Blast From the Past Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

How iPod docks have reshaped movies

by Sang Tang (Apr 2nd, 2010)

TV shows and movies often reflect the prevailing pop cultural themes of their day and age. One fixture from the eighties and early nineties was the boombox. Like big hair, Members Only jackets, and women wearing shoulder pad-laden tops, boomboxes ...

Welcome to Macintosh to air on CNBC on January 4th, 2010

by Steven Sande (Dec 29th, 2009)

If you missed Macworld Expo 2009 in San Francisco last January, then you probably missed the premiere showing of Welcome to Macintosh, an indie documentary that provides an intimate look at Apple's history. It's been shown at different times and ...

Apple hires former Newton guru as new VP of Product Marketing

by Steven Sande (Sep 29th, 2009)

The New York Times Bits Blog is reporting that Michael Tchao, a member of the team that brought the Apple Newton MessagePad to market, is going back to work for Apple after a 15-year absence. In Tchao's new job as Vice President of Product Marketing, ...

Hell freezes over; Now X Client for Mac now shipping

by Steven Sande (Aug 28th, 2009)

In a surprise move after years of breathless anticipation by users of Now Up-To-Date and Contact, Now Software released Now X Client for Mac on Thursday, August 27, 2009. In case you're wondering, yes, this was the calendar and contact app formerly ...

A history of Macintosh gaming

by David Winograd (Jun 22nd, 2009)

Feeling nostalgic? Applemctom has posted a great video detailing the evolution of Mac gaming from Dark Tower, released in 1986, right up to the resurgence and explosion of gaming on the iPhone. Take a look and see if your favorites are covered. My ...

From a parallel universe: The Apple Cafe

by Steven Sande (Jun 3rd, 2009)

If things had turned out just a bit differently in the late 1990's, we might not be visiting Apple Stores. Instead, we'd be talking about the food we ate and the movies we watched at the Apple Cafe. TUAW reader and Guifx Director of Operations Morgan ...

TUAW Retro Giveaway Part 2: Manuals, BASIC books and a printer

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Apr 1st, 2009)

In the spirit of today's April Fool's/Apple birthday blasts from the past, we've got a giveaway prize pack that will remind us all of days gone by. [Yes, this is an actual giveaway, not a joke. -Ed.] Wrapping up our look at 33 years of Apple, we're ...

TUAW Bookshelf: Apple II Reference Manual

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Apr 1st, 2009)

TUAW BOOKSHELF Apple was kind enough to include a veritable encyclopedia of information with my Apple ][. Inside the big, red manual, you'll find complete step-by-step instructions for setting up the machine, adjusting a tape recorder for optimal ...

TUAW 1996

by Cory Bohon (Apr 1st, 2009)

Welcome to the TUAW newsletter for April 1st 1996. We're really glad that our subscriber base is growing, and that you are continuing to read our daily coverage of all things Apple, including Mac and Newton. We've got a lot in store for this issue, ...

TUAW 1976

by Steven Sande (Apr 1st, 2009)

TUAW Newsletter - April 1, 1976 In this Bicentennial year, technology is making big advances! You can read about it here in Technology Update Aptos Weekly, the official computer newsletter of the Aptos, CA Amateur Computer Club, delivered to your ...

On this day in 1985...

by Steven Sande (Mar 3rd, 2009)

Sure, the Mac made a big splash back in January of 1984, but that didn't make it a popular desktop computer for the enterprise. Most companies looked at the Mac the same way they do now; as an overpriced toy that wasn't compatible with the IBM PCs of ...

Flickr Find: Unusual Apple designs from the early 90s

by Steven Sande (Jan 28th, 2009)

TUAW reader Mike turned us on to a Flickr photo set and a related post on Aussie Mac site MacTalk. MacTalk forum regular Donnie Darko was visiting a used book store in the Sydney suburb of Newtown when he came upon a rare find -- a 1991 copy of a ...

Date/time bugs throughout the years for Apple

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Dec 31st, 2008)

As 30GB Zune owners deal with the sudden bricking of their systems after midnight this morning, hopefully they can take comfort in the fact they are not alone in this. Throughout the years, Apple products had their share of time & date problems. ...

Blast From the Past: Apple patents, ads, and catalogs

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Dec 15th, 2008)

A trio of nostalgic finds covers everything from a visual history of Apple patents to the ads and catalogs that marketed these products to consumers. Andrew McConnell received an old mail-order computer catalog from 1980, with the first 12 pages ...

Found Footage: A working NeXT Cube

by Steven Sande (Dec 1st, 2008)

Al Diblasi over at Alfred.TV keeps coming up with fun videos with old Apple or related devices as the centerpiece. In this latest 53-minute masterpiece on YouTube (below), Al boots up a 1991 68040-based NeXT Cube, and then shows off some of the ...

Blast from the Past: Lunatic Fringe

by Robert Palmer (Oct 3rd, 2008)

If you're a long-time Mac user, the words "After Dark" conjure memories of flying toasters, Star Trek, city lights, and -- my favorite -- Lunatic Fringe. Lunatic Fringe was a Maelstrom-like game built-in to After Dark, a screen saver utility for Mac ...