Do you remember the jump from 8-bit to 16-bit computing in the 1980s, and the jump from 16-bit to 32-bit platforms in the 1990s? Well, here we go again. We double up again, this time leaping from ...

What do the HP-1000 and the DEC VAX 11/730 have in common with the video games Tempest and Battlezone? More than you might think. All of those machines, along with many others from that time period, ...

I'm not talking about a reduction in color from 24 bit to 16 (plus another channel, I know). I'm talking about 16 bit luminance values such that color setting that would take advantage of a monitor ...

In a nutshell: Intel has unveiled the latest revision of its pared-down X86S instruction set architecture. Version 1.2 takes the trimming trend further by axing multiple 16-bit and 32-bit features. It ...

One challenge posed by the steady advancement of computer hardware and software design is how to maintain reasonable continuity with the existing state of technology. Fantastic leaps forward may be ...

As a father of four young daughters, I’m often tasked with attempting to explain complex topics to them. Questions from children are never simple and often involve a bit of head-scratching. Thankfully ...

We’ve often thought that it must be harder than ever to learn about computers. Every year, there’s more to learn, so instead of making the gentle slope from college mainframe, to Commodore 64, to IBM ...