8-Bit Guy: How Atari 8-Bit Computers Work!

The classic Atari 8-bit computers were the ’80s equivalent of a mullet: business up front, party in the back. Designed to handle both serious computing and wild gaming adventures, they came in models like the Atari 400 (the “starter pack”) and the Atari 800 (the “big boss”). These machines looked so sleek for their time that you’d half expect them to transform into a DeLorean if you pressed the right key combination. With their vibrant graphics and bleepy-bloopy soundtracks, they made even the most mundane spreadsheet tasks feel like they were happening in a disco-themed galaxy far, far away.

But let’s talk quirks. The Atari 400 had a keyboard that was basically a glorified sheet of plastic—great for wiping off crumbs, not so great for typing anything longer than your name without cramping up. The Atari 800, on the other hand, boasted actual keys and expansion slots, which made you feel like you were piloting the Starship Enterprise. And then there were the peripherals: cassette drives that took ages to load a game (but hey, what’s an extra 20 minutes for Donkey Kong?), and floppy disks that weren’t as floppy as their name suggested. Yet despite their quirks, Atari 8-bit computers were beloved for their versatility, pioneering features, and their uncanny ability to turn a living room into a techno wonderland. You didn’t just own an Atari—you joined a club of pixel pioneers who knew how to have fun in 8-bit style.

Retro Gaming has Changed… Some Good & Some Bad.

Retro gaming today feels like a vibrant flea market where nostalgia is the currency, and everyone’s bartering for pixelated memories. The cartridges you blew into as a kid are now museum pieces selling for the price of a used car, while CRT TVs—those big, boxy beasts—are treated like ancient artifacts from a lost civilization. It’s as if the gaming gods decreed, “Thou shalt not emulate,” leading purists to hunt for original hardware with the fervor of Indiana Jones searching for the Holy Grail. Meanwhile, Millennials and Gen Xers proudly display their modest retro collections, only to have Gen Z ask, “Wow, is that an NFT?” No, young one, that’s an N64.

But retro gaming is also thriving in the quirkiest of ways. Speedrunners are breaking records on 30-year-old games, while modders give Mario the ability to wield a lightsaber or, inexplicably, turn him into Shrek. Modern re-releases and mini consoles cater to the “conveniently nostalgic,” though good luck finding an NES Classic without signing over your soul (or at least your Netflix subscription). And let’s not forget the arcade renaissance, where grown adults spend their evenings competitively button-mashing to Pac-Man, fueled by overpriced craft beer and a burning desire to relive high school glory days. Retro gaming isn’t just alive—it’s a chaotic, pixel-packed soap opera, and we’re all here for the drama.

Looks like your car might be the ultimate snitch.

Buckle up, folks—this is a story every driver needs to hear. Turns out, automakers might be playing backseat driver with your data, allegedly tracking your every turn and then spilling the tea to insurance companies. The plot twist? Some drivers claim their premiums went up faster than their speedometers, all without proper consent. So much for “what happens in your car, stays in your car”!

“Keeping our customers’ data safe is a top priority” is corporate speak for “OOOPS We got CAUGHT and because we could get SUED by millions and potentially lose customers, we’ll MAYBE do something about it”

Atari 7800+ Review: Is it Better Than the 2600+?

Atari is like the cool grandparent of the gaming world—back in its prime, it threw the wildest Pong parties and made “joystick” a household word. Founded in 1972, this trailblazer brought us classics like Asteroids and Centipede, proving that all you needed for fun were blocky graphics and a good imagination.

Sure, Atari had its awkward phases (cough the E.T. game burial cough), but let’s be honest: who hasn’t made a few questionable life choices? Despite the ups and downs, it’s the brand that planted the pixelated seeds for the gaming empire we know today. Long live the 8-bit legend!

How Kiki Wong Got The Gig With SMASHING PUMPKINS!

Kiki Wong is a versatile guitarist, songwriter, and musician known for her work in the rock and metal genres. Kiki has gained recognition on platforms like YouTube and Instagram, where she shares guitar tutorials, covers, and lifestyle content, often blending humor with her musical expertise. Now she has joined the Smashing Pumpkins as a touring guitarist and she’s kicking ass in the role!

The “top” Smashing Pumpkins songs can vary depending on personal taste, but here are five fan favorites and critically acclaimed tracks that consistently stand out:

  1. 1979 (from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, 1995)
    A dreamy, nostalgic anthem that captures the essence of youth and change with its mellow groove and heartfelt lyrics.
  2. Tonight, Tonight (from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, 1995)
    Grandiose and orchestral, this song combines hope and resilience, paired with one of the most iconic music videos ever.
  3. Bullet with Butterfly Wings (from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, 1995)
    Famous for the lyric “Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage,” this powerful track epitomizes 90s alt-rock angst.
  4. Cherub Rock (from Siamese Dream, 1993)
    A classic grunge-era anthem with soaring guitars and a rebellious, anthemic vibe.
  5. Disarm (from Siamese Dream, 1993)
    A hauntingly beautiful ballad featuring orchestral arrangements and deeply personal lyrics that tug at the heartstrings.

Vectrex – This console was amazing!

When you think of iconic 80s video game consoles, the Vectrex might not be the first to come to mind—but it absolutely should be. This little beauty was the first (and only) vector-based console, proving that you didn’t need pixels to have personality. It was like the Mona Lisa of gaming hardware—artful, mysterious, and still turning heads in 1983. Spoiler alert: it’s just as fun now, and it won’t judge you for your high scores… or lack thereof.

1970 chevelle transmission explodes on the dyno

Dyno operator got really fucking lucky 😂

Ah, the early Chevy Chevelle – the car that looked like it spent weekends pumping iron and guzzling gasoline by the gallon, because who needs fuel efficiency when you’ve got muscle? Imagine a car that gets parked in front of a diner and instantly becomes the coolest thing on the block, leaving every other vehicle’s headlights green with envy.

The first Chevelle, born in 1964, was Chevrolet’s response to the muscle-car craze. It had the subtlety of a brass knuckle in a velvet glove. It came in various flavors: mild, spicy, and “don’t-try-to-drag-race-this-beast.” By the time the SS 396 rolled out in 1965, it had enough horsepower to launch a modest-sized boat… or at least enough to let everyone in a five-mile radius know it was nearby.

This was a car with a “don’t mess with me” front grille and a roar that said, “I may be going straight for now, but corners are for weaklings.” The steering had a mind of its own, and driving one was like arm-wrestling a bear on a caffeine high. But boy, did it look good while it did it. The Chevelle was ruggedly handsome with chrome for days and a stance that said, “I may be mid-sized, but I’ve got big ambitions.”

And yes, the early Chevelle wasn’t built to handle like a European sports car or win any eco-friendly awards, but if you were looking to have a blast at the stoplight and wake up the entire neighborhood on a Sunday morning, the Chevelle was your ticket to horsepower heaven.

Dreamcasts Game Prices: These 25 Dreamcast Games Increased the Most in 9 Months

Since the start of 2024 I tracked every Dreamcast listing from pricecharting.com to see if the prices went up, down or stay the same. I identified 25 games that increased the most, decreased the most and tracked 28 games from my subscribers as well.

The Sega Dreamcast is like that friend who’s a little too ahead of their time—amazing to be around, but destined to fall flat in a world that just wasn’t ready. Released in 1999, it came loaded with wild features: internet connectivity, a visual memory unit (aka a mini Game Boy in your controller), and graphics that made the PlayStation look like it had some catching up to do. It had some of the weirdest and best games, too—like Seaman, where you raise a talking fish with the voice of Leonard Nimoy, and Crazy Taxi, which teaches you that the best way to drive is with complete disregard for traffic laws. The Dreamcast was quirky and full of promise, but it was the kid who wore neon at a black-tie event; everyone stared but didn’t quite get it.

Unfortunately, the Dreamcast had the lifespan of a fruit fly. Sega threw everything into it, but the PlayStation 2 was waiting in the wings, ready to bulldoze anything in its path. The Dreamcast didn’t stand a chance and ended up as the world’s most charming console ghost, haunting gaming memories with wistful “what ifs.” Ask any Dreamcast fan today, and they’ll get misty-eyed talking about the sheer potential of that little white box. It may have gone out with a whimper, but the Dreamcast left an indelible mark on gaming—a brief, shining moment where Sega was just a bit too cool for the mainstream to handle.

New Games for Old Consoles 6

Game Sack – They’re still releasing new titles for these 30+ year-old consoles. Many of them are incredibly professional. Isn’t it fantastic!

 

Game Sack is like that buddy who knows way too much about old video games and isn’t afraid to tell you, with an infectious enthusiasm for consoles that most people forgot about (or never knew existed). Hosted by Joe, with the occasional cameo from his longtime friend Dave, it’s a retro gaming show that dives into obscure game consoles and asks hard-hitting questions like, “Why did anyone buy the Sega 32X?” and “How many obscure Japanese exclusives can we fit into one episode?”

Joe’s humor is dry, sarcastic, and somehow perfectly timed to counterbalance the sheer nerdery of the show’s deep dives. Every episode is packed with crisp editing, skits featuring props from your uncle’s garage, and gameplay footage that’ll make you nostalgic for the days when games came on cartridges the size of bricks. Joe’s critiques of retro hardware and his impressions of Dave (who, rumor has it, may still live on as a disembodied spirit haunting Game Sack) are worth the watch alone. Whether you’re in it for forgotten consoles, bizarre peripherals, or just to hear Joe roast the Virtual Boy yet again, Game Sack has enough retro gaming gold to keep you glued to the screen, wondering, “How does he even know all this?”

Hated Albums In My Music Collection

Brendon Snyder – Not all albums can be the best, that’s for sure. But sometimes the sound and direction is such a misstep that for me I can’t stand even having it in my music collection. However, I’m a completist and at times still want to try these “hated” albums and see if my opinion has changed. So join me as I run through some hated albums from my music collection.

*St. Anger* is Metallica’s version of a mid-life crisis—complete with a new snare drum that sounds like it fell out of a toolbox. This album has all the angst of a band trying to reconnect with their roots, but somehow ended up with a sound that’s, well, divisive, to put it politely. The production feels like they recorded it in an empty warehouse, left the reverb on max, and decided “Hey, what if we make Lars’s snare sound like he’s banging on a trash can?” It’s a bold move, for sure, and one that has since been lovingly referred to as the “ping of doom.”

The lyrics are like a mix of therapy session notes and heavy metal fortune cookies, with lines that range from “I’m madly in anger with you!” to “My lifestyle determines my deathstyle.” James Hetfield is trying to exorcise some serious demons, and you can tell he’s really feeling it—even if he’s not sure what “deathstyle” actually means. And while *St. Anger* lacks guitar solos, Kirk Hammett’s here for moral support, probably wondering where his chance to shred went. Love it or hate it, the album is like a car crash you can’t look away from—noisy, chaotic, and oddly fascinating.

Retro Gaming with a Heavy Metal Soundtrack