Retro Computing

Posted on 21 Feb 2007 at 11:54

To mark the 150th issue of PC Pro, we take a trip down computer memory lane and discover just how far PC technology has evolved... and what's going to happen in the next 20 years.

Way back in November 1994, when the first edition of the magazine you're reading now was published, we were worried about how our PCs would cope with the new-fangled plug-and-play features in the forthcoming Windows 95, marvelling at how Demon was signing up a spectacular 1,200 new internet subscribers every month, and praising our Labs-winning PC maker for having the good sense to include a CD drive.

Jump forward 149 issues, and we're wondering how our PCs might cope with Vista's 3D user interface, gasping at BT's claims that one million of its customers are now making phone calls over the internet, and lavishing praise on laptop makers for bundling HD DVD drives.

The dizzying speed of progress in the PC industry is astonishing, as you'll see over the following pages, where we benchmark a classic 486 system of issue 1 pedigree against a cutting-edge powerhouse, and spend a fortnight working with Windows 95 in a bid to explode the myth that nothing much has changed in PC software since the mid-1990s.

However, our feature isn't only a nostalgia-filled view of life from the days when 56K modems were being touted on Tomorrow's World: there are practical projects for you to take on too. For example, do you know how much that ancient PC that's keeping your Christmas tree company in the loft is actually worth on Ebay? Click to our vintage PC feature and find out. Alternatively, if you fancy reliving the classic games of your formative years on your current PC, go to our retro gaming feature and find out how to start downloading emulators.

Finally, we canvass the opinions of some of the industry's brightest minds to find out what we can expect to see over the next couple of decades. If we're wondering how we ever survived without our quantum computing robots in issue 300, remember you read it here first.

Read all the features in 'Retro Computing'.

Retro Computing: Intro
Retro: Benchmarks through the ages
Retro: Two weeks in Windows 95
Retro: Cash in on your vintage PC
Retro: Play retro games on your PC
Retro: How Windows won the PC wars
Retro: The next 20 years