Bored? Here are some 50-year-old Computer World issues to browse

The other day, I remembered that Google used to archive newspapers. What happened to that? As it turns out, Google gave up, and as far as I can tell, it would really rather I didn't browse what's left of the newspaper archive, because it asks me if I'm a robot between every page. Sometimes it stops loading images of the issue I'm reading and I have to navigate back in a new window to remind it that I'm not a robot. Google: You are the robot!

After finding several interesting advertisements for meats, I noticed that Computer World—a publication which is still going strong—was one of the papers in the archive, with a handful of issues from the late '60s, when it was established, through 1971. I hadn't thought about the days of tape and terminals in a long time, and the trip back in time is fun, especially for the jousting between IBM, Honeywell ("The other computer company"), and others.

Here's a 20-year warranty on magnetic tape in 1970, because the lawyers 'wouldn't let them say forever.' Maybe they could have, though: Graham Magnetics still exists, and will buy back old computer tape.

I am sorry that "Inforex it" never became a thing, Inforex.

In 1970, it cost $3.50 for five cutting-edge CGI Santas.

Wait, what the hell? Screw you, 1970s Computer World newspaper cartoonist John Mahoney, for making a gag out of my precise phone app usage 48 years in your future:

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.