About the Neo...

Well, for those who don't know their linguistics too good, "neo" is Greek for new. Basically the reason I am the Neo Retrotech Nerd is that I am not from the Retro-computing era. My first computer (Apple IIe) was older than I was. My current retro computer (Tandy 102) is older than I am too.

OK, here is what I am coming to- This whole retro technology thing is not nostalgia for me. I am devoted to this stuff because of something else entirely. It comes down to three big things:

1- aesthetics. The retro technology and hardware has an appeal to it. It has character, something from another era. Modern technology is all so much the same; case mods aren't new anymore- everyone has a window and blue lights on his computer now. Laptops all look the same, no innovation there. Cell phones? Don't even get me started, abysmal design, they are all so much alike it's scary. No really, I really don't need another piece of closed-source contract-controlled crap that looks like a piece of candy and poisons my conscience. Seriously, what happened to building your hardware unique? There was only one ZX Spectum. There was only one Atari 2600. There was only one Tandy "Model T. "

2- simplicity. Another gripe of mine- why does everything have to do everything? Seriously Apple (yes, APPLE, I used to love you, not any more!!) why does your newest and greatest iThing have to do everything?!? No, I do not need a device which can check email, browse the web, play music, show maps, get fax, phone, and text messages, take pictures, show pictures, play games, comb my hair, and give me a manicure. Of course, Microsoft, copycats that they are, had to go and do the same thing with their ZUNE. But Microsoft has always led the way in making things more complex than they have to be. Who gave them permission to re-invent the wheel every single time they make a new product? Make a device which does one thing- ONE THING, and make it do it's job well. Atari- the 2600 plays games. Tandy- the 102 does documents. Amiga- their whole series consists of multimedia powerhouses. Newton- it's a notepad. CD player- self explanatory. Remember the rule of complexity- the more complex it is the more likely it is to break. Microsoft would do well to learn this before they make another big mistake like Vista.

3. freedom of information. This is the big one. What good is your technology if it's all locked up? Yeah, those new computers look cool alright, and they can do some cool things. But what if I want to change something? Nope, no source code, not even a GUI configuration for most things. I want to make my own program to work with the hardware? No, you'll need to get around our API, or just use another OS, too bad. I want to find out how something ticks? No way Jose, that's our intellectual property! You dare to suggest looking at how it works!? Seriously folks, does Ford seal their car hoods closed so you can't look at the insides? Do they? I want to know what's going on inside, so if anything breaks I might be able to fix it myself. Besides, no sensible car owner gets a car without a basic understanding of what it's doing. You need to know things like changing the oil, changing tires, changing belts, checking for signs of wear, and other things. My computer gets used more than I would ever use a car, and I put alot of very important things on it- I need to know these things. Linux and the other open source OS's are the closest you can get to this nowadays, but back in the day you got all this and then some up front in the manuals. If you wanted they'd even show you such things as memory mappings, the API, reserved system calls, even, *gasp*, the source for the BIOS and the OS!

So yeah, my passion has nothing to do with nostalgia. It's just that I'm picky, and they don't make 'em like they used to.