've always wanted to go to COMDEX. I finally got the chance to go one year back in the early 2000s. It was pretty awesome. It was kind of a weird trip tho. Me and a couple coworkers went, and we went on the cheap. 8 or so hours by bus, and I don't remember anything about the place where we stayed at, which means it must not have been particularly good. (But it also means that it probably wasn't particularly terrible either, so i guess there's that) Unfortunately I don't remember much of the show itself, as I was kind of starstruck and wandering around in a daze. But what I do remember of it was really cool. Funny they should mention Cyrix. One of the reasons me and my coworkers made the trek was to check out some of the x86 competitors emerging onto the market. Back then they were heavily touting their EPIA mini-ITX form factor and VIA EDEN low cost/low energy embedded x86 processors, and we wanted to use them in some of our embedded products. (Ended up doing just that, and they worked surprisingly well. Some of them are even still in use this very day) Just wish I could have spent more time there. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip, as we only were there for like a day or two. Unfortunately the trip was also marred by a rather bad case of food poisoning, I was sick as a dog throughout most of the latter half of it. Oh, and the year I finally was able to go 2003. Yep. The very last one. Was really bummed to hear that they were no longer going to put on the show, I really wanted to go back and experience it properly. Oh well, at least I can say that I was there, at the very last COMDEX. Still really glad that I went.
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I've always wanted to go to COMDEX. I finally got the chance to go one year back in the early 2000s. It was pretty awesome. It was kind of a weird trip tho. Me and a couple coworkers went, and we went on the cheap. 8 or so hours by bus, and I don't remember anything about the place where we stayed at, which means it must not have been particularly good. (But it also means that it probably wasn't particularly terrible either, so i guess there's that) Unfortunately I don't remember much of the show itself, as I was kind of starstruck and wandering around in a daze. But what I do remember of it was really cool. Funny they should mention Cyrix. One of the reasons me and my coworkers made the trek was to check out some of the x86 competitors emerging onto the market. Back then they were heavily touting their EPIA mini-ITX form factor and VIA EDEN low cost/low energy embedded x86 processors, and we wanted to use them in some of our embedded products. (Ended up doing just that, and they worked surprisingly well. Some of them are even still in use this very day) Just wish I could have spent more time there. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip, as we only were there for like a day or two. Unfortunately the trip was also marred by a rather bad case of food poisoning, I was sick as a dog throughout most of the latter half of it. Oh, and the year I finally was able to go 2003. Yep. The very last one. Was really bummed to hear that they were no longer going to put on the show, I really wanted to go back and experience it properly. Oh well, at least I can say that I was there, at the very last COMDEX. Still really glad that I went.
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JeordieEH
My dad used to go down to comdex, I remember one year he brought back windows 95 with him and it was exciting to see it install on his computer, as it was the first time i had seen it. It was a lot nicer than him running dos all the time and early windows. I assume what he had was windows 3, but I couldn't honestly say for sure, I was pretty young when I seen it. Windows 95 was just awesome, it was this full windows environment that I could play on. I remember having fun with mac paint at a cousins, but seeing ms paint in windows was really cool. I know my dad had it before, but again I was really young and he didn't let me near his computer much at the time. I have a few memories of playing commander keen and some some clone of missile command on his pc. At least I think it was a clone, I could never really find the game. I remember it having planes and I think maybe even alien ship attack, but I could be misremembering. I can't remember if I had a set amount of missiles I could strike the targets, but I remember the game getting faster and more intense. I never beat the game, but it was fun when I didn't have much else to do at my dad's house. It wasn't until after windows 95 and him getting a 3d accelerator card where we could play better games like doom, duke nukem, quake, wolfenstein, and several others. We had a game where you made movies and it was very interactive. I liked that one too and never seen a game like it since. We had sim city and microsoft flight sim, those were fun.
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My dad used to go down to comdex, I remember one year he brought back windows 95 with him and it was exciting to see it install on his computer, as it was the first time i had seen it. It was a lot nicer than him running dos all the time and early windows. I assume what he had was windows 3, but I couldn't honestly say for sure, I was pretty young when I seen it. Windows 95 was just awesome, it was this full windows environment that I could play on. I remember having fun with mac paint at a cousins, but seeing ms paint in windows was really cool. I know my dad had it before, but again I was really young and he didn't let me near his computer much at the time. I have a few memories of playing commander keen and some some clone of missile command on his pc. At least I think it was a clone, I could never really find the game. I remember it having planes and I think maybe even alien ship attack, but I could be misremembering. I can't remember if I had a set amount of missiles I could strike the targets, but I remember the game getting faster and more intense. I never beat the game, but it was fun when I didn't have much else to do at my dad's house. It wasn't until after windows 95 and him getting a 3d accelerator card where we could play better games like doom, duke nukem, quake, wolfenstein, and several others. We had a game where you made movies and it was very interactive. I liked that one too and never seen a game like it since. We had sim city and microsoft flight sim, those were fun.
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gnntech
A quick word on the InternetWorks browser: In 1995/1996, InternetWorks was rebranded as GNNWorks as part of the Global Network Navigator (GNN) internet service provider package. It was actually the first ISP I used. The software package included the browser, a dialer, an email/usenet reader, a WYSIWYG HTML page creator, and an IRC chat client. In late 1996, GNN was purchase by AOL and subsequently shuttered with all users migrating to AOL. 100% true about it being the first tabbed browser although the implementation is a little different. Basically, every new web page opened in a separate tab (shown at the bottom of the window. It really served as more of a session browsing history than what we would consider tabs today.
GNN (originally published by O'Reilly and Associates) is significant as it's Whole Internet Catalog was the very first web portal released back in 1993. In 1995, they offered the ISP product.
I still have (and even use) the GNNWorks software and the earlier IW browser on occasion.
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A quick word on the InternetWorks browser: In 1995/1996, InternetWorks was rebranded as GNNWorks as part of the Global Network Navigator (GNN) internet service provider package. It was actually the first ISP I used. The software package included the browser, a dialer, an email/usenet reader, a WYSIWYG HTML page creator, and an IRC chat client. In late 1996, GNN was purchase by AOL and subsequently shuttered with all users migrating to AOL. 100% true about it being the first tabbed browser although the implementation is a little different. Basically, every new web page opened in a separate tab (shown at the bottom of the window. It really served as more of a session browsing history than what we would consider tabs today.
GNN (originally published by O'Reilly and Associates) is significant as it's Whole Internet Catalog was the very first web portal released back in 1993. In 1995, they offered the ISP product.
I still have (and even use) the GNNWorks software and the earlier IW browser on occasion.
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wowsnav
I miss this era of computers because gaming was much better during this time. When the PS3/360/Wii generation came out in the mid 2000s, gaming took a turn for the worse and hasn't really improved since, despite all the technological advances we have had since the 90s. All these people are getting excited for the Oblivion remake, and to me, I'm thinking in my head Why That's one of the games that started us on the dark path. Morrowind was developed natively for PC and then ported to Xbox, Oblivion was developed natively for consoles and then ported to PC and the game suffered greatly as a result, and that's just one of MANY examples of how modern game development has caused video games to suffer and become worse overall.
I mean, we don't even have E3 anymore. Gaming sucks. Let's go back to the 90s and early 2000s when technology trade shows were booming.
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I miss this era of computers because gaming was much better during this time. When the PS3/360/Wii generation came out in the mid 2000s, gaming took a turn for the worse and hasn't really improved since, despite all the technological advances we have had since the 90s. All these people are getting excited for the Oblivion remake, and to me, I'm thinking in my head Why That's one of the games that started us on the dark path. Morrowind was developed natively for PC and then ported to Xbox, Oblivion was developed natively for consoles and then ported to PC and the game suffered greatly as a result, and that's just one of MANY examples of how modern game development has caused video games to suffer and become worse overall.
I mean, we don't even have E3 anymore. Gaming sucks. Let's go back to the 90s and early 2000s when technology trade shows were booming.
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nutherefurlong
I wonder if Computer Chronicles made me more interested in business software than I ever really have been if I think about it for more than a second, especially since I watched this as a kid and wanted them to skip to the games most of the time. But I guess these applications felt like they were always attempting to be paradigm shifts then. Now it feels like there's less innovation and sometimes just taking a step sideways in terms of features to keep people buying. Independent open source spaces seem to be the place for efficiency and innovation but it takes digging. You're not going to see stuff genuinely revolutionary at tech conference as much.
As always, really fun to take these tours through time and space with LGR: )
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I wonder if Computer Chronicles made me more interested in business software than I ever really have been if I think about it for more than a second, especially since I watched this as a kid and wanted them to skip to the games most of the time. But I guess these applications felt like they were always attempting to be paradigm shifts then. Now it feels like there's less innovation and sometimes just taking a step sideways in terms of features to keep people buying. Independent open source spaces seem to be the place for efficiency and innovation but it takes digging. You're not going to see stuff genuinely revolutionary at tech conference as much.
As always, really fun to take these tours through time and space with LGR: )
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firesurfer
I started working at the Javits in 95 and worked on most of the tech shows through the early 2000s. They just petered out and died around 2005. I remember walking through a show after work basically shopping for parts. I settled on a tyan S2466 board and dual amd MP cpus. I also decided on a Viewsonic P95f monitor that I still have. Still works great. I vividly remember the odd vendors area that only had a 6' folding table to use. Some of them were trying to sell the Peltier coolers.
edit; I also remember the Macworld expo in 2000 where they gave out a free mouse at the end of the keynote speech. (I still have it, packed in its box)
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I started working at the Javits in 95 and worked on most of the tech shows through the early 2000s. They just petered out and died around 2005. I remember walking through a show after work basically shopping for parts. I settled on a tyan S2466 board and dual amd MP cpus. I also decided on a Viewsonic P95f monitor that I still have. Still works great. I vividly remember the odd vendors area that only had a 6' folding table to use. Some of them were trying to sell the Peltier coolers.
edit; I also remember the Macworld expo in 2000 where they gave out a free mouse at the end of the keynote speech. (I still have it, packed in its box)
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DaveKeyes73
Clint, commenting about the Simon Smart Phone. I have one still that I got approved by BellSouth/Motorola rep at the COMDEX down in Atlanta GA to be a BETA tester. The girl I was with at the show and a fellow co-worker, we all 3 got approved to be testers. The OS was IBM OS/2 WARP. This was the same OS that we were programming in for the insurance industry. The Simon doesn't power up any longer, as the battery is bad. The biggest drawback to use as a cell phone, was the weight and size. It has a little stylus that you use in place of a mouse to use the apps on the desktop. A phone a head of it's time.
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Clint, commenting about the Simon Smart Phone. I have one still that I got approved by BellSouth/Motorola rep at the COMDEX down in Atlanta GA to be a BETA tester. The girl I was with at the show and a fellow co-worker, we all 3 got approved to be testers. The OS was IBM OS/2 WARP. This was the same OS that we were programming in for the insurance industry. The Simon doesn't power up any longer, as the battery is bad. The biggest drawback to use as a cell phone, was the weight and size. It has a little stylus that you use in place of a mouse to use the apps on the desktop. A phone a head of it's time.
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myheart4apen
This really brings back memories. 1994 was a big year for computers! I also tried Prodigy in 94, but I was already using CompuServe, and it was a much preferable experience, in spite of Prodigy’s cool graphics. I was running a 386DX 40mhz with 4mb RAM and a 40mb HD. It was just enough to run DOOM smoothly, and once I installed a SoundBlaster 16 multimedia kit with the sound card and CD rom drive, I was in heaven! I upgraded to a 486 board/processor in 1995, along with Windows 95, and that kept me going until I got a Pentium machine in 98.
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This really brings back memories. 1994 was a big year for computers! I also tried Prodigy in 94, but I was already using CompuServe, and it was a much preferable experience, in spite of Prodigy’s cool graphics. I was running a 386DX 40mhz with 4mb RAM and a 40mb HD. It was just enough to run DOOM smoothly, and once I installed a SoundBlaster 16 multimedia kit with the sound card and CD rom drive, I was in heaven! I upgraded to a 486 board/processor in 1995, along with Windows 95, and that kept me going until I got a Pentium machine in 98.
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GYTCommnts
I love this! You certainly add awesome stuff to each episode! About the first browser with tabs: I didn't know! That's an interesting piece of data right there! In regard of the Roland speakers, I can recommend a modern alternative for those wanting something similar: the Behringer MS16 speakers. I don't know nowadays about quality, because I have them from many years now, but they were a great investment combining quality and price. Not ultrapremium, but good enough for a great pair of stereo speakers for a home PC.
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I love this! You certainly add awesome stuff to each episode! About the first browser with tabs: I didn't know! That's an interesting piece of data right there! In regard of the Roland speakers, I can recommend a modern alternative for those wanting something similar: the Behringer MS16 speakers. I don't know nowadays about quality, because I have them from many years now, but they were a great investment combining quality and price. Not ultrapremium, but good enough for a great pair of stereo speakers for a home PC.
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AHumanMale
I was at this show, and attended every COMDEX between 1992 and 1997 as a young editor for a computer magazine. The show was always nuts so many people, so many products, so many events. So much swag. My feet would hurt after being on them for 12 to 14 hours a day.
But it was big ass fun too. I remember waiting on line for hours at a booth to meet Brent Spiner and get his autograph. Don’t remember the company/product that he was there for.
Good memories. Thanks for the look back.
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I was at this show, and attended every COMDEX between 1992 and 1997 as a young editor for a computer magazine. The show was always nuts so many people, so many products, so many events. So much swag. My feet would hurt after being on them for 12 to 14 hours a day.
But it was big ass fun too. I remember waiting on line for hours at a booth to meet Brent Spiner and get his autograph. Don’t remember the company/product that he was there for.
Good memories. Thanks for the look back.
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dbdbmix
I'd love to see you do this to the Comdex episodes of Halt and Catch Fire or any other TV/Movie that feature vintage tech. Even something cheesy like Hackers. You could point out the closest real life version/company/product that is being depicted in pivitol or background elements of the shows that were most intriguing. Maybe even show the fascinating people that some of these dramas could be based on to compare if the fiction is less interesting than the possible reality.
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I'd love to see you do this to the Comdex episodes of Halt and Catch Fire or any other TV/Movie that feature vintage tech. Even something cheesy like Hackers. You could point out the closest real life version/company/product that is being depicted in pivitol or background elements of the shows that were most intriguing. Maybe even show the fascinating people that some of these dramas could be based on to compare if the fiction is less interesting than the possible reality.
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ddc163264
I really miss COMDEX. It was more accessible than CES is. As I was a consultant and an advisor to Microsoft, with my own company at the time. I was at this show and many other up thru 2003. Many of the items shown I remember and even owed a few like the Sharp Wizard and a few of the speakers and sound items. I even helped Microsoft do the introduction for corporate and home user trainings. It was a wild time and the CPU's were at the center of builder sessions.
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I really miss COMDEX. It was more accessible than CES is. As I was a consultant and an advisor to Microsoft, with my own company at the time. I was at this show and many other up thru 2003. Many of the items shown I remember and even owed a few like the Sharp Wizard and a few of the speakers and sound items. I even helped Microsoft do the introduction for corporate and home user trainings. It was a wild time and the CPU's were at the center of builder sessions.
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JimmyJazz332
My father worked in the Hard Disk Drive industry out of Goleta, California since the mid 1980's until his retirement in 2022. and he LOVES these videos you're putting out. He had so many meetings and contracts with some of the originals of Silicon Valley that would later be acquired or go defunct in the early 2000's and even worked for some big ones also for a time (Seagate. This brought so many good memories back for him. Thank you!
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My father worked in the Hard Disk Drive industry out of Goleta, California since the mid 1980's until his retirement in 2022. and he LOVES these videos you're putting out. He had so many meetings and contracts with some of the originals of Silicon Valley that would later be acquired or go defunct in the early 2000's and even worked for some big ones also for a time (Seagate. This brought so many good memories back for him. Thank you!
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wxcferdts
As I've mentioned before, Clint, your joy is really infectious. I even like the fact you pause the video frequently: that's how it should be done in your case, giving you the space and time to add your insights, moments of pleasure overload and witty comments. I do so hope you keep making these videos, as it is marvellous to share these memory lane journeys with you. I suggest you make a new playlist: something like 'See CC with C'
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As I've mentioned before, Clint, your joy is really infectious. I even like the fact you pause the video frequently: that's how it should be done in your case, giving you the space and time to add your insights, moments of pleasure overload and witty comments. I do so hope you keep making these videos, as it is marvellous to share these memory lane journeys with you. I suggest you make a new playlist: something like 'See CC with C'
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lazygamereviews
The Bellsouth/IBM Simon was definitely the first phone/PDA, but it was not a smartphone. That award would go to the Nokia 9000 Communicator of 1996, but really, I think the first iPhone of 2007 deserves that distinction. It was really the first phone to have a true desktop quality email client AND web browser, so it could access anything a desktop or laptop could, outside the limitations of its size.
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The Bellsouth/IBM Simon was definitely the first phone/PDA, but it was not a smartphone. That award would go to the Nokia 9000 Communicator of 1996, but really, I think the first iPhone of 2007 deserves that distinction. It was really the first phone to have a true desktop quality email client AND web browser, so it could access anything a desktop or laptop could, outside the limitations of its size.
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missingsprocket
My dad took me to the last Comdex in 2003, and I talked him into buying me a copy of animation master even though I had no business trying to use such software lol. It was an interesting all in one modeling and animation package, but good golly did it crash a lot. The other really cool thing I saw there was an autostereoscopic display targeted at medical imaging, that was a wild one.
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My dad took me to the last Comdex in 2003, and I talked him into buying me a copy of animation master even though I had no business trying to use such software lol. It was an interesting all in one modeling and animation package, but good golly did it crash a lot. The other really cool thing I saw there was an autostereoscopic display targeted at medical imaging, that was a wild one.
reply
2010stoof
I have an old (not as old as these at all) thinkpad t420. Was able to get windows 10 running in it but works really well with mint cinnamon. Will be going to colinnamon with ally HTPCs and stuff besides the one i have thats compatible with win11. With later updates most of them started showing age recently with windows 10. Coulle years ago ran fine but now slow.
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I have an old (not as old as these at all) thinkpad t420. Was able to get windows 10 running in it but works really well with mint cinnamon. Will be going to colinnamon with ally HTPCs and stuff besides the one i have thats compatible with win11. With later updates most of them started showing age recently with windows 10. Coulle years ago ran fine but now slow.
reply
Con-Rez
29: 54 A keyboard with a soundcard in it sounds neat, but I don't think that keyboard actually had a soundcard in it, just a speaker passthrough. I think that came to market as the Bloomberg SK-5105 MAXI SOUND Keyboard, but it seems to only come with audio passthrough and USB. Kind of weird that it was reported as having an actual soundcard inside of it though.
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29: 54 A keyboard with a soundcard in it sounds neat, but I don't think that keyboard actually had a soundcard in it, just a speaker passthrough. I think that came to market as the Bloomberg SK-5105 MAXI SOUND Keyboard, but it seems to only come with audio passthrough and USB. Kind of weird that it was reported as having an actual soundcard inside of it though.
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