PC World (December 1999)

PC World (December 1999)

A computer magazine with around 400 pages at a cover price of under $6. This is what it was like in 1999. 400 pages is getting close to Computer Shopper territory. A lot of it was ads of course but there was a lot of content too. The December 1999 issue of PC World includes:

Cover Story

• Ultimate Buyers Guide: Home PCs - The best power PC this month is the Dell Dimension XPS T600 featuring a Pentium III-600, 128MB of RAM, 512K L2 cache, 20.4GB hard drive, and 19-inch monitor (CRT of course) for $2549. The best midrange PC is the similar Dell Dimension XPS T500 featuring a Pentium III-500, 128MB RAM, 512KB L2 Cache, 13.6GB hard drive and 17-inch monitor for $1659. The best budget system was the Micron Millennia C466 featuring a Celeron-466, 64MB RAM, 128KB L2 cache, 4.3GB hard drive and 15-inch monitor.


• Ultimate Buyers Guide: Color Printers - The best color ink jet printer was the HP DeskJet 812C for $149. Printers from Canon, Lexmark, and Epson were also in the Top 10.

Features

• The Digital Century - 100 of the best, worst and weirdest events in computing history. Some highlights include the introduction of the IBM PC in 1981, the creation of the Apple I in 1976, the Pentium math bug in 1994, VisiCalc (the first killer app) was released in 1979, people line up for the midnight release on August 23 1995 of Windows 95, and tons more.


• Postmasters - 75 e-mail related tips. Tips include switching from HTML to plain text and other formatting tips, saving e-mail without the attachments, encrypting e-mail, using webmail, and much more.

_{Table of Contents from the December 1999 issue of PC World}

Top of the News

• 700 MHz...and Beyond - Intel introduces the Pentium III-733 (Coppermine) and AMD introduces the Athlon-700 for the fastest processors available so far.


• PIII Notebooks: Speed and Power - A look at new PIII based notebooks including the Dell Inspiron 7500 (Pentium III-500), Gateway Solo 9300 (Pentium III-450), and HP OmniBook (Pentium III-500) as well as some benchmarks and how the compare vs. slightly older Pentium II models.


• BCENTRAL.COM for Web Business - A web site from Microsoft meant to get your small business a presence on the web.


• Office Apps Move Online - Online office tools are not really a new idea but just didn't seem to get widespread use until Google Docs came along (being free helped). Here, plans from Sun Microsystems (StarOffice), Microsoft, and Corel (WordPerfect Suite) are talked about.

New Products

• Compaq Deskpro EP 500, Dell OptiPlex GX110 Desktop PCs - Two new systems that use Intel's new 810e chipset. They each feature a Pentium III-500 and 128MB of RAM and cost a little over $1400. I have a GX110 at home waiting for a hard drive and memory upgrade.


• Paint Shop Pro 6 - Paint Shop Pro was my favorite image viewing/editing app for a long time.


• Compaq Presario 305 ultralight notebook; Corex CardScan 500 scanner - The Presario 305 is an ultraportable weighing a little over 3 pounds featuring a Celeron-333 CPU and 64MB RAM for $2199. The CardScan 500 is a business card scanner (along with software for the purpose) for $299.


• Epson Stylus Scan 2500, Xerox WorkCentre XK35c multifunctions; SmartOnline.com - The Stylus Scan 2500 and WorkCentre XK35c are presented here as the first multifunction devices with a flatbed scanner at a reasonable price ($440 amd $349).


• Gateway Astro desktop; Matrox Marvel G400-TV graphics card - The iMac popularized the all-in-one PC design and the Astro is Gateway's version featuring a 400-MHz Celeron CPU and 64MB RAM for $799. The Marvel G400-TV is a graphics card from Matrox that combines 2D/3D output along with video capture capabilities.

_{Table of Contents from the December 1999 issue of PC World (continued)}

Top 100

• Power PCs - Three Pentium III-600 systems make the top 10 along with one Athlon-600, one Athlon-650, one Pentium III-500 and a few Pentium III-550s.


• Midrange PCs - Mostly Pentium III-450 to 600s and a a couple of Celerons. My favorite PC maker, Gateway, is on this list at #4 with the Gateway GP6-466c. It's a Celeron based system though and I never would have bought one of those.


• Budget PCs - Mostly Celerons on this list though there is a Pentium III-450 and a K6-III-400 based system as well.


• Notebook PCs - The top power notebook this month is the Gateway Solo 9300LS featuring a Pentium II-400, 128MB of RAM, 15-inch screen and 12GB hard drive for $3374. The top midrange notebook is the Micron TransPort Trek 2 featuring a Celeron-400, 64MB of RAM, 14.1-inch screen and 4.3GB hard drive for $2299. The top budget notebook is the Toshiba Satellite 2595CDS featuring the Celeron-400, 64MB of RAm, 14.1-inch screen and 4.3GB hard drive for $1499.

Here's How

• Windows Tips - Tips for viewing thumbnails, setting a default replacement for "My Documents", accessing the Program Files folder in Windows 98 from Windows 95 or NT 4, and more.


• Windows NT - Tips for using the command line in Windows NT 4.


• Answer Line - Questions answered about bypassing the logon password in Windows 98, closing multiple programs at the same time, and sharing a printer among others.


• Internet Tips - Solving crashing and freezing problems on AOL 4.0, printing web pages, using Hotmail as your default e-mail in Internet Explorer, and more.


• Word Processing - Using macros in Word, correcting errors in custom spelling dictionaries, removing line numbers from blank lines, and more.

_{Table of Contents from the December 1999 issue of PC World (continued)}

Departments

• Up Front - Web sales are expected to be up 6twg_sh0% compared to the previous holiday season but customer satisfaction was not especially high. Web sites that can't handle the load, late shipping, and poor customer service in general were big problems the previous year.


• Letters - AOL vs. Microsoft in the online world. Microsoft Messenger challenges AOL Instant Messenger (both now dead), and more. Plus questions about BeOS, OS/2 and Linux and more.


• Consumer Watch - A look at Intel's processor serial number, cable companies, Yahoo and Geocities, and more.


• On Your Side - Problems with Microworkz, so-called "free" PCs, and more.

_{Back cover of the December 1999 issue of PC World}

Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2023/09/28/pc-world-december-1999/

Maximum PC (February 2007)

Maximum PC (February 2007)

Maximum PC was by far my favorite PC magazine. Sadly, they recently ceased publication. I think it was the last monthly PC magazine being published in the U.S. The February 2007 issue includes:

Features

• Lean Machine - Maximum PC builds their version of the best budget PC possible for $1500. It features a BFG GeForce 8800 GTS video card, EVGA nForce 680i SLI motherboard, Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 CPU, 1GB Corsair TwinX DDR2/800 RAM, Antec Nine Hundred case, Antec TruePower Trio 650 power supply, Windows XP, 250GB Maxtor DiamondMax9 hard drive, and Lite-On SHM-165H6S optical drive.


• Vista - A look at Microsoft's latest OS and why you don't need it.


• Quad FX - A look at AMD's new enthusiast dual CPU Quad FX platform featuring two 3GHz AMD Athlon 64 FX-74 CPUs.

_{Table of Contents from the February 2007 issue of Maximum PC}

Departments

• Quick Start - The Justice Department investigates Nvidia and AMD for GPU price fixing; AMD announces its 65mm processors and sets timeline for 45mm processors; HDMI version 1.3; and more.


• Head2Head - A comparison of the latest consoles (PS3, Wii and Xbox 360) and a modern gaming PC featuring a GeForce 8800.


• WatchDog - Maximum PC's consumer advocate weighs in on AVG, HP's expiring ink, and Dell notebook drivers.


• How To - A guide to using Google Search, Google Books, and more Google tools.


• Ask the Doctor - Questions answered about a potential power supply problem with an Athlon XP 2600 based machine, safely removing USB devices, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro refresh problems, and more.

_{Table of Contents from the February 2007 issue of Maximum PC (continued)}

Reviews

• Gaming Rig: ABS Ultimate X8 III - Featuring an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 overclocked to 3.47GHz, EVGA Nvidia nForce 680i SLI motherboard, 2GB Corsair DR2/800, two 140GB Western Digital (10,000 RPM SATA) in a RAID-0 config, two GeForce 8800 GTXs, and more for a little over $4,600.


• Videocard: EVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTS - Nvidia's "cheaper" DirectX 10 card featuring 96 shaders and 640MB of GDDR3 for $440.


• MP3 Player: Samsung YP-K5 - An expensive MP3 player ($210) with only 2GB of memory.


• Media Player: Microsoft Zune - Zunes weren't cheap but I generally liked them better than iPods.


• Headphones: Ultrasone iCans - A decent pair of over the ear headphones for $129.


• Earbuds: Etymotic ety8 Bluetooth - Expensive, large and ugly but they get a good review here.


• HDTV Tuners - A look at two portable HDTV tuners including the Pinnacle PCV HD Pro Stick and Onair USB HDTV-GT.

Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2023/09/23/maximum-pc-february-2007/

Online Encyclopedia Declares Inflation a ‘Right-Wing Talking Point’ in Response to Hit Song

A new folk song with edgy lyrics is causing quite a stir in America, and it’s not “Try That in a Small Town.” 

Oliver Anthony's blue-collar anthem "Rich Men North of Richmond" exploded across the internet, racking up 66 million views on YouTube since debuting last month. 

Anthony’s mournful ballad has an almost Depression-era feel. Sporting a bushy red beard and a twangy guitar, the Virginia native channels the struggles of working-class Americans while strumming away in the woods in front of what appears to be a hunting blind. 

I've been sellin' my soul, workin' all day / Overtime hours for bulls*it pay / So I can sit out here and waste my life away / Drag back home and drown my troubles away. 

It's a damn shame what the world's gotten to / For people like me and people like you / Wish I could just wake up and it not be true / But it is, oh, it is. 

Livin' in the new world / With an old soul / These rich men north of Richmond / Lord knows they all just wanna have total control / Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do / And they don't think you know, but I know that you do / 'Cause your dollar ain't sh*t and it's taxed to no end / 'Cause of rich men north of Richmond

The song has resonated broadly with listeners, but it has also become a sort of political bellwether with lyrics that take aim at taxes, inflation, and welfare. 

The Los Angeles Times notes Anthony’s song has been criticized by leftists, who’ve dubbed the tune an "alt-right anthem" that's "offensive" and "fatphobic." The Guardian, meanwhile, accused Anthony of “punching down” and mocking the poor. 

Right wing pundits have seen things differently, including Matt Walsh who called the song “raw and authentic.”

“One interesting thing about ‘Rich Men North Of Richmond’ is that he (rightly) attacks the welfare state,” tweeted Walsh. “Many conservatives think that it isn’t populist to criticize entitlements but in reality blue collar Americans are sick of having their money stolen to prop up a system that functions as nothing more than a vote buying scheme for Democrats.”

It’s not exactly a surprise that Anthony's hit song would be received differently by the left and the right, which increasingly operate in different cultural ecosystems with totally different values.

But some are getting a bit carried away in the effort to turn Anthony's blue-collar tune into a right-wing screed.

Wikipedia’s page on ‘Rich Men North Of Richmond’ initially claimed that “the song’s lyrics revolve around common right-wing themes such as inflation (the dollar ain’t sh*t)... .”

Did you catch that? Inflation apparently is now “a right-wing talking point” instead of an economic phenomenon broadly defined today as a general and sustained increase in consumer prices and a decline in the value of money.

Wikipedia’s claim, which is now slightly reworded (following my tweet), is bizarre. There is nothing partisan about inflation, after all. It affects everyone. Rich and poor. Republican, Democrat, and Independent. People of every sex, race, and creed.  

For decades, the term "silent killer" has been used by scholars, economists, and financial asset managers to describe inflation because of the gradual and often unnoticed erosion in purchasing power it causes. 

Inflation has destroyed civilizations (Rome) and ushered in totalitarian regimes (Mao in China), which is why it has been decried by an array of intellectuals who were hardly “right-wingers.” 

The writer Ernest Hemingway, who moved to Spain during the Spanish Civil War to oppose Franco and wrote for Pravda because he hated fascism so much, called inflation “the first panacea for a mismanaged nation.” (The second, he added, was war.)

John Maynard Keynes, the staunch anti-conservative English economist who became arguably the most influential macroeconomic thinker in history, warned in 1919 that Vladmir Lenin “is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the capitalist system was to debauch the currency.” 

“By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens,” wrote Keynes. “The sight of this arbitrary rearrangement of riches strikes not only at security but [also] at confidence in the equity of the existing distribution of wealth.” (emphasis added)

More recently Lawrence Summers, the former President of Harvard and an economist that served in both the Clinton and Obama administrations, warned that inflation is undermining confidence in the American political system. 

“It’s clear that inflation is significantly contributing to distrust in the institutions and to pessimism about the future,” Summers recently told The Harvard Gazette. 

Clearly, one needn’t be a right-winger to be concerned about inflation. Anyone who goes to McDonald’s and is stunned to see a $50 receipt after ordering a few burgers, fries, and drinks has a right to be concerned over the erosion of their money.

None of this is to say that there are no political undertones to Anthony's song. There clearly are, and this fits snuggly in the long tradition of country music. 

Anyone who has ever listened to Hank Williams Jr. or David Allan Coe or any number of artists can tell you weaving poverty and politics into songs is hardly out of the ordinary in the country music genre. Consider these lyrics from a popular song from Alabama tune, “Song of the South”:

Cotton on the roadside, cotton in the ditch 

We all picked the cotton but we never got rich

Daddy was a veteran, a southern democrat  

They oughta get a rich man to vote like that

…

Well somebody told us Wall Street fell 

But we were so poor that we couldn't tell 

Cotton was short and the weeds were tall 

But Mr. Roosevelt's a gonna save us all

Alabama’s song is more overtly political than Oliver Anthony's—it mentions a political party and president—but you’ll find no mention of it being left-wing on Wikipedia’s page of the song. 

The primary difference, of course, is that Alabama’s song praised government anti-poverty programs, whereas Anthony's song attacks them. 

Sadly, it’s quite possible that we’ve reached a point where any kind of criticism of the federal system is considered “right wing” by many. (After all, even everyday activities such as working out to getting up early have been described as such.) 

But adding inflation to this list of partisan topics is not just unwise, but dangerous. There is, I suppose, one silver lining. 

Wikipedia’s labeling of inflation as a right-wing talking point is tacit admission that the real cause of inflation is not corporate greed or Taylor Swift. Inflation is a policy of the powers in Washington, D.C. who are printing trillions of dollars.

If pointing out basic economic realities makes one “right wing,” I’m not sure what that says about the left. 

A version of this article first appeared in The Epoch Times. 

Jon Miltimore

Jonathan Miltimore is the Editor at Large of FEE.org at the Foundation for Economic Education.

This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.

Online Encyclopedia Declares Inflation a ‘Right-Wing Talking Point’ in Response to Hit Song

Vintage Photos - Oestreicher (1241-1244)

See the previous post in this series here.

I had the opportunity to pick up a huge batch of slides a while back. These pictures span from as early as the late 1940s to as late as the early 1990s. These came to me second hand but the original source was a combination of estate sales and Goodwill. There are many thousands of these slides. I will be scanning some from time to time and posting them here for posterity.

Getting your pictures processed as slides used to be pretty common but it was a phenomenon I missed out on. However, my Grandfather had a few dozen slides from the late 1950s that I acquired after he died. That along with having some negatives I wanted to scan is what prompted me to buy a flatbed scanner that could handle slides and negatives, an Epson V600. It can scan up to four slides at a time with various post-processing options and does a decent enough job.

This set continues a large batch of slides that originally came from an estate sale and appear to have belonged to a locally well known photographer (or perhaps a friend or family member) from the Spokane Washington area and later Northern Idaho named Leo Oestreicher. He was known for his portrait and landscape photography and especially for post cards. His career started in the 1930s and he died in 1990. These slides contain a lot of landscape and portrait photos but also a lot of photos from day to day life and various vacations around the world. Here's an article on him from 1997 which is the only info I have found on him: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/jan/04/photos-of-a-lifetime-museum-acquisition-of-leo/

Many of these slides had the date they were processed stamped or printed on them. I've found that in cases where I could verify the date, that this date has typically been the same month the photos were taken. In other words, I expect that in MOST cases these photos were taken relatively near the processing date.

Click the link below to also see versions processed with color restoration and Digital ICE which is a hardware based dust and scratch remover, a feature of the Epson V600 scanner I am using. There are also versions processed with the simpler dust removal option along with color restoration.

These all appear to have been taken in the 1950s. The first is labeled with the names of the people in the photo (Helen Romm, Marie, Althe Dial) but no dates. However, the calendar in the background appears to be from December 1956. While the year was hard to read even in a higher resolution version, December 1st being a Saturday also matches up with 1956. The second photo is dated December 19th, 1956 and appears to have been taken at a Christmas party. The third photo features 'Good Shepherd Lutheran Church' and is dated January 7th, 1956. The final photo is unlabeled and undated but was clearly taken after a massive snow/ice storm. It's also likely from the 1950s.

Helen Romm, Marie, Althe Dial

12/19/56, Jennie Schultz - Dave Peneosky

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1-7-56

The entire collection that has been scanned and uploaded so far can also be found here.

PC World (January 2003)

PC World (January 2003)

I think that PC World was probably the most popular PC magazine during most of its life. In 2003, things were moving fast in the PC world. Broadband use was growing rapidly as was processing power and practically uses for the PC (e.g. digital cameras, still and video). The contents of the January 2003 issue includes:

Cover Story

• What's Hot for 2003 - A look at what is expected in 2003. Digital cameras will become smaller while including more megapixels, faster wifi, a new 64-bit CPU from AMD (Clawhammer), improved LCD monitors, movies for PDAs and cell phones, home media servers, improved 3D graphics cards, Doom 3, and more.

Features

• Image Makers - A look at 16 new photo-capable printers. PC World ranks the best photo printer as the Epson Stylus Photo 2200 while the best general purpose ink jet printer is the Canon 1320 Color Bubble Jet Printer.


• Faster for Free - How to tune up Windows XP to make your PC faster. Plus a look at various monitoring and diagnostic software.

_{Table of Contents from the January 2003 issue of PC World}

Top 100

• Mobile P4 Speeds Up - Intel releases a new 2.2 GHz Mobile Pentium 4 CPU.


• Top 15 Desktop PCs - The Dell Dimension 8250 featuring a 2.8GHz Pentium 4, 128MB ATI Radeon 9700 Pro, and 512MB of PC1066 RDRAM takes the top Power System spot with the Gateway 700X featuring a 2.53GHz Pentium 4, 1 GB of PC800 RDRAM and 128MB GeForce Ti 4600 coming in second. The top value PC is the Micro Express MicroFlex 2100A with a 1.6-GHz Athlon XP 1900+, 64MB GeForce MX 460 and 256MB DDR333 SDRAM.


• Top 15 Notebook PCs - The top Power Notebook this month is the IBM ThinkPad T30 featuring a 1.8-GHz Pentium 4-M with 256MB of RAM. The top Value Notebook is the Dell Inspiron 4150 featuring a 1.8-GHz Pentium 4-M with 256MB of RAM.


• Top 10 Monitors - CRTs were still king with the top 19-inch monitor being the Samsun SyncMaster 957mb.

_{Table of Contents from the January 2003 issue of PC World (continued)}

Departments

• Up Front - Choosing the right moment to throw out old (but proven) tech for the latest and greatest.


• Letters - Letters from readers about copy-protection hardware, free ebooks, secure internet transactions, and more.


• Plugged In - PC prices plummet; software makers move to smaller boxes; T-Mobile's Sidekick released; and more.

News & Trends

• Two CPUs in One? - Intel's latest Pentium 4 CPU reaches 3 GHz and offers a second virtual CPU via hyperthreading. Compared here are several hyperthreaded P4 machines along with benchmarks.


• Mixed Verdict on Photo Sensor - A look at Sigma's SD9 SLR digital camera, the first to use the Foveon X3 image sensor.


• Microsoft's Next Office - A look at the upcoming version of Microsoft Office (Office 11).

New Products

• Digital Cameras - New digital cameras are smaller and pack more power. A look at several models including the Canon PowerShot S230 Digital Elph, FujiFilm FinePix F402, and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-U20.


• PDAs - The smartphone would eventually take over from the PDA but not in 2003. A look at several modesl including the Dell Axim X5 (I had this one!), Palm Zire, Royal Linea 16, and ViewSonic Pocket PC V35.


• Notebook - A look at the VPR Matrix 200A5 featuring a 2-GHz Pentium 4-M, 512MB DDR SDRAM, and NVidia GeForce4 420 Go for $2400.

_{Back cover of the January 2003 issue of PC World}

Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2023/09/13/pc-world-january-2003/

Byte (March 1979)

Byte (March 1979)

Byte was one of the earliest computer magazines and longest running. Publication began in the 1970s and continued through the early 1990s. The content tended to be technical, especially in the older issues. The March 1979 issue includes:

Foreground

• The Standard Data Encryption Algorithm, Part 1 - An introduction to the Standard Data Encryption Algorithm and an implementation for the KIM which uses a 6502 processor


• Designing with Double Sided Printed Circuit Boards - A tutorial for designing your own circuit boards.


• Designing a Robot From Nature, Part 2 - Part 2 concentrates on the design of the eye of the robot. Really it's a contrast detector. The robot consists of a manipulator arm, an 8008 computer, and sustained contrast detector.

_{Table of Contents from the March 1979 issue of Byte}

Background

• Building the Heath H8 Computer - The Heath H8 was a computer that came in kit form. It was based on the 8080A CPU. This is a guide to putting it together.


• A Map of the TMS-9000 - A look at machine language on this 16-bit processor.


• Files on Parade, Part 2 - The second and final part in a series on using files.


• A Microprocessor for the Revolution: The 6809, Part 3 - The concluding part of a series on the 6809 processor. This art discusses clock speed, timing signals, condition codes, and software design philosophy. This processor would be used in the TRS-80 Color Computer.


• Cryptography in the Field, Part 1 - Part one of a series on the practical use of cryptography.


• Preview of the Z-8000 - A technical look of this new 16-bit processor from Zilog.

Nucleaus

• Don't Overlook Lisp - An editorial on the benefits of the LISP programming language.


• Letters - Letters from readers about computers in the kitchen, computer humor, chess and Pascal, and more.


• Desk Top Wonder: Race Car for the SR-52 - A racing game for the SR-52 programmable calculator.


• Book Review - Review of "Your Own Computer" by Mitchell Waite and Michael Pardee.


• BYTE News - More companies supporting Pascal on their machines; Intel, Texas Instruments and IBM release new memory chips; bubble memory increasing in availability; 5-inch floppy disks to increase in capacity to 1 to 2 MB; flat screen displays being developed; APL microcomputer coming soon; and more.

_{Back cover of the March 1979 issue of Byte}

Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2023/09/10/computer-video-game-magazines-byte-march-1979-cover/

Bitcoin Is a Great Counterpoint to Calls for Government Innovation Subsidies

Bitcoin Is a Great Counterpoint to Calls for Government Innovation Subsidies

Title: How Bitcoin Highlights the Problem with Innovation Subsidies

Subtitle: The story of bitcoin shows us that true innovation follows its own path.

Abstract: If bitcoin is a specific case that exposes the general flaw in innovation economics, what other opportunities are being suppressed or missed because capital is being misallocated by innovation subsidies?

Dave Birnbaum

Have you heard of “innovation economics?” This relatively new school of thought represents a shift away from traditional economic theories, and emphasizes entrepreneurship, technological innovation, and, you might have already guessed, government intervention as key drivers of economic growth.

Since one of the members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors subscribes to the concept of innovation economics, understanding this school of thought may help us interpret or even anticipate policymaker’s decisions that will affect us all.

Rooted in the ideas of thinkers like Joseph Schumpeter, this framework seeks to recognize the importance of innovation to an economy, not just the management of resources, and provides a theoretical framework for how to encourage and accelerate the creation of new technologies, products, and services.

Unlike classical economics, which focuses on equilibrium, innovation economics sees economies as dynamic and continuously evolving. While it’s true that the economy is a dynamic system, its proponents take this a step further, arguing that targeted government support can stimulate technological advancement, productivity growth, and economic progress.

This approach has shaped policies in the United States over the past 20 years. Proponents point to the America COMPETES Act, STEM education initiatives, and technological research and development grants as notable outcomes.

However, when you strip back the jargon, it becomes clear that innovation economics is just a new veneer on an age-old concept: government picking winners and losers. It is centralized industrial policy making updated with the trappings of the 21st century, and nets out to yet another form of state capitalism. The clear evidence for this can be found in an unlikely place: bitcoin.

A decentralized digital currency that is radically improving the world economy, bitcoin’s story is remarkable. In 15 short years, a moonshot to create a universal honest ledger has been adopted by hundreds of millions of people, and even nation-states. It is sound money that can be sent anywhere in the world, and promises change that both sides of the political aisle could get behind, from healthy market competition in the financial sector, to protection from exploitation for the populations of poor countries.

Ironically, bitcoin would be an ideal candidate for an innovation subsidy, given the tremendous positive impact it could have once key technical problems are solved. Its potential to revolutionize the financial system, enhance privacy, and democratize finance makes it a game-changer. And, although there is a robust commercial and industrial ecosystem evolving naturally around bitcoin, there is no question that the ecosystem would develop faster if it were subsidized.

However, the benefits offered by bitcoin come at a cost to the power of state apparata, which depend on seigniorage (profiting from money-printing) as a key lever of power. Whatever you think of bitcoin and its long-term prospects, there’s no question that if it were to succeed, it would obviate the need for government-controlled fiat currencies and the central banks that issue them, and reduce the power of the state over the economy.

Hence, even though bitcoin subsidies would seem to be consistent with the stated objective of innovation economics of helping people, bitcoin would never receive government support precisely because it works against the government's interest in maintaining control over fiat currency. This exposes a congenital defect of innovation economics—it must be biased towards preserving the power and control of those who decide what to subsidize.

This leads to a broader question that the reader must ponder. If bitcoin is a specific case that exposes the general flaw in innovation economics, what other opportunities are being suppressed or missed because capital is being misallocated by innovation subsidies?

The story of bitcoin, an innovation that emerged and thrived without government support, serves as a sobering reminder that true innovation often follows its own path.

Furthermore, it is not possible for the government to pick winners and losers in the innovation race without prejudice or self-interest. While innovation economics has alluring promises and can point to specific successes, it fails to escape the biases and conflicts that inevitably arise from government intervention.

Despite its modern facade and claimed successes, the theory of innovation economics falls short of delivering an unbiased, effective path to technological innovation. The specific case of bitcoin, coupled with the general potential for missed opportunities due to biased capital allocation, calls into question the very foundations of this approach. Policymakers and economists would do well to carefully consider these flaws.

Dave Birnbaum

Dave Birnbaum is the product director at Coinbits, where he leads a team that is making Bitcoin user-friendly for the next generation of Bitcoiners.

This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.

Bitcoin Is a Great Counterpoint to Calls for Government Innovation Subsidies/a>

PC World (December 1992)

PC World (December 1992)

PC World was probably the most popular PC magazine in the late 1980s and early 1990s and maybe longer than that (it was certainly around longer). This issue from December 1992 was from about 7 months or so before I bought my first PC (not counting my Commodore 64). It includes:

Cover Story

• The Readers' Choice: World Class 1992 - Readers pick the best hardware and software of 1992. Some of the winners in the hardware category include the ATI Graphics Ultra video card, the Seagate ST3144A hard drive, the Bernoulli Transportable 90 Pro external drive from Iomega, the Jumbo 250 tape drive from Colorado Memory Systems, the ScanMan 256 handheld scanner from Logitech, and the Microsoft Mouse. Gateway 2000 was voted as the vendor with the best service and support, followed by Dell, Zeos, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard. Winners in the software category include WordPerfect, Excel, Windows 3.x, Norton Utilities, Paradox, ProComm Plus (I loved this terminal software), PageMaker, CorelDraw (another favorite of mine), Quicken, and more.

Windows

• Windows NT: A DOS for the '90s - A detailed look at the upcoming new operating system from Microsoft, Windows NT.

Systems

• 486SX-25s vs. 386DX-40s: The Upstart Fights Back - While Intel had moved on to the 486, AMD was still pushing the 386 to faster speeds with the 386DX-40 (I had a roommate in college with one). More than 50% of new sales were 486 systems by this point but the 386 was still thought to be a good budget choice at the time. In reality, it would be woefully out of date within a year or two. In this overview, it shows that the budget 486 processor (486SX-25) is faster than the 386DX-40 though doesn't have as good of a price/performance ratio. However, the 486 systems were also more easily upgradeable. The best performer in their lineup was the Boss 486SX/25 Cache. The best value was the Compudyne 486SX/25 with the Blackship BLK 386/40 taking second.


• The Complete Guide to the New CPUs - A look at the latest 386 and 486 processors. Also, benchmark comparisons of 24 processors. From fastest to slowest: 486DX2-66, OverDrive-33/66, 486DX-50, OverDrive-25/50, 486DX-33, OverDrive-20/40, 486DX-25, Cyrix 486DLC-33, AMD 386DXL-40 (with math coprocessor), IBM 486SLC2-20/40, Cyrix 486DLC-33 (with math coprocessor), 486SX-25, 386DX-33 (with math coprocessor), AMD 386-40, 386DX-33, 486SX-20, Cyrix 486SLC-25, 386DX-25 (with math coprocessor), 386SL-25, 386DX-25, AMd 386SXL-25, 386SX-20, 386SX-20.

_{Table of Contents from the December 1992 issue of PC World}

Top of the News

• You Can Take It With You - A look at a bunch of recently released laptops, including the Compaq LTE 4/25c and Lite/25E (with 25-Mhz 486SL CPU); TravelMate 4000 WinDX2/50, WinDX2/40 Color, and WinSX/25; Grid Convertible (386SL-25 based); and Z-Lite 320L (386SL based).


• Vendors Speed Up PC Introductions - Vendors are introducing new PCs at an increasingly rapid pace. PC tech started rapidly advancing starting in the late 486/early Pentium era. Within two years or so there were cheaper PCs available that were at least 400% faster than the 486-DX2/66 I got in 1993.


• Microsoft's Accessible Database - Microsoft releases the easy to use Access database software.


• Windows for Workgroups - The latest version of Windows, Windows for Workgroups 3.1 made networking easier.

Printers

• Next Generation Lasers - Reviews of the latest laser printers, including the Compaq Pagemarq 15, Compaq Pagemarq 20 (best buy), Helett-Packard LaserJet 4 (best buy), Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 4M, IBM LaserPrinter 10P/Lexmark, Kyocera Ecosys a-SI, NewGen Systems TurboPS/660, Okidata OL810, and Xanite Accel-a-Writer 8000.

Video

• Best Monitors for $1000 - Reviews of the latest "big-screen" monitors (we are talking 15 to 17-inch CRT based monitors) for prices ranging from $700 to nearly $1500. Models reviewed include the Amdek AM/815, Amdek AM/817, Compaq QVision 150, Dell 15LR, HP Ultra VGA 17-Inch Display, IOcomm ThinkSync 5, IOcomm ThinkSync 7A, Mag MX15F, Mag MX17F (best buy), NEC MultiSync 4FG (best buy), Rellsys RE1558, Samsung SyncMaster 5c, Sony CPD-1604S, Taxan MultiVision 550, TVM MediaScan 5A+LR (best buy), TVM MediaScan 6A Digital (best buy), and ViewSonic 7.


• Fast Video for Less - A huge round-up of 95 graphic accelerator boards. These were designed to speed up displays in Windows more so than games.

Backup

• Tape Backups You Set and Forget - A look at the latest "high-capacity" tape drives (typically with 120MB capacity and up to 250MB compressed capacity). Tape drives were a pretty common accessory from about this time through the early Pentium era. After that, they sort of faded away in favor of other options (Zip drives, etc.).

New Products

• Toshiba Satellite Notebooks - Toshiba launches three "low cost" 386SX Notebooks. The T1800 featuring a 20-MHz 386SX, 2MB of RAM and a 60MB hard drive for $1800, the T1850 with 25-MHz 386SX, 4MB of RAM and an 80MB hard drive for $2200, and the T1850C which is the same as the T1850 except with a color screen for $3300.



• HP DeskJet 550C, DeskJet Portable Printers - The new DeskJet 550C inkjet printer for $1099 and the new HP DeskJet Portable for $599.


• Tecmar QICVault tape drives - SCSI based tape drives with 720MB capacity for prices ranging from $1139 to $1889.


• SyDOS Marlin, Puma hard drives - A look at the new SyDOS 3.5" drive with removable media.


• PerForm Pro Plus - Software for creating forms.


• Superbase 2 - A relational database for Windows. I believe there was actually a Commodore 64 version of the original Superbase.


• Fontographer 3.5 for Windows - Create and modify fonts.


• Publish It 3.0, Publish It for Windows - Desktop publishing packages for DOS and Windows.


• Golden Retriever 2.0 - A file manager for Windows.


• Dynamics accounting software - A high end accounting package for Windows from Great Plains Software.

_{Table of Contents from the December 1992 issue of PC World (continued)}

Here's How

• Help Line - Questions answered about Stacker disk compression software, turning extended memory into expanded memory, printing screen graphics, OS/2, and more.


• Spreadsheets - Questions answered about displaying negative percentages in parenthesis in 1-2-3, calculating the last day of the previous month in Excel 4.0, hiding columns in Excel 4.0, and more.


• Word Processing - Questions answered about using clip art in WordPerfect 5.1, gridlines in Word for Windows 2.0, creating text with background shading in WordPerfect 5.1, and more.

Departments

• Letters - Letters from readers about fraudulent ads in magazines, Hewlett-Packard's NewWave, CAD software, and more.


• Real Problems, Real Solutions - Overcoming the feat of computers.


• What's Next - A look at navigation software which at the time amounted to map software for your PC, some with subscriptions for updates.

_{Back cover of the December 1992 issue of PC World}

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Personal Computing (September 1982)

Personal Computing (September 1982)

Personal Computing was a long lived computer magazine published in the U.S. from the late 1970s until 1990 or so. Though by the end of its run it was covering mostly the PC, it covered various computer platforms in its earlier days. The September 1982 issue includes:

_{Table of Contents from the September 1982 issue of Personal Computing}

Departments

• Editorial - Computer literacy and getting more out of Personal Computing.


• Letters - Letters from readers about electronic mail, choosing a word processor, buying a printer, the need for two disk drives, and more.


• Answers - Questions answered about compatible home and office computers, microdisks (the then new 3.5" disk format), portable computers, using electric typewriters as an interface.


• Outlook - Purchasing software may qualify you for tax deductions; Club Med features computer workshop with Atari computers; universities use computers to help students with math; and more.


• Interview - An interview with Jack Tramiel, chairman of Commodore Business Machines. He would later leave Commodore and move on to Atari.


• Hardware of the Month - A look at new hardware including several new computers. The first is the portable Hyperion which is priced in the $4500 range, is compatible with the IBM PC, and features an 8088 processor, 256K RAM, and one or two floppy drives. The second is the NEC Model 200 which features various floppy/hard drive combinations starting at $4500. Also included here is a new Winchester hard drive from ATASI, a high resolution color 13" monitor, and more.


• Software of the Month - New software including The Organizer (a personal information manager), Graphics Processing System, Kryptyk (encryption software), Oasis-16 (an operating system for the IBM PC), Easy Planner (spreadsheet), The Terminal Program from Hayes, and more.

_{Table of Contents from the September 1982 issue of Personal Computing (continued)}

Features

• Computing Literacy: Springboard to Success - Computer literacy is becoming important to up and coming executives.


• Servicing Your System: Be Prepared - A proper service agreement can make the difference between a good system and a great system.


• Squaring Off Over Computer Literacy - The best way to bring computer literacy to non-users.


• Extend Your Reach with Telecommunications - Communicating with other computers with a modem. Something made practical only after Ma Bell lost their monopoly on telecommunications hardware used on their phone lines.


• Big Four Accounting Software Roundup - A massive overview of the accounting software currently available in the categories of general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and payroll.

_{Back cover of the September 1982 issue of Personal Computing}

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