Tag Archives: Mac

Apple iPad/iPhone Charger Plug Recall

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Many of our members have Apple iPhones and iPads (incl iPad Minis) which they use constantly. Without wanting to cause any alarm (because there’s no need for any!), I want to draw your attention to an official recall of the removable plugs from the power adapter. Apparently in a very small number of cases, the international plug adapter component (called a DuckHead) has broken potentially exposing users to electric shock. You can Continue reading →

IBM and Apple–A trip down memory lane

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In 1977 IBM’s first portable computer was presented to the public, it was the ‘5100’ as it was called, and advertised as a portable in spite of its hefty 50lbs weight with the words: “it is so light”.

It used magnetic tapes for storage, had up to 64K of memory, and the screen is actually a CRT [like your old TV], not an LCD.

Sinclair ZXIt reminded me of my first computer, a Sinclair ZX with 48kb of RAM, contained in a keyboard with rubbery keys and using cassette tape for input and storage of programmes and you connected it to your TV which acted as your screen. You did your own programming of little games and created formulae for use in calculation of your mortgage etc. Great fun at the time and the children also learned to play the games.

Now take a look at the IBM 5100, note that even in those days advertisers liked to use mooing cows in the background:

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