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How-To

Step-by-step, task-oriented guides — do this, in this order, to get this result.

Tech HistoryHow-To August 15, 2026 3 min read

How to Preserve Old Software and Media Yourself

A complete walkthrough of the practical steps for personally preserving old floppy disks, cartridges, and software before physical media degrades past the point of recovery — imaging, verifying, and archiving properly.

#howto#preservation#archiving
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WSLHow-To August 14, 2026 2 min read

How to Install WSL on Windows

A complete walkthrough getting WSL2 and a Linux distro running from a clean Windows installation — the single-command path, and what to check if it doesn't work cleanly the first time.

#howto#wsl#installation
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Tech HistoryHow-To August 13, 2026 3 min read

How to Get the Most Out of a Visit to a Computer History Museum

A complete walkthrough preparing for and navigating a real or virtual visit to a computing history museum — what to look for, which institutions maintain the strongest collections, and how to use their digital archives remotely.

#howto#museums#preservation
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Tech HistoryHow-To August 12, 2026 3 min read

How to Fact-Check a Tech History Claim Before Sharing It

A complete, practical checklist for verifying a tech history claim you're about to repeat — because a surprising number of widely-believed stories in this space turn out to be embellished, misattributed, or simply wrong.

#howto#fact-checking#methodology
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Tech HistoryHow-To August 11, 2026 3 min read

How to Explore the Internet Archive's Software Library

A complete walkthrough of archive.org's software preservation collections — running historical software directly in your browser, understanding what's preserved and why, and using it as a genuine research resource.

#howto#internet-archive#preservation
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Tech HistoryHow-To August 10, 2026 3 min read

How to Emulate an Original IBM PC Today

A complete walkthrough setting up an emulator that recreates the original 5150's actual hardware — the 8088 processor, period memory limits, and PC DOS — to run genuinely original early-1980s software.

#howto#ibm-pc#emulation
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Tech HistoryHow-To August 9, 2026 3 min read

How to Research a Tech History Topic Using Primary Sources

A complete walkthrough moving from a secondhand claim you've read somewhere to an actual verified fact — court records, SEC filings, contemporaneous news archives, and original announcements, not just another blog post.

#howto#research#primary-sources
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