Top 5 Retro Computing Things We Miss

Sometimes, it’s the little things that matter most…

1 20 GO TO 10

Whether you were into coding or not, if you had a Commodore 64 back in the day, there was one little bit of BASIC you were sure to learn: 20 GO TO 10. That wasn’t the entire thing, but if you ever used it, you’ll probably know the rest. What really mattered, though, was the result: a chosen word or phrase repeated infinitely down the screen. And, of course, if you had an older brother, that phrase was usually something unflattering about you. Good times.

Remembering… Saboteur II: Avenging Angel

Once again, David Hayward damages his tendons trying out his ninja skills

Since we looked at the original Saboteur the other week for the ZX Spectrum, we thought it was fitting to cover the game’s sequel, Avenging Angel.

Here we have a game that in itself was amazing but also followed on from one of the biggest and most notable Spectrum hits ever. So it had some rather large shoes, or rather Jika-tabi, to fill.

Elements 1K

Michael Fereday checks out a DECT phone designed for outdoor use

Rather than the cosier atmosphere of inside the home, the BT Elements 1K DECT phone has been designed for rugged environments. While you could use this handset in the living room, the outdoors or a workspace would be more appropriate areas to take advantage of a feature set that includes a dust and waterproof rating of IP67, plus an impressive wireless signal range that could reach one kilometre in ideal circumstances.

BACtrack Mobile Breathalyser And Detector Keychain

Take responsibility for how much you drink, with this pair of devices

Other than being stopped by the police and taking a roadside test, we generally have no way of telling how much alcohol is left in our system. However, thanks to a couple of products from BACtrack, we now can.

XFX R7 360 Core Edition

Mark suffers with déjà vu while testing the XFX R7 360

When you see the designation R7 360, you might assume it to be ‘new’. But the GPU in this card originates from the Bonaire Pro core, now renamed Tobago, which first appeared in the HD 7790 in 2013. Then it took another curtain call in the HD 8770, and then again in the R7 260.

Corsair VOID Stereo Headset

Mark stared into a VOID and heard a distant rumble

Along time ago, in a distant galaxy, Corsair did only RAM. But these days it's got numerous fingers in multiple pies, ranging from water cooling to SSDs.

One of its expansion areas is gaming gear, and it's made some really nice keyboards and mice for those with time on their hands.

The VOID is a new range of four gaming headsets, targeted at those who want something comfortable to wear at their PC or console, so they don’t annoy others who live within a half mile radius.

Zotac Zbox CI521 Nano

Zotac installs Intel’s new 14nm technology to its Zbox range

For those who don’t want a big metal box sat next to their desk, there are plenty of options available for smaller computers these days.

One of the biggest ranges come from Zotac, which makes 11 different series of Zbox machines and models that come either as working systems or barebones installations.