Retro Tech Show
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Retro Tech Show
@retrotechshow.bsky.social
Retro Tech Show: A Gen X memoir series celebrating the golden age of consumer tech (70s-2000s). Relive Walkmans, VHS, and the early internet. And everything else!

https://medium.com/@RetroTechShow
[1986] Amazing Amiga: recalling the stunning visual renaissance in computing

I will never forget the first time I ever saw a “jpg” image.

#gaming #amiga #retrogaming #computers #nostalgia #tech #design #digitalarts #pixelartist #1980s

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1986] Amazing Amiga: recalling the stunning visual renaissance in computing
I will never forget the first time I ever saw a “jpg” image.
medium.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Retro Tech Show
At the Met, the melancholic work of the Finnish artist Helen Schjerfbeck has the strange effect of jolting your senses. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/c3UBhn
The Cold Comfort of a Helene Schjerfbeck Painting
At the Met, the Finnish artist’s spare, melancholic work has the strange effect of jolting your senses.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
January 22, 2026 at 9:00 PM
[1986] 40 years later: my boyhood memories of Chernobyl fallout in Sweden

The radioactive cloud came straight in my direction.

#history #nuclear #coldwar #1980s

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1986] 40 years later: my boyhood memories of Chernobyl fallout in Sweden
The radioactive cloud came straight in my direction.
medium.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:02 PM
[1985] Cheap sensation: a nostalgic look back at the legendary Sinclair ZX spectrum

The impossibly plucky British computer that birthed an industry.

#tech #british #computing #zx #nostalgia #history #genx #generationx #1980s

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1985] Cheap sensation: a nostalgic look back at the legendary Sinclair ZX spectrum
The impossibly plucky British computer that birthed an industry.
medium.com
January 18, 2026 at 12:54 PM
[1985] I tried starting my 40-year-old Commodore 64 and loading games from a tape

Here’s what happened when I got it all set up.

#gaming #retrogaming #computers #tech #retro #C64 #nostalgia

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1985] I tried starting my 40-year-old Commodore 64 and loading games from a tape
Here’s what happened when I got it all set up.
medium.com
January 17, 2026 at 7:49 AM
[1985] The 8-bit era: demystifying the sounds and graphics of 1980s computing

Unpacking the 8-bit history and aesthetic — bit by bit.

#8bit #pixelart #tech #design #nostalgia #1980s

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1985] The 8-bit era: demystifying the sounds and graphics of 1980s computing
Unpacking the 8-bit aesthetic — bit by bit.
medium.com
January 13, 2026 at 10:05 AM
[1985] Here’s what Lego should have announced in 2026: a classic kit from 1982

Has Lego lost the plot with smart bricks? They need to bring back the 8700 kits.

#lego #build #tech #retro #nostalgia #1980s

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1985] Here’s what Lego should have announced in 2026: a classic kit from 1982
Has Lego lost the plot with smart bricks? They need to bring back the 8700 kits.
medium.com
January 9, 2026 at 12:52 PM
[1985] All hail the Commodore 64: the greatest computer of all time

I witnessed home computing’s “iPhone moment”.

#computers #gaming #retrogaming #nostalgia #1980s #retro #tech

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1985] All hail the Commodore 64: the greatest computer of all time
I witnessed home computing’s “iPhone moment”.
medium.com
January 6, 2026 at 1:05 PM
[1985] The mystery around Marty McFly’s original Casio watch in Back to the Future

Having a calculator wristwatch in the 1980s was the height of cool.

#tech #retro #watches #casio #nostalgia #backtotyefuture #1980s #genx #generationx

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1985] The mystery around Marty McFly’s original Casio watch in Back to the Future
Having a calculator wristwatch in the 1980s was the height of cool.
medium.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:03 AM
[1985] Rewind the tape: a requiem to the glorious format and culture of the cassette

A journey back to the tape-tastic days of the 1980s.

#music #gaming #tapes #cassettes #nostalgia #noai #1980s #genx

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1985] Rewind the tape: a requiem to the glorious format and culture of the cassette
A journey back to the tape-tastic days of the 1980s.
medium.com
December 30, 2025 at 1:09 PM
[1985] Boomboxes & breakdancing: memories of the birth of hip hop culture

Technology altered the course of popular culture and created a new golden age.

#hiphop #technology #nostalgia #history #popculture #1980s

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1985] Boomboxes & breakdancing: memories of the birth of hip hop culture
Technology altered the course of popular culture and created a new golden age.
medium.com
December 23, 2025 at 11:04 AM
[1985] Words built worlds: the epic text-based adventure games that shaped a genre

How Oregon, Zork, Colossal Cave & Taipan! started it all.

#gaming #adventure #retrogaming #nostalgia #computing #education #reasoning

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1985] Words built worlds: the epic text-based adventure games that shaped a genre
How Oregon, Zork, Colossal Cave & Taipan! started it all.
medium.com
December 19, 2025 at 7:27 AM
[1985] Pre-internet childhood: the joy of pulling electronics apart and tinkering

Sometimes kids just want to break things to see what’s inside.

#electronics #childhood #STEM #education

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1985] Pre-internet childhood: the joy of pulling electronics apart and tinkering
Sometimes kids just want to break things to see what’s inside.
medium.com
December 19, 2025 at 7:24 AM
[1985] Pre-internet childhood: fond memories of building plastic scale models as a boy

#hobby #childhood #noscreens #1980s #nostalgia #retro

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1985] Pre-internet childhood: fond memories of building plastic scale models as a boy
I unboxed a 1/72 scale MiG 29 once again at age 50+.
medium.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:00 AM
[1985] A page in history: how The Print Shop redefined home computing in the 80s

Ordinary people wanted a computer for the first time ever.

#software #computers #technology #retro #tech #history #1980s

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1985] A page in history: how The Print Shop redefined home computing in the 80s
Ordinary people wanted a computer for the first time ever.
medium.com
December 13, 2025 at 2:03 PM
[1985] Pre-internet childhood: the joy of building balsa model aircraft aged 11–12

What did we do as kids before the internet and social media?

#nosocial #australiaban #model #childhood #aircraft

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1985] Pre-internet childhood: the joy of building balsa model aircraft aged 11–12
What did we do as kids before the internet and social media?
medium.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:17 PM
[1984] I decided to try BASIC programming on the VIC 20 for the first time in 40 years

Then I showed it to my 10-year-old daughter.

#programming #retro #retrocomputing #1980s #nostalgia #genx #code

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1984] I decided to try BASIC programming on the VIC 20 for the first time in 40 years
Then I showed it to my 10-year-old daughter.
medium.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:11 PM
[feature article] Speed dreams: remembering the golden age of learning touch typing

What subject do you wish you were taught in school?

#tech #nostalgia #typing #typewriter #1980s #genx #generationx

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1984] Speed dreams: remembering the golden age of learning touch typing
What subject do you wish you were taught in school?
medium.com
December 5, 2025 at 8:47 AM
[1984] Nokia-Mobira: how the Nordics invented the first true mobile/cell phones

#tech #retro #cellphone #nokia

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1984] Nokia-Mobira: how the Nordics invented the first true mobile/cell phones
It turns out the Motorola DynaTAC wasn’t the first mobile phone.
medium.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:41 PM
[1984] Keys to the past: the nostalgic charm of the old school typewriter

My wife told me: “No more buying typewriters.”

#type #writer #technology #retro #author

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1984] Keys to the past: the nostalgic charm of the old school typewriter
My wife told me: “No more buying typewriters.”
medium.com
December 1, 2025 at 11:57 AM
[1984] Love byte: how Generation X embraced the VIC 20 home computer revolution

The Commodore VIC 20 invented the concept of home computing.

#tech #retro #commodore #computer #1980s #nostaligia

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1984] Love byte: how Generation X embraced the VIC 20 home computer revolution
The iconic Commodore VIC 20 brought computers into the home.
medium.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:52 AM
[1984] Rewind for nostalgia: remembering the first arrival of VCRs and VHS tapes

Home entertainment was never the same again after 1984.

#technology #tech #history #tetro #vcr #vhs #nostalgia

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1984] Rewind for nostalgia: remembering the first arrival of VCRs and VHS tapes
Home entertainment was never the same again after 1984.
medium.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:08 PM
[1984] Sky’s the limit: remembering the birth of satellite television in Europe

Television from space was a new and fascinating thing in the early 1980s.

#television #satellite #tv #1980s

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1984] Sky’s the limit: remembering the birth of satellite television in Europe
Television from space was a new and fascinating thing in the early 1980s.
medium.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:05 PM
[1984] Swedish hotline: possibly the world’s first social network

Public and available to all ages free of charge, Heta Linjen became a social sensation when it first appeared.

#technology #socialmedia #history

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1984] Swedish hotline: possibly the world’s first social network
Public and available to all ages free of charge, Heta Linjen became a social sensation when it first appeared.
medium.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:03 PM
[1983] America’s Cup wing and a prayer: the secret tech of the greatest victory in sporting history

The story of how a team of Aussies used a secret weapon to challenge a 130-year old winning streak.

#sailing #americascup #sport #history #formulaone #yacht

medium.com/@RetroTechSh...
[1983] America’s Cup wing and a prayer: the secret tech of the greatest victory in sporting history
The story of how a team of Aussies used a secret weapon to challenge a 130-year old winning streak.
medium.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:55 PM