technofile by al fasoldt
Columns and commentaries in a life-long dance with technology
Selected essays

Tributes, warnings and a look at life in the '90s
- To our daughter, Emma, on a very important day (1997)
- The Bill Gates giveaway: Why it doesn't matter to you, Gene and me (1999)
- To the thief who robbed me (1991)
- Readers cheer our stand against the hacker-thief (1991)
- Why the thief won't get us down (1991)
- Toast of the town: A parable for PC owners (1999)
- The end of innocence at Apple (1990)
- Extra warranties 1: A waste of money (1991)
- Extra warranties 2: On reflection, an even bigger waste of money (1992)
- Who killed the Atari ST? A drama in three parts (1998)
- When buying locally makes sense, and when it doesn't (1993)
- Does your skateboard pick up Channel 13? (1993)
- In telecommunications, only one part of that word really counts (1991)
- Progress is not our most important product (1990)
- How Sony killed the Betamax (1988)
- Magic headlights and a longing for Preston T. (1991)
- AOL freebies, unkind remarks and a question of ethics (1993)
- Banned in Boston, and everywhere else (1990)
- It's not my voice, and it's not my mail, but guess what they call it? (1990)
- Windows as easy as DOS? What a selling point! (1992)
- When system managers blame the messenger, watch out (1988)
- Green markers, or why conviction is stronger than truth (1986)
- Casting a spell 1: Why cant they spel rite anymor? (1988)
- Casting a spell 2: They can't spell, and they can't edit, either (1994)
- The dumb PC, before plug-and-play was invented (1993)
- Tandy's THOR recordable CD, and reflections on a technological turning point (1988)
- The Patent Office: Absurd, and still going strong (1984)
- The tornado, my neighbor Tom and the miracle on Van Ness Road (1994)
- Dick Tracy's dreams (1988)
- Batteries included: Why modern toys have lost their mysteries (1991)
- In a time of sadness, small victories count the most (1991)
- Can animals talk? Sure. Can they understand? Maybe (1991)
- When the patient and the writer are one and the same (1990)
- Rubber type? Maybe the Pope would understand (1984)
- Little phone makes a big impression (1989)
- Do brand names count? Don't bet on it (1991)
- Master remotes tame your tangle of gadgets (1987)
- Getting the answering machine to behave (1988)
- How the Mac (and Windows, and everyone else) got a GUI (1992)
- Happy decade to all us non-mathematicians (1990)
- The day I got sick and found another me at the museum (1990)
- Video's big secret: It plays a trick on our brains (1991)
- Children and computer interfaces: A little one shall lead the way (1992)
- Fighting the good fight against the techno-cafeteria (1987)
- Father of the bride, without a camcorder in sight (1990)
- When your radio goes crazy (1989)
- Call it great 1: The greatest invention? It's not a close call (1990)
- Call it great 2: Alex Bell should take a bow (1994)
- Looking back at 50: Can somebody please program my VCR? (1993)
- The day Frank's radio came back to life (1993)
- When technology needs a zapper of its own (1994)
- All the math you can do on two fingers (1994)
- Citroen: The car that time forgot (1985)
- ST computing: Secrets of Geneva (1994)
- ST computing: Secrets of NeoDesk 4 (1995)
- The Thought Police and the question of children's rights (1991)
Return to top
technofile:
[Articles]
[Home page] [Comments: afasoldt@dreamscape.com]