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Retro Computing

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This Smartwatch Plays Mega Man 2, Tracks Your Steps and Heart Rate

The officially licensed, bright blue wearable comes with a custom version of the classic game.

By James Peckham
The Mega Man 2 smartwatch showing the game and a watch face

The Best Retro Gaming Consoles for 2026

If you want to play classic video games, but don't want to deal with low-resolution graphics and awkward analog video connections, check out these cool modern systems that let you play old titles.

By Will Greenwald
The Best Retro Gaming Consoles

Remember Age of Empires II? In 2026, It's Become an Esports Sensation

The 27-year-old game pulled in over 115,000 viewers for its Red Bull championship final.

By Jon Martindale
Age of Empires II.

They Can't All Be iPhones: 21 Times Apple Got It Very Wrong

Not every product can be a Mac or iPod. As Apple turns 50, let's take a look back at its most memorable failures.

By Jamie Lendino
A graphic showing Apple Maps, the Newton, the Macintosh Portable, and the 'puck' mouse all kind of fading, as if they shouldn't have existed, at least in their original form

Late Night Calls From Steve Jobs and Angry Letters From Mac Fans: Apple Memories From a Former PCMag Editor-in-Chief

On Apple's 50th anniversary, a look back at a magical (and occasionally contentious) time in personal computing history.

By Michael J. Miller
Steve Jobs and Macintosh

From the Pages of PC Magazine: How We Covered Apple's Greatest Hits and Misses

As Apple turns 50, we look back at the boldest (and most questionable) hardware to ever pass through the PC Labs.

By Brian Westover
PCMag's Coverage of Apple'ss Biggest Hits and Flops

The Machine That Changed Everything: How the Apple II Kickstarted the Personal Computer Era

The Altair 8800 lit the fuse, but Apple's 1977 device made home computing irresistible to the masses. Here's a look back as Apple turns 50.

By Jamie Lendino
An Apple II with the colors of the original Apple logo behind it at an angle

Apple at 50: The iPod Mattered More Than the iPhone

The release of the first iPod and the digital music platform built around it were the defining moment when Apple became the wildly successful company we know today.

By Jamie Lendino
An original iPod with its earbuds and a 50th anniversary graphic behind it

Skip the $20 Pokémon ROM: I Found the Best Way to Play Retro Games on a Mac (and It Beats the App Store)

The Pokémon Company wants $20 for a Game Boy Advance game, while Retroid is cancelling its handhelds. What's a retro gamer to do? OpenEmu on the Mac is the perfect alternative.

By Jason Cohen
openemu on a mac

The Best Retro Handhelds for 2026

Feeling nostalgic? Our favorite portable game systems let you play classic games in the palm of your hand.

By Will Greenwald
Valve Steam Deck

That's My Dad's Computer: Maingear Revives the '90s Again With 'Retro98' PC

The fully built desktop contains dummy disk drives, along with that old-school 1990s beige aesthetic that was once common across home PCs.

By Michael Kan
retro 98 pc

This Actual-Size ENIAC Replica Is the Coolest Thing You’ll See Today

It took nearly six months (and 1,600 hot glue gun sticks) for 80 autistic schoolkids to recreate the massive Army computer, which debuted in 1946.

By Emily Forlini
enaiac replica

End of an E-Era: AOL to End Dial-Up Internet Access

The pioneering service has dwindled to a Yahoo sub-brand, but some people still rely on it for their online connection. Come Sept. 30, they'll need a new ISP.

By Rob Pegoraro
A 1998-vintage AOL disk in the Smithsonian Institution's collection

Ready to Try the Switch 2 Mouse Experience? It's Now Available on This 33-Year-Old Super NES Classic

Mario Paint from the Super NES joins the Nintendo Switch Online library, and it’ll even work on the original Switch if you have a compatible mouse.

By James Peckham
The Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con controllers in the mouse-like position

Maingear Amps Up the 90s Nostalgia With New Retro95 Desktop PC

This custom desktop PC even includes the option for a disc drive, just like the good old days.

By Michael Kan
Maingear 95

9 Retro Ports of Classic Sega Titles Now Free on Mobile, If You Act Fast

Sonic, Crazy Taxi, Streets of Rage, and more are now available on iPhone and Android for free. They previously cost around $2 each, plus a little extra to remove ads.

By James Peckham
A screenshot from the Android port of Crazy Taxi

This Little Museum Outside DC Offers a Deep Dive Into Retro Radio and TV Tech

Before you streamed everything, there was this: The National Capital Radio & Television Museum spotlights how airwaves have changed our lifestyles, from a 1921 DIY crystal radio kit made out of a Quaker box to a 1984 Sony Walkman.

By Rob Pegoraro
A wall of 1940s sound on display at the National Capital Radio & Television Museum

A Surface History: Microsoft’s Ever-Evolving Vision for the Future of Computing

With its wide-ranging family of hardware, Microsoft has reimagined how we compute—again and again. As the company turns 50, let's revisit the twists and turns of its transformative Surface line.

By Brian Westover
Microsoft Surface through the years

9 Microsoft Missteps You May Have Forgotten

In 50 years, Microsoft has hit plenty of home runs, but these nine products were not among them. (Hey again, Bob!)

By Eric Griffith
Forgotten Microsoft Initiatives That Failed

I Chatted With Bill Gates About How He Became the Ultimate Computer Nerd

In his new book, Source Code, Gates recalls a unique childhood that led him to build a technology empire. We talk BASIC, old PCs, Microsoft's future, and AI's promise and perils.

By Wendy Sheehan Donnell
Source Code: My Beginnings by Bill Gates