[ Memory Dump is an irregular series wherein Benj dives into his garage, pulls out a random technological artifact, and describes what he knows about it for your entertainment. ]

I own a garage full of history. Literally. It’s dark, dusty, and sometimes damp, but that space houses most of my computer and video game collection. It’s almost a crime not to dive in there and share it with VC&G readers more often. And believe me, the guilt of not doing so has tortured me for years.

That task is an overwhelming one, though. It’s hard to know where to start. The sheer mass of history crammed in the place is enough to give one a panic attack on sight. For the sake of the Internet’s safety, I dare not publish a picture of my garage’s contents larger than 200×200 pixels. Anything larger and mass hysteria may erupt.

[ Continue reading [ Memory Dump ] The DEC Rainbow 100 » ]

More mediocrity than my attention can hold.

I was so excited when I first saw Werewolf: The Last Warrior in my local Blockbuster, circa 1991. I excitedly rented the game and took it home, only to have my hopes dashed against the rocks of expectation upon inserting it into my NES and playing.

The game was terrible. Well… to be generous, it was an intensely derivative action-platformer, à la Ninja Gaiden — one of hundreds on the NES platform.

While Werewolf may not be remembered for original gameplay, it will forever be immortalized as one of VC&G’s 2009 Halloween Costume Ideas. And that’s the way it should be.

Discussion Topic of the Week: What’s the weirdest video game main character of all time?

IT”S HERER AHH1!!

This scan of an American BBC Microcomputer ad might be of particular interest to our British friends, who may be curious as to how one of the UK’s most famous early PCs was received in the United States. The truth is that the BBC Microcomputer is virtually unknown here. I’ve never seen one in person, and I’d never even heard of it until the Internet era. I suspect US sales of the BBC Microcomputer were limited in part due to the low market footprint of importers like “Fourth Dimension Systems,” as seen in this ad.

I know very little about the BBC Microcomputer (although I’d love to have one, if anyone wants to send a unit over). If any readers out there are familiar with the BBC Micro, I’d be interested to hear some history and trivia about the machine in the comments.

Discussion Topic of the Week: Have you ever owned a British-designed PC? If so, tell us about it. If many, tell us your favorite.

Every once and a while, I receive emails from people looking for a certain game, electronic toy, or computer from their distant past. I then pass it on to intrepid VC&G readers to crack the case.

The Clues

Brandon writes:

I am wondering if anyone has info on this game I was playing on a TRS-80 back in middle school in 1985. We had this game where you had a submarine that you piloted around the ocean and in caves. It was a side-scroller that you had to miss mines and not run out of air. I remember having to program it on a disk but I am not 100% sure of that memory. Ideas? I know thats not much to go on.

Thanks
Brandon

The Search Begins

It’s up to you to find the object of Brandon’s fuzzy memory. Post any thoughts or suggestions in the comments section below. Good luck!

—

Have a memory of a computer, video game, computer software, or electronic toy you need help identifying? Send me an email describing your memories in detail. Hopefully, the collective genius of the VC&G readership can help solve your mystery.

One eyeball, two pupils, eight fingers, ten teeth. Just like momma.

Remember when ads like this haunted the back of every video game magazine? As a kid, the thought of getting money for games you’d already played through (and thus theoretically had no more use for) was an exciting one. But the truth about used game buyers always ended up disappointing — any business that hoped to make a profit by selling used video games could only afford to offer you a few bucks per title. That’s why I never sold any of them.

Discussion Topic of the Week: Have you ever regretted selling any of your video games? If so, tell us the story.

Every once and a while, I receive emails from people looking for a certain game, electronic toy, or computer from their distant past. I then pass it on to intrepid VC&G readers to crack the case.

The Clues

Corrado writes:

Hello there. I’d like to take advantage of VC&G’s collective genius to identify this game I used to play (or try to) a lot back when my bulky, monochromatic 286 laptop was the greatest computer I ever owned. This should place us in the mid-nineties.

Anyway, it was a dos game, a space fighter simulator with wire frame graphics. One of the toughest enemies looked for all the world like a ROTJ walker- yes, walking about in space. Your ship had a laser and three “boosters”-activating them would make a second hud slide in the game window and make you zoom around, to absolutely no use.

One pretty remarkable thing about this game, and my favorite feature really- you could fly into a wedge-shaped mothership, connect to its computer and get a slideshow of all the enemies. I remember getting pretty psyched when I found out that. Of all my old games this is the one that always eluded me, so I’d be grateful for your help.

Thanks,
Corrado

The Search Begins

It’s up to you now to find the object of Corrado’s fuzzy memory. Post any thoughts or suggestions in the comments section below. Good luck!

—

Have a memory of a computer, video game, computer software, or electronic toy you need help identifying? Send me an email describing your memories in detail. Hopefully, the collective genius of the VC&G readership can help solve your mystery.

Why borrow the family car when you can borrow the family PC?

Discussion Topic of the Week: What’s the oldest IBM brand computer you’ve ever used? Mainframes count.

Our hero stands alone in a dungeon, screaming profanities at the ceiling.

You might remember our intrepid hero, a loincloth-bedecked body builder, from last year’s VC&G Halloween Costume Ideas. This beefcakey portrayal of Solstice’s main character is as amusing now as it was then, so I figured it deserved its own RSOTW.

The character’s name is actually Shadax, if you’re interested. If you’re not, I don’t blame you. He’s not normally like this, I swear. Shadax wears a modest, body-enveloping robe throughout the entire game. He only gets naked when he’s had too much of the ‘ole Green Fairy.

Discussion Topic of the Week: What’s your favorite NES puzzle game? For bonus points: what’s the most obscure NES puzzle game you can name?

Overcome one of the Internet’s least annoying problems.

Ever since Microsoft introduced its first mouse with a scroll wheel, the IntelliPoint Explorer, in 1996, mouse designers have been tripping over themselves to solve the non-problem of how to allow a user to scroll a document horizontally as well as vertically. Along the way, we’ve seen solutions like the IBM TrackPoint (above), Microsoft’s own “tilt wheel” mice, and more recently the “scroll ball” on Apple’s Mighty Mouse. In the case of the ScrollPoint mouse seen above, it looks like IBM simply took its TrackPoint pointing device and stuck it on a mouse where a scroll wheel should be.

It’s all been for naught, though, because 99% of mouse users don’t care about scrolling horizontally. In fact, if you have to scroll horizontally to view a website — the task most often enhanced by a scroll wheel — the website has been terribly designed. As a result, I suspect that horizontal scrolling apparatus tend to annoy users more than help them. I’m sure someone out there will read this and swear by their horizontal scrolling mouse, but I’m also fairly certain that person is in the minority.

For more on mouse history, check out this nifty article I did for Macworld a few years ago. It includes a handy mouse technology timeline.

Discussion Topic of the Week: Does your mouse provide the means to scroll horizontally as well as vertically? How do you feel about it?

Nose Not Required

From a kinder, gentler time when computer-rendered 3D logos were mandatory.

Discussion Topic of the Week: What’s your favorite entry in the Harvest Moon game series? Has Natsume made too many of them?