"flashy newcomers such as Excel from Microsoft"
December 23, 2014 9:32 AM Subscribe
Raymond Chen posts an HTML recreation of The Softsel Hot List for the week of December 22, 1986.
Software distributor Softsel began compiling the weekly Hot List in 1981. It became a de-facto pop chart for PC software and hardware. The list was not without critics:
Software distributor Softsel began compiling the weekly Hot List in 1981. It became a de-facto pop chart for PC software and hardware. The list was not without critics:
Some called the list deceptive and even unfair, because it only tracked sales through Softsel and not through other channels; as a result, popular software that wasn't distributed by Merisel did not appear on the list. David Wagman, however, responded that the company had never represented the Hot List as anything but a record of Softsel's own sales. In retrospect, the controversy was a reflection of the scarcity of data about industry sales at that time: since few other tracking services were available, the computer industry used the only source available.After a series of mergers and acquisitions (Microamerica, 1989; ComputerLand, 1994), Softsel (by now renamed to Merisel) fell on hard times, exiting hardware distribution in 2000 and software distribution in 2004. The company has since pivoted and continues as "a leading supplier of visual communications and brand imaging solutions," leaving the Hot List behind as a curious artifact of 1980s computing history.
In 1986, most people were probably playing games on a Commodore 64 or NES.
posted by smackfu at 9:55 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by smackfu at 9:55 AM on December 23, 2014
was WordPerfect better than Word?
It was, although Word has had a long time to keep "improving" itself to worse and worse versions.
A lot of the time when Word is doing something other than what I want, I still have no idea how to figure out why.
The reason is: because Word hates you.
posted by Wolfdog at 9:56 AM on December 23, 2014 [12 favorites]
It was, although Word has had a long time to keep "improving" itself to worse and worse versions.
A lot of the time when Word is doing something other than what I want, I still have no idea how to figure out why.
The reason is: because Word hates you.
posted by Wolfdog at 9:56 AM on December 23, 2014 [12 favorites]
Oh, God. I remember all of this.
posted by charred husk at 9:56 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by charred husk at 9:56 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
I wonder if Softsel would have been better served by spinning off the distribution and focusing on market research.
posted by rhizome at 9:59 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by rhizome at 9:59 AM on December 23, 2014
I saw the entry for "Where is Carmen Sandiego," and had my mind blown because I'd only heard of the "Where in _____ is Carmen Sandiego" titles. I even typed out a comment about having my mind blown. Then checked Wikipedia: "Where is Carmen Sandiego" never existed; the Hot List editors just shortened the title of "Where in the World..." to make it fit.
But for that brief, glorious moment, I thought I was about to learn something new about a part of my childhood. Alas.
posted by Banknote of the year at 9:59 AM on December 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
But for that brief, glorious moment, I thought I was about to learn something new about a part of my childhood. Alas.
posted by Banknote of the year at 9:59 AM on December 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
Bop'N Wrestle. I'm pretty sure you can now get a port of this game on a $1.49 kitchen timer.
posted by Naberius at 10:02 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by Naberius at 10:02 AM on December 23, 2014
I once paid almost $3,000 for a computer with 1/16 the storage of a $14.99 thumb drive. My friend Tim paid $300 for 8 megs of ram. I spent $400 on a video card, which was identified as a "professional" video card that had 4 megs of ram.
"A lot of the time when Word is doing something other than what I want, I still have no idea how to figure out why." Toggle the ¶.
posted by vapidave at 10:02 AM on December 23, 2014 [5 favorites]
"A lot of the time when Word is doing something other than what I want, I still have no idea how to figure out why." Toggle the ¶.
posted by vapidave at 10:02 AM on December 23, 2014 [5 favorites]
In 1986, most people were probably playing games on a Commodore 64 or NES.
PC games were big.
posted by stbalbach at 10:13 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
PC games were big.
posted by stbalbach at 10:13 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
> Why don't people like simulating stuff anymore?
Racing, flying, sailing, space program, etc. simulators are still big. It's just that other game genres are bigger.
posted by ardgedee at 10:17 AM on December 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
Racing, flying, sailing, space program, etc. simulators are still big. It's just that other game genres are bigger.
posted by ardgedee at 10:17 AM on December 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
Xywrite 4 EVA!!!!
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 10:22 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 10:22 AM on December 23, 2014
Huh, there were 4 flight simulators and one submarine simulator ("Silent Service") in the top 10 games. Why don't people like simulating stuff anymore?
The simulation games offered the most immersive experiences through their focus on protocol and practical knowledge ("watch your flaps! don't stall!"). Graphics and memory were universally crappy by modern standards, so real world operator simulations hit that sweet spot where the terrain was familiar enough that your imagination could fill in the gaps in a satisfying way. I'll never actually pilot a plane for example, but I have a good idea of what it's like.
Now we're at the point where the most alien experiences can be made very realistic and immersive, so real-world simulations are attractive mostly to people with a specific interest. Railfans, aviation enthusiasts, etc.
posted by Mayor Curley at 10:26 AM on December 23, 2014 [6 favorites]
The simulation games offered the most immersive experiences through their focus on protocol and practical knowledge ("watch your flaps! don't stall!"). Graphics and memory were universally crappy by modern standards, so real world operator simulations hit that sweet spot where the terrain was familiar enough that your imagination could fill in the gaps in a satisfying way. I'll never actually pilot a plane for example, but I have a good idea of what it's like.
Now we're at the point where the most alien experiences can be made very realistic and immersive, so real-world simulations are attractive mostly to people with a specific interest. Railfans, aviation enthusiasts, etc.
posted by Mayor Curley at 10:26 AM on December 23, 2014 [6 favorites]
I once paid almost $3,000 for a computer with 1/16 the storage of a $14.99 thumb drive.
Oh yeah. My first computer was an Apple II+ with a Z80 co-processor card, so I could boot up the CPM operating system alongside Apple DOS. CPM was necessary to run WordStar, which was literally called "the Cadillac of word processors" at the time. A so-called "80 column card" which did more or less what it says on the tin - allowed to you display 80 columns of text onscreen instead of the usual 40. Two 5.25 inch floppy drives, a single-color (green) monitor, and an interface card that allowed it to print to a very heavy and expensive Adler electric typewriter. It was, for the time, God's own writing machine.
Cost me over $5,000 which the powers that be were very foolish to entrust to someone so young and stupid as I was. (Although it was the 80s. I'm guessing there must have some other idiots launching themselves into college with too much money who managed to waste it in more damaging ways than that. Cocaine was a big deal back then.)
posted by Naberius at 10:28 AM on December 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
Oh yeah. My first computer was an Apple II+ with a Z80 co-processor card, so I could boot up the CPM operating system alongside Apple DOS. CPM was necessary to run WordStar, which was literally called "the Cadillac of word processors" at the time. A so-called "80 column card" which did more or less what it says on the tin - allowed to you display 80 columns of text onscreen instead of the usual 40. Two 5.25 inch floppy drives, a single-color (green) monitor, and an interface card that allowed it to print to a very heavy and expensive Adler electric typewriter. It was, for the time, God's own writing machine.
Cost me over $5,000 which the powers that be were very foolish to entrust to someone so young and stupid as I was. (Although it was the 80s. I'm guessing there must have some other idiots launching themselves into college with too much money who managed to waste it in more damaging ways than that. Cocaine was a big deal back then.)
posted by Naberius at 10:28 AM on December 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
That hardware list brings back a lot of memories. In 1989 I began working as a field service computer tech, fixing "IBM compatible" computers and the like. I had never seen a Torx driver before but I learned all about them on Compaq Portables. Bernoulli Boxes had about 30 screws you had to remove before you could get the drive out. Good times.
I don't remember Citizen American printers. By the time I started Okidata and Epson were all the rage, along with the original HP laserjets.
EGA cards were neat, but if a computer with a VGA card came in we would all gather 'round to check it out.
Maybe 50% of the computers that came into the shop had a /porn directory filled with really grainy images. Occasionally these images would involve farm animals.
posted by bondcliff at 10:33 AM on December 23, 2014
I don't remember Citizen American printers. By the time I started Okidata and Epson were all the rage, along with the original HP laserjets.
EGA cards were neat, but if a computer with a VGA card came in we would all gather 'round to check it out.
Maybe 50% of the computers that came into the shop had a /porn directory filled with really grainy images. Occasionally these images would involve farm animals.
posted by bondcliff at 10:33 AM on December 23, 2014
Jet! Holy crap i just got a nostalgia blast.
Silent Service!?! *faints*
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 10:38 AM on December 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
Silent Service!?! *faints*
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 10:38 AM on December 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
The California Raisins game ought to be on there.
posted by Nevin at 10:47 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Nevin at 10:47 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Why don't people like simulating stuff anymore?
I take it you don't know any Germans. Who is buying all these niche games, anyway?
"When it comes to the question of not who, but where these people are, Sebor says that Germany, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe are the sweet spots for simulation games."
posted by leotrotsky at 10:58 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
I take it you don't know any Germans. Who is buying all these niche games, anyway?
"When it comes to the question of not who, but where these people are, Sebor says that Germany, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe are the sweet spots for simulation games."
posted by leotrotsky at 10:58 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Did anyone else notice that there is a hardware item there that is still a bestseller under the same name?
Yup, Microsoft Mouse. In my mind, Microsoft has always been top-notch in the hardware peripherals space.
Using a microsoft keyboard and mouse to type this comment and click on the post button.
posted by el io at 11:02 AM on December 23, 2014
Yup, Microsoft Mouse. In my mind, Microsoft has always been top-notch in the hardware peripherals space.
Using a microsoft keyboard and mouse to type this comment and click on the post button.
posted by el io at 11:02 AM on December 23, 2014
was WordPerfect better than Word?
WP's data was a kind of markup language, similar to HTML in some ways. With a bit experience, you could get things to look and behave exactly as you wanted them to. There were very few surprises with WP. After learning WP first, it felt entirely natural to move to a more complex mark-up language like Tex/LaTeX when doing my dissertation.
Word felt and feels foreign. Knowing what formatting would be applied when and where still isn't obvious in Word. Despite using Word for close to two decades now, twice as long as I used WP and TeX combined, I still feel less at home and less in control of what I produce with Word.
WP never jumped to Windows properly. Its interface was worse than Word's and WP4Win was plagued by bugs for the first few years. But, for all that, I still miss how easy it was to lay out a table or an equation in WP.
posted by bonehead at 11:03 AM on December 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
WP's data was a kind of markup language, similar to HTML in some ways. With a bit experience, you could get things to look and behave exactly as you wanted them to. There were very few surprises with WP. After learning WP first, it felt entirely natural to move to a more complex mark-up language like Tex/LaTeX when doing my dissertation.
Word felt and feels foreign. Knowing what formatting would be applied when and where still isn't obvious in Word. Despite using Word for close to two decades now, twice as long as I used WP and TeX combined, I still feel less at home and less in control of what I produce with Word.
WP never jumped to Windows properly. Its interface was worse than Word's and WP4Win was plagued by bugs for the first few years. But, for all that, I still miss how easy it was to lay out a table or an equation in WP.
posted by bonehead at 11:03 AM on December 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
F-15 Strike Eagle! I played the heck out of that on my C-64.
posted by octothorpe at 11:10 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by octothorpe at 11:10 AM on December 23, 2014
WordStar, on the other hand...
posted by rhizome at 11:24 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 11:24 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Word felt and feels foreign. Knowing what formatting would be applied when and where still isn't obvious in Word. Despite using Word for close to two decades now, twice as long as I used WP and TeX combined, I still feel less at home and less in control of what I produce with Word.
I mainly use LaTeX for what documents I produce... which is it's own chamber of horrors, but a friend of mine just finished writing her dissertation using Word (which is the standard for her science discipline... shut up neckbeard, LaTeX is only great if you think debugging computer programs is fun) and, aside from being totally foreign and a pain, was full of totally show stopping bugs, like things... files, deleted in a puff of smoke, figures vanishing reappearing, changing format. it felt like beta software. writingyour dissertation a big complicated document using MSWord is like playing russian roulette.
which is all just to say that monopoly economics is a helluva drug.
also, I typed my first paper on WP running on an Atari ST.
posted by ennui.bz at 11:30 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
I mainly use LaTeX for what documents I produce... which is it's own chamber of horrors, but a friend of mine just finished writing her dissertation using Word (which is the standard for her science discipline... shut up neckbeard, LaTeX is only great if you think debugging computer programs is fun) and, aside from being totally foreign and a pain, was full of totally show stopping bugs, like things... files, deleted in a puff of smoke, figures vanishing reappearing, changing format. it felt like beta software. writing
which is all just to say that monopoly economics is a helluva drug.
also, I typed my first paper on WP running on an Atari ST.
posted by ennui.bz at 11:30 AM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Aw yiss, Bank Street Writer.
(And no disk notchers made the accessories list? I call shenanigans.)
posted by entropicamericana at 11:42 AM on December 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
(And no disk notchers made the accessories list? I call shenanigans.)
posted by entropicamericana at 11:42 AM on December 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
I write two or three papers in Word a year. It's only manageable because I'm just producing a pre-press ms which is going to be typeset anyway and I do figures in a non MS product which allows precise layout. We had to do a Word document for publication this past year and it was an utter horror show of stray formatting bugs and ugly mismatches between text tables and figures.
In contrast, with TeX, I used to be able to generate an ms for proofreader or something very like the journal publication just by switching a stylesheet. TeX had/has all kinds of user hostility, but you couldn't argue with the results.
posted by bonehead at 11:45 AM on December 23, 2014
In contrast, with TeX, I used to be able to generate an ms for proofreader or something very like the journal publication just by switching a stylesheet. TeX had/has all kinds of user hostility, but you couldn't argue with the results.
posted by bonehead at 11:45 AM on December 23, 2014
Bop'N Wrestle. I'm pretty sure you can now get a port of this game on a $1.49 kitchen timer.
Man, I hate it when the fake starbursts on lights don't all point the same direction. That's not how real lenses work!! -10 points for bad graphics.
posted by aubilenon at 11:47 AM on December 23, 2014
Man, I hate it when the fake starbursts on lights don't all point the same direction. That's not how real lenses work!! -10 points for bad graphics.
posted by aubilenon at 11:47 AM on December 23, 2014
I was in software and hardware sales in 1986, this list is pressing all my nostalgia buttons. (Javelin! Lotus HAL!). I remember that Lotus 1-2-3 required 192 kB of Ram, and we were selling that to our customers for £1/kB, to fit into their Tecmar expansion boards. £1000 a megabyte. Hasn't it all moved so fast?
posted by punilux at 12:18 PM on December 23, 2014
posted by punilux at 12:18 PM on December 23, 2014
PFS: First Choice was my first introduction to desktop publishing. Filling boxes, filling boxes....
posted by smidgen at 12:37 PM on December 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by smidgen at 12:37 PM on December 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
Huh, there were 4 flight simulators and one submarine simulator ("Silent Service") in the top 10 games. Why don't people like simulating stuff anymore?
Actually, I bet there are more of these sort of games sold for the pc now than in 1986, because you have to remember that the pc, sorry, IBM compatible PC, was a serious business computer bought by serious businesses. It would be deep in the nineties that the PC became the leading games computer, overtaking the C64, Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST and such.
So what sold best in this "serious" computing environment were serious games, hence the flightsims; it's no coincidence that the one game Microsoft in this period was *the* Flightsim.
posted by MartinWisse at 12:46 PM on December 23, 2014
Actually, I bet there are more of these sort of games sold for the pc now than in 1986, because you have to remember that the pc, sorry, IBM compatible PC, was a serious business computer bought by serious businesses. It would be deep in the nineties that the PC became the leading games computer, overtaking the C64, Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST and such.
So what sold best in this "serious" computing environment were serious games, hence the flightsims; it's no coincidence that the one game Microsoft in this period was *the* Flightsim.
posted by MartinWisse at 12:46 PM on December 23, 2014
Yeah, in 1986, I wanted anything other than an IBM in our house because of games.
posted by rhizome at 12:48 PM on December 23, 2014
posted by rhizome at 12:48 PM on December 23, 2014
I think Wing Commander was the turning point for gaming on a PC.
Before WC, if playing computer games was your thing you would have an Amiga or an Atari ST computer. After WC, you needed a PC to be playing the latest and greatest.
posted by Sauce Trough at 1:04 PM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Before WC, if playing computer games was your thing you would have an Amiga or an Atari ST computer. After WC, you needed a PC to be playing the latest and greatest.
posted by Sauce Trough at 1:04 PM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
SoundBlaster and VGA graphics were the turning point for gaming on a PC. Wing Commander certainly took advantage of it, but it was one among many.
WordPerfect was fantastic but as mentioned it never managed the jump to Windows. I used the last version of WordPerfect for DOS (I think it was 6; it was WYSIWYG, too) up until, oh, 1994 or so. Then you just had to give up and go to Word. DOS was just for games for a few short years (DOS4GW!), and by the late 90s even that wasn't true.
posted by linux at 1:40 PM on December 23, 2014
WordPerfect was fantastic but as mentioned it never managed the jump to Windows. I used the last version of WordPerfect for DOS (I think it was 6; it was WYSIWYG, too) up until, oh, 1994 or so. Then you just had to give up and go to Word. DOS was just for games for a few short years (DOS4GW!), and by the late 90s even that wasn't true.
posted by linux at 1:40 PM on December 23, 2014
Well, the simulation game industry is still alive, but perhaps not well.
posted by automatic cabinet at 2:07 PM on December 23, 2014
posted by automatic cabinet at 2:07 PM on December 23, 2014
Sound Blaster II. VGA, or really MCGA graphics. And the Advanced Gravis Gamepad and you could go far on a 286, but the 386 and extended memory really blew things up. I could play Wolf3D and Wing Commander ONE on my 286 but that's where it peaked. Wing Commander II used extended memory and had speech. "They're attackin' us sir!" My 286 was so slow that Wing Commander omitted cockpit animations like your imaginary hand controlling the throttle in order to improve performance.
Bonus points if you had a Gravis Ultrasound card and gaming really exploded into the 486 era with Doom. I had a hand me down Sound Master II sound card that did everything the Sound Blaster did, but most games only utilized its horrible Adlib FM synthesis.
posted by aydeejones at 2:43 PM on December 23, 2014
Bonus points if you had a Gravis Ultrasound card and gaming really exploded into the 486 era with Doom. I had a hand me down Sound Master II sound card that did everything the Sound Blaster did, but most games only utilized its horrible Adlib FM synthesis.
posted by aydeejones at 2:43 PM on December 23, 2014
Racing, flying, sailing, space program, etc. simulators are still big. It's just that other game genres are bigger.
posted by ardgedee at 10:17 AM on December 23 [3 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
Simulators *are* big. It's the processors that got small. (Norma Desmond 4eva!)
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 2:46 PM on December 23, 2014
posted by ardgedee at 10:17 AM on December 23 [3 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
Simulators *are* big. It's the processors that got small. (Norma Desmond 4eva!)
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 2:46 PM on December 23, 2014
Math Blaster, Print Shop, and the first Carmen Sandiego made up at least 60% of my early computing experiences on our old AT&T. Trying and failing to properly reproduce BASIC code from the back of a kids' science magazine (3-2-1 Contact, maybe?) was the other.
posted by smirkette at 2:50 PM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by smirkette at 2:50 PM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
WordStar in C/PM. That MS/DOS thing won't ever get any traction.
Hang on, I gotta go put the paper into my tractor feed, and change the Daisy Wheel to 12pt font.
/.)(.\ ;>
posted by mule98J at 6:29 PM on December 23, 2014
Hang on, I gotta go put the paper into my tractor feed, and change the Daisy Wheel to 12pt font.
/.)(.\ ;>
posted by mule98J at 6:29 PM on December 23, 2014
"Where is Carmen Sandiego" should be under "Education"! *indignant*
posted by subdee at 6:33 PM on December 23, 2014
posted by subdee at 6:33 PM on December 23, 2014
LOL I worked at ComputerLand back in the early 80s and we worked with two wholesale catalogs, the Computerland Corporate catalog, and then Softsel for all the small stuff that CL Corp couldn't negotiate volume discounts. I bet I have a Softsel wholesale catalog stored away somewhere.
And I recognize all of that stuff. I sold it. I owned lots of it. And some of those goddamn products like the SixPak/Rampage/Advantage/Quadboards etc. still vex me. Would you like that configured as extended memory, or expanded memory, or shall I just kill myself now rather than try to explain the difference? I have a box full of 20Mb Bernoulli carts, I even have a drive but I'm afraid to fire it up, it was a portable demo unit with a lead acid battery and that can't be in working condition after 30 years. And that Hercules graphics card, a high rez monochrome graphics card, designed to work on all those text-only IBM PC green screens. I hated em. But there is one product I loved, the FileCard 20MB hard disk card. It was a hard drive attached to a PC card. I discovered them early when they were just released, I used to sell the original Compaq Portables with the 20Mb hard disk installed, AFAIK that was the first portable self-contained IBM PC hard drive system you could buy.
posted by charlie don't surf at 7:20 PM on December 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
And I recognize all of that stuff. I sold it. I owned lots of it. And some of those goddamn products like the SixPak/Rampage/Advantage/Quadboards etc. still vex me. Would you like that configured as extended memory, or expanded memory, or shall I just kill myself now rather than try to explain the difference? I have a box full of 20Mb Bernoulli carts, I even have a drive but I'm afraid to fire it up, it was a portable demo unit with a lead acid battery and that can't be in working condition after 30 years. And that Hercules graphics card, a high rez monochrome graphics card, designed to work on all those text-only IBM PC green screens. I hated em. But there is one product I loved, the FileCard 20MB hard disk card. It was a hard drive attached to a PC card. I discovered them early when they were just released, I used to sell the original Compaq Portables with the 20Mb hard disk installed, AFAIK that was the first portable self-contained IBM PC hard drive system you could buy.
posted by charlie don't surf at 7:20 PM on December 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
Anyone else remember MFM and RLL hard disks? I can still remember my amazement when I heard that these newfangled IDE hard drives had self-parking heads. No further need to remember to park the heads before shutting down.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 9:51 PM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 9:51 PM on December 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
Oh man don't even get me started about MFM & RLL hard drives. I used to be a service tech for Corvus hard drives. It was an especially miserable job because they only had about 5 regional repair guys in the US, and I had a reputation for fixing stuff nobody else could fix, so Corvus referred all their worst repair problems to me. The technology was primitive and so was the driver software. You want to see the old service manual? Here it is. That is a couple of years after my service days, it's better presented and organized. But it's the same crap I had to do constantly: tune the MFM waveform with an oscilloscope.
posted by charlie don't surf at 1:23 AM on December 24, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by charlie don't surf at 1:23 AM on December 24, 2014 [3 favorites]
I've wondered why there are fewer flight games as well. My personal theory is that the fancier and fancier joysticks and more and more realism drove them out of the market. I mean, I started with a joystick with 1 button on it, laying Tie Fighter and X-Wing. Then we got one with 2 buttons on the top, a trigger, and two buttons on the base. I don't think you can FIND a joystick with that few buttons these days. So they looked more and more intimidating and people stopped buying them.
And I don't just mean realistic flight sims: There were lots of arcade games that were really popular back then, but now it is all FPS, 3rd person beatemups, and car games. Realistic car games as well, with licensed cars. Where did my X-Wing, Tie Fighter, Podracer, F-Zero all go?
posted by Canageek at 10:05 AM on December 24, 2014
And I don't just mean realistic flight sims: There were lots of arcade games that were really popular back then, but now it is all FPS, 3rd person beatemups, and car games. Realistic car games as well, with licensed cars. Where did my X-Wing, Tie Fighter, Podracer, F-Zero all go?
posted by Canageek at 10:05 AM on December 24, 2014
Where did my X-Wing, Tie Fighter, Podracer, F-Zero all go?
Check this out
Alas, lotta vaporware on that list, although Elite:Dangerous just released in a semi-finished state. Most excited about No Man's Sky.
Also, gog.com just rereleased X-Wing and TIE Fighter and I'm happy to say that they hold up just swell, although I wish they supported three-axis joysticks.
posted by Sauce Trough at 1:41 PM on December 24, 2014
Check this out
Alas, lotta vaporware on that list, although Elite:Dangerous just released in a semi-finished state. Most excited about No Man's Sky.
Also, gog.com just rereleased X-Wing and TIE Fighter and I'm happy to say that they hold up just swell, although I wish they supported three-axis joysticks.
posted by Sauce Trough at 1:41 PM on December 24, 2014
I still have the 40 MB MFM drive in the attic from the 286 that the family got when I was 13 (and which I completely took over). I haven't been able to get rid of the drive, because there are files on it that I'd like to retrieve, although I have no idea how I'd ever actually do that.
posted by Emanuel at 2:22 PM on December 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Emanuel at 2:22 PM on December 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
Ha, amazingly I still remember the model number of the drive without having to go find it in the attic, and ST-251 is it! Lots of great ideas in there, thanks jcreigh.
posted by Emanuel at 7:23 AM on December 26, 2014
posted by Emanuel at 7:23 AM on December 26, 2014
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I miss that. A lot of the time when Word is doing something other than what I want, I still have no idea how to figure out why.
posted by Naberius at 9:54 AM on December 23, 2014 [5 favorites]