If you want to remember feeling hopeful for the future, you can read over 200 issues of the legendary Byte magazine for free on the Internet Archive

Thanks to user DamnInteresting on Hacker News, I've found my latest rabbit hole obsession on the Internet Archive: A significant portion of the English back catalogue of Byte Magazine, the granddaddy of personal computing periodicals, stretching all the way back to 1975.

If you're unfamiliar with Byte, the magazine basically grew up alongside personal computing. It was spearheaded by Wayne Green, editor of an amateur radio magazine⁠—there's a fun parallel there to how tabletop roleplaying emerged from the earlier, grognardier wargaming scene at almost the exact same time.

Looking back, I think Byte is invaluable not only as a more prosaic record of personal computing's development, but also as a reminder of a different way of thinking about computers, back when they were magical and exciting, a symbol of almost-inevitable progress.

Article continues below

These days, computers cost too much because we're building useless warehouses full of them that are, altogether, more expensive than the interstate highway system. Also, every computer now has a goblin living in it that will lie to you or tell you that the sound of your farts has a lo-fi late night indie game menu music vibe.

Anyway, I've always found Byte's anachronistic, hopeful outlook on the future of computing epitomized by its iconic cover illustrations by Robert Tinney, which by turns celebrated and skewered the microprocessor future with whimsy, surrealism, and impish charm. Here are a few choice ones from the Internet Archive:

Also, shout out to this "The PC is Dead" cover story from October 1995⁠—not to toot our own horn, but PC Gamer has managed to survive at least two "deaths" of the PC in our 32-year run.

Also, I'm just saying: You drop the GOAT, Tinney, and all of a sudden your mag covers are making bold and completely incorrect predictions about the future of computing. Make of that what you will.

The Internet Archive's indexing of Byte is a little vexing⁠—I would guess due to missing metadata from some of the uploads⁠—and there are definitely gaps in the collection.

Filtering by English results, there are 224 hits in the Byte collection (and that includes duplicates and special issues), while back of the napkin math would have the monthly magazine at 276 issues in its lifespan (not including special issues). Byte's final issue from July 1998 is one notable omission.

If you'd like to check out PC Gamer's own print history, the Internet Archive has a great collection of our cover demo discs, while the Videogame History Foundation has digitized the PC Gamer US catalogue from 1994 to 2013.