tech-backissues:

March 1997 brought us the first look at USB peripherals, more talk of 3D Accelerators, a column critical of Microsoft’s fledgling “Direct X” gaming API and a look into the decline and fall of IBM’s poor OS/2. 

I also remember lusting after that gigantic Gateway Destination entertainment center PC seen at the center-bottom of the page. As I recall the “monitor” was a rebranded RCA 36" CRT television pretending to not be a television: it topped out at 800x600 resolution which was comically large on a 36" screen…which was curved like a fishbowl and featured heavy distortion in the corners. 

It’s funny to remember just how terrible televisions used to be at displaying computer content, since most consumer computer monitors today nothing more than HDTVs without tuners, as evidenced by 1920x1080 becoming the de facto resolution. Higher resolution PC displays are certainly not unheard of, but 1920x1080 is likely going to be the standard for years to come. 

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