Benj Edwards
@benjedwards
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Senior AI Reporter, Ars Technica. Tech Historian. Fast Company / The Atlantic / Retronauts / Creator , The Culture of Tech
Raleigh, NC
Joined February 2009
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Attention Virtual Boy Fans! I co-wrote a Platform Studies book called Seeing Red: Nintendo's Virtual Boy with
@JoseZagal
for MIT Press, and it's coming out May 14th
You can pre-order it now on Amazon if you're wild about stereoscopic red consoles:
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I love this example of vintage game graphics rendered on their intended target, a CRT, vs. modern pixel-perfect emulation. On the CRT they look much more depthy and almost more detailed as you brain fills in the blurred gaps
From this neat article:
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Does anybody want to buy a computer collection I have been gathering since 1993? This is less than half of it. I am considering a move, and I'm not sure these can go with me to the new place. Would love to keep them all together somehow. Want to start a museum?
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In 1998, I stayed online for over 20 hours straight and got a warning email from my ISP
Today, I’d be weird if I stayed offline for 20 hours
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Today I stepped back into the 80s and discovered an eat-in Pizza Hut that still has wood paneling, stained glass lamps, and an arcade cocktail machine corner. Tasted like the 80s too
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The retro TV corner at my mom’s house is still going strong—now Christmas can officially begin!
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It is a grave category error to confuse today’s large language model output for accurate knowledge
The extent ChatGPT is ever correct is due to you already knowing the answer. It hallucinates nonsense just as easily as commonly-accepted fact, making it worthless as an educator
Um... I just had like a 20 minute conversation with ChatGPT about the history of modern physics. If I had this shit as a tutor during high school and college.... OMG.
I think we can basically re-invent the concept of education at scale. College as we know it will cease to exist.
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Reminds me of Roman statues we all think of as stark white, but were actually painted
In the future, people are going to think old video games were all jaggy and square, when they were fluid and smooth
Pixels were the source code for CRT art, not meant to be viewed in raw form
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@AndrayDomise
There's another black video game pioneer, still living, that many people still don't know about: Ed Smith of APF Electronics, who has an amazing story. I wrote about him too:
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The biggest bummer about the decline of Amazon, the rise of surveillance capitalism, the polarization or social media, predatory app stores, is that for a while it felt like nerds were making the world a better place. Now the most successful tech companies are making it worse
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30 years ago today, Romero, Carmack, Hall, and Carmack founded id Software, which revolutionized the game industry w/Keen, Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake
With help from id's founders, I wrote about 30 years of id for How-To Geek:
What's your fave id game?
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In a world where Apple never invented the iPhone, we’d all be carrying smartphones that look like this 😜
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Uh oh, my beloved RCA family TV set from 1983 just started doing this. 40 years of no issues until now
Any idea what’s going on? Help!
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30 years ago today, id Software and Apogee released Wolfenstein 3D. It shocked the world and catalyzed the FPS genre
I spoke with creators
@ID_AA_Carmack
,
@romero
, and
@ThatTomHall
about what made it special:
What did you think when you first saw it?
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In 1984, Brøderbund released The Print Shop, an easy publishing app for early PCs that became wildly successful
With it, you could print greeting cards, banners and more. I wrote about its cultural impact for
@howtogeek
:
Did you ever use The Print Shop?
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25 years ago today, id Software launched Quake, a pioneering FPS with 3D graphics, internet support, and a moddable engine
It sent cultural aftershocks that are still being felt. I wrote about it for
@howtogeek
:
What did you think when you first saw it?
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I bought a small $9 flat panel TV at a thrift store entirely because of these glorious ports
You can connect basically every American consumer video device (and many computers) made between 1972 and 2010 😁
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Forgot where this example is from, but it is amusing
Notice how narrow Link is on the left, and how he appeared to players on a 4:3 TV on the far right w/rectangular pixels
Sometimes the original artists took this stretching effect into account while designing (tho not always)
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My dad died in 2013. A few days ago, I found a box of his trinkets at my mom’s house
There was something wedged in a pouch. I tilted the box and out tumbled the missing key to my 386 PC’s keylock, 29 years later 😮
He locked my PC when I rackedup a $200 phone bill calling BBSes
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@JustAnkurBagchi
If this has any scientific explanation, it's probably due to neurons in the heart. It turns out some of our cognitive processes are distributed across various organs in our bodies (like the stomach and gut) and not just limited to the brain
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The loss of online archives makes us far more vulnerable to AI manipulation in the future, as I wrote in my 2020 Fast Company article on AI:
And without the Internet Archive, the history of our present digital era could be rewritten for nefarious ends
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We often forget that video games share a lineage with electromechanical arcade games, thanks to segregation through historical classification (i.e. video/not video). They are direct ancestors of many gaming concepts that would appear in 70s and 80s arcade video games
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You may be cool, but are you my-keyboard-has-a-detachable-jog-wheel cool?
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BeOS and the BeBox launched 25 years ago this month. To celebrate, I wrote about what made BeOS special for How-To Geek.
Did you ever use BeOS? What did you think?
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The other day, my kid’s friend came over wearing Sonic the Hedgehog socks and said they’d never played a Sonic game before
So I hooked up a Genesis and let them play Sonic 1 and 2 😁
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Iomega's Zip drive turns 25 this year. I took a look back at the life and times of Zip, including some odd brand offshoots, for How-To Geek:
Have you ever used a Zip drive?
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When your garage is like mine, you accidentally pull out a box that contains.. a prototype of the world’s first smartphone, the IBM Simon. Still works!
It will soon on its way to a good home
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“When I die, the last of the Jedi you will be...except Ahsoka Tano and whoever else is out there”
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Which one of these Windows 3.1 desktop backgrounds is your favorite?
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This iPad ad is just so wildly narcissistic and tone deaf. Celebrating creativity by literally destroying every symbolic creative tool
“You won’t need these anymore, you only need me.”
Seems like a good metaphor for the state of the tech industry these days
Meet the new iPad Pro: the thinnest product we’ve ever created, the most advanced display we’ve ever produced, with the incredible power of the M4 chip. Just imagine all the things it’ll be used to create.
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Always remember, kids: It’s not hoarding if everything is stored in clear plastic containers
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I've been uncovering more lost video game history -- this time, I tell the story of the first known female video game developer, who wrote games for RCA at age 18:
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40 years ago, Commodore released the VIC-20, a low-cost PC that was first to sell 1 million units
It empowered a generation of programmers, including John Carmack and Satoru Iwata. I wrote about it for
@howtogeek
:
Did you have a VIC-20 as a kid?
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I run a secret society: The Order of The Switch. To get in, you have to explain the purpose of one of these
Will you be joining?
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If anyone needs me, I'll be in the Microsoft Solitaire haunted house
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1991, Microsoft tucked GORILLA.BAS into MS-DOS, and gorillas have been throwing explosive bananas at each other ever since
I found the co-creator or Gorillas and explored its untold origins for
@howtogeek
:
Did you ever play Gorillas?
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30 years ago today, Apogee released Commander Keen, a seminal shareware game that brought smooth console-style platforming to the PC and launched
@idSoftware
. I wrote about why it was special for How-To Geek:
Did you ever play Commander Keen back then?
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For years, my life had little meaning, and then one day everything crystallized and I knew exactly what I needed:
This GE-7-7800A Portable TV/Cassette Boombox
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Which one of these Mario games could you remove from the historical timeline and do the least amount of damage?
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30 years ago today, Microsoft released Windows 3.1, which arguably made Windows essential--and a must-have on new PCs for the first time
I spoke with former MS VP
@bradsilverberg
about what made it special for
@howtogeek
:
Did you use Windows 3.1?
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The retro TV corner at my mom’s house is still there — very dusty, but it still works!
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So...we need to have a talk about all those priceless photos from the early 2000s you have backed up on CD-R. All of those discs have a shelf life, and they need to be backed up now---if they're not bad already
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Look who came to visit — Ed Smith of APF!
Upon seeing the Imagination Machine II, he said, “Oh man! I never thought I’d see Myrtle again.”
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The tragedy of the Holocaust continues to reverberate. In 2012, I visited Ralph Baer, the inventor of TV video games at home. As a German jew who fled Nazi persecution in 1938, I wondered how he felt about it. This is what he said:
#HolocaustMemorialDay
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They've done it! They've created the Perfect Video
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Soak in the glory of these fully armed and operational EGA COMPUTER GAME INTERFACES
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Apple has a problem when its Mac OS X interface from 20 years ago looks better than the macOS interface today. Especially the icons
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There’s some serious Myst-level sh*t going on with this hotel
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Finally got the Katamari Damacy soundtrack on an authentic genuine CD, imported from Japan!
My favorite video game soundtrack of all time
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Thanks to a FujiNet adapter, my Atari 800XL can now display the current weather and 7-day forecast pulled from the Internet
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Spending a little quality time with The Mother of All Games
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This is the best thing I’ve ever seen
New LGR Oddware!
Checking out the STS Tecom CKS-05V, a 5.25" drive bay CRT from 1997. It's an amber monochrome VGA monitor that fits into three PC drive bays! And it is a delight to use with both retro games and modern software, just a fantastic oddity.
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In 1998, I stayed online for over 20 hours and got a warning email from my ISP
http://t.co/K6QEfgN8UG
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I’ve been experimenting recently with modern PC gaming on a vintage Mitsubishi Diamondscan Plus 100e VGA CRT. I am very happy with the results.
I can max out video settings and run games at 1280x1024 85 Hz and they look gorgeous. I missed 5:4 ratio. 16:9 is a sham 😜
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Windows 3.0 turns 30 today. It introduced Program Manager, Solitaire, VGA support, virtual memory, and a new "3D" look (which basically means shadows on the buttons)
This 1990 version of Windows received ample third-party software support and became quite popular
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I actually fired up NASCAR 2005 on the GameCube and replicated Ross Chastain's wall-hugging feat on the same track—it works if you have the skill and opportunity to pull it off
NASCAR driver stuns racing world with a move learned from Nintendo GameCube by
@benjedwards
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After all these years, I've been reduced to 'this guy' 😂
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Americans think we are free, but we are not. We have allowed the worst runaway business models, empowered by tech, to subvert liberty and deeply erode the fabric of society. That’s where we are. The kindling’s set; the house is lit. What’s our next move?
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In October 1995, I published what were probably the first NES game screenshots on the Web (captured using a Snappy). Here are a few of them
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It’s not every day you work on a computer with a built-in prop rod
(Commodore PET)
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Remember the metaverse...of 1994?
28 years ago, VRML brought interlinked 3D virtual worlds to the web for the first time. It was like HTML for virtual reality
I wrote about the heady promises of VRML (and why it failed to take off) for
@howtogeek
:
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I’m casting counterfeit Chuck E. Cheese tokens out of 14K gold. That will fool them!! Free games here I come
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This looks like my ideal computer
It's basically a NES with a keyboard, floppy drive, and built in B&W CRT. It could not get any more perfect
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This is the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time: a 100 MHz FPGA-based pin compatible 6502 replacement
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Tim’s got a point. We are on the cusp of completely closed mainstream computing platforms, which are creeping in steadily and can empower restrictions on the freedoms of privacy and knowledge—implications that extend far beyond the availability of a game
If we don’t fight for our rights where we stand, we’ll eventually run out of places to retreat to, and by then we’ll be too weak and divided to win. This is why developers need to fight the store monopolies HERE and NOW!
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Update: I am glad Nintendo did not make a smartphone
I am baffled why I'm not excited by the 3DS. My gut tells me the iPhone model is the way of the future. Nintendo should make a smartphone.
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The Computer Folder is 40!
In 1981, the Xerox Star 8010 Information System originated the desktop metaphor with folders and document icons we all know today
Its desktop metaphor inspired Macs and Windows. I wrote about the Star for
@howtogeek
:
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Satya Nadella just said "The web itself was born and grew up on Windows"
NeXT begs to differ
Tech history literacy is important, people
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Windows 1.01 launched 35 years ago today, marking the slow-burning start of a huge business success for Microsoft. I wrote about what it was like for How-To Geek.
Did you ever use Windows 1.x? What did you think?
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Television supermen cannot take the place of friends who died at your side
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Does anybody remember when The Internet was an icon on your desktop?
Sure, it's older than that, but this icon represents the 'net as an opt-in experience. It had not yet become a non-stop drip feed of anguish and arousal to your brain. Good times
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I’d love to see a Windows 3.11 PC Mini—a micro game console (think NES mini) shaped like a 386 PC tower full of nothing but classic Windows 3.11 games. Comes with USB mouse, can play on an HDMI TV set
Would love to consult on this project,
@Microsoft
😁
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I recently installed Microsoft Windows 3.1 on my iPad (thanks to
@harrymccracken
). With a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, it's almost better than a real vintage PC
Here's how to do it yourself:
What's your favorite Windows 3.1 game or app?
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The ability to copy and paste font styles between documents is the single worst computer innovation
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♣️Microsoft Solitaire card backs in Windows 3.1♦️
Which one is your favorite?
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Playing Blood (PC) on a creepy vintage black and white TV set
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IBM Linux Watch (2000) & IBM WatchPad 1.5 (2001) prototypes; first Linux watches; never made it to market
http://t.co/OGoIEUGEdp
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45 years ago (June 1977), Apple released the Apple II computer, which pioneered appliance-like home PCs for everyone
I spoke with Steve Wozniak, Tim Sweeney, and John Romero about what we can learn from the Apple II today:
Did you ever use an Apple II?
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On Nov 27, 1994, my brother went to the mall, and I asked him to stop by Babbage’s and buy Ultima 7 for me. He called from a payphone and said, “Hey, they have Ultima 8 here! Do you want that instead?” I said yes, and still regret it. Here’s the receipt. $59.99 is $123 today
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Modern computer interfaces seem to delight in hiding as much information from users as possible. Disappearing scroll bars, status bars, file sizes, audio track lengths. I'm ready for this trend to die
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This is funny: Apparently the Nintendo Switch is in short supply due to increased demand during These Uncertain Times (and Animal Crossing mania). So someone bought Switch repair parts and assembled them into a working console
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I wrote the first new Prodigy Classic content in 23 years
Phillip Heller has reverse-engineered the 1980s-90s Prodigy online service, and we've been rebuilding pages as Prodigy Reloaded. You can use a vintage client to connect to Prodigy again!
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All you folks using NES emulators are missing out on beautiful glitches like this
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20 years ago, Microsoft released Windows 2000, an NT-oasis in a 98/Me hellscape. Prob the most solid Microsoft OS ever. I wrote about why it was great for How-To Geek:
Did you ever use Windows 2000? What are your memories of it?
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PERSONAL NEWS: At the end of August, I'm joining
@arstechnica
as a reporter on AI and machine learning
I’m leaving
@howtogeek
after 2.5 years of work that I am proud of. I’m grateful to
@chrishoffman
and the entire staff of How-To Geek. I've absolutely loved working with them
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I was playing Shining Force CD recently, and I thought the portraits looked way too good for the Genesis' limited color palette.
So I checked with an emulator, and saw that the extra depth is just insanely clever dithering effects at work. You lose a lot without a CRT display
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If your dad built all these parts cabinets by hand in the 1960s, would you endeavor to keep them even though you don’t have much spare room
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