History WebVideo / The8BitGuy

Also in development is the [[https://www.commanderx16.com/forum/index.php?/home/ Commander X16]], a 6502-based 8-bit computer built with modern off-the-shelf parts; it was designed to address several issues of retro-computing today, such as the increasing price and scarcity as well as the dodgy reliability of four decade-old 8-bit hardware[[note]]While most of the Commander X16's components are new, readily-available parts, it uses new-old stock Yamaha YM2164 or YM2151 sound chips for FM synthesis and MIDI[[/note]]. Although David started the project and entitled it "his dream computer", eventually most of the aspects of development were taken over by other people, most notably fellow retro tech [=YouTuber=] Christian Simpson, aka "[[https://www.youtube.com/user/Perifractic Perifractic]]", who designed the [=X16's=] branding, Kevin Williams of [=TexElec=], who is responsible for the motherboard design as well as sales of the [=X16=] hardware, and Frank van den Hoef, who created the Versatile Embedded Retro Adapter ([[FunWithAcronyms VERA]]) module, a custom FPGA[[note]]Field-Programmable Gate Array[[/note]] which handles the [=X16's=] video output, PSG and PCM audio, and flash storage; the VERA module is [[https://github.com/fvdhoef/vera-module open-source]], allowing others to use the module in their retro-computing projects.

In June 2021, David, his older brother Mike Murray, and childhood friend Craig Bowes launched the [[https://www.youtube.com/c/GeekBits/featured GeekBits Podcast]], where the trio mostly discuss retrocomputing and other geek topics, but sometimes they discuss topics unrelated to their channels.

Also in development is the [[https://www.commanderx16.com/forum/index.php?/home/ Commander X16]], a 6502-based 8-bit computer built with modern off-the-shelf parts; it was designed to address several issues of retro-computing today, such as the increasing price and scarcity as well as reliability of vintage 8-bit hardware. Although David started the project and entitled it "his dream computer", eventually most of the aspects of development were taken over by other people, most notably fellow retro tech [=YouTuber=] Christian Simpson, aka "[[https://www.youtube.com/user/Perifractic Perifractic]]", who designed the [=X16's=] branding, Kevin Williams of [=TexElec=], who is responsible for the motherboard design as well as sales of the [=X16=] hardware, and Frank van den Hoef, who created the Versatile Embedded Retro Adapter ([[FunWithAcronyms VERA]]) module, a custom FPGA[[note]]Field-Programmable Gate Array[[/note]] which handles the [=X16's=] video output, PSG and PCM audio, and flash storage; the VERA module is [[https://github.com/fvdhoef/vera-module open-source]], allowing others to use the module in their retro-computing projects.

Also in development is the [[https://www.commanderx16.com/forum/index.php?/home/ Commander X16]], a 6502-based 8-bit computer built with modern off-the-shelf parts; though David started the project and entitled it "his dream computer", eventually most of the aspects of development were taken over by other people, most notably fellow retro tech [=YouTuber=] Christian Simpson, aka "[[https://www.youtube.com/user/Perifractic Perifractic]]", who was responsible for the branding, Kevin Williams of [=TexElec=], who is responsible for the hardware design, and Frank van den Hoef, who created the Versatile Embedded Retro Adapter (VERA), a custom FPGA which handles the [=CX16's=] video output, PSG and PCM audio, and flash storage; the VERA module is [[https://github.com/fvdhoef/vera-module open-source]], allowing others to use it in their retro projects.

Also in development is the [[https://www.commanderx16.com/forum/index.php?/home/ Commander X16]], a 6502-based 8-bit computer built with modern off-the-shelf parts; though David started the project and entitled it "his dream computer", eventually most of the aspects of development were taken over by other people, most notably fellow retro tech [=YouTuber=] Christian Simpson, aka "[[https://www.youtube.com/user/Perifractic Perifractic]]", who was responsible for the marketing and branding and Kevin Williams of [=TexElec=], who is responsible for the hardware design.

David Murray is ''[[https://www.youtube.com/user/adric22 The 8-Bit Guy]]'' (formerly [[ArtifactTitle The iBook Guy]]), a Website/YouTube personality who focuses on retro computers and other forms of technology coming from the seventies onward (he first focused on classic Apple products before broadening his focus).

*** Early in his [=YouTube=] career, David operated a channel called ''[[https://www.youtube.com/user/awesomeairguns/ Awesome Airguns]]''. David largely abandoned the channel in 2014 due to monetization issues by Website/YouTube.

His videos show repairs, restorations, and demonstrations of well-known vintage computers such as the Platform/AppleII, the Commodore Platform/VIC20, the Platform/Commodore64, the Tandy UsefulNotes/ColorComputer, and the Platform/ZXSpectrum, as well as more obscure vintage computers. He also produces long-form documentaries that delve into the history of notable computer systems.

His videos show repairs, restorations, and demonstrations of well-known vintage computers such as the UsefulNotes/AppleII, the Commodore Platform/VIC20, the UsefulNotes/Commodore64, the Tandy UsefulNotes/ColorComputer, and the UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum, as well as more obscure vintage computers. He also produces long-form documentaries that delve into the history of notable computer systems.

David occasionally reviews homebrew games made for vintage systems, and he himself has also made his own homebrew games and software, notably ''[[http://www.the8bitguy.com/product/planet-x2-commodore-64/ Planet X2]]'' for the C64 and ''[[http://www.the8bitguy.com/product/planet-x3-for-ms-dos-computers/ Planet X3]]'' for MS-DOS; both are sci-fi RealTimeStrategy games where the player controls an army of human colonizers on a uninhabited Earth-like alien planet and must defeat a [[AliensAreBastards hostile race of alien colonizers]], known as the Protoids, who seek to claim the planet as their own.[[note]]There is a ''Planet [=X1=]'' for the VIC-20; while the game is free to download from his website and in a playable state, it is unfinished. Also, the game requires [=32KB=] of RAM to run, requiring either a VIC-20 emulator or a RAM expansion cartridge if using real hardware.[[/note]] His most recent game is ''[[http://www.the8bitguy.com/product/petscii-robots/ Attack of the PETSCII Robots]]''; it is an sci-fi ActionAdventure game where the player must use their wits, rather than brute force, in order to survive against {{killer robot}}s. David initially created the game for the Commodore PET, VIC-20, and C64, and subsequent ports were developed by other people for platforms including but not limited to the Commodore 128 and Plus 4, Apple II, UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers, UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}, UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum, [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]], UsefulNotes/SuperNES, [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Sega Genesis/Mega Drive]], UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable, and MS-DOS.

** In a video where he reviews the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjlI1x5Y8cU Nyko Worm Cam]], a VideoGame/GameBoyCamera knockoff designed for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, David finds the camera is poor quality[[note]]Since the device is not licensed by Nintendo, it doesn't use the high-speed ROM cartridge interface, instead having to rely on the slower Link Cable interface and the [=GBA's=] multiboot mode to load the camera's software into memory as a workaround[[/note]] and suspects his unit may have been defective, so he smashes it with a sledgehammer at the end of the video.
* {{Trekkie}}: David is a fan of the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise, and has made several references to the series when pointing out retro computers in popular culture, such as Captain Kirk owning a Commodore PET as an antique in ''[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan The Wrath of Khan]]'' and Scotty using an UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh in ''[[Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome The Voyage Home]]''.

His videos show repairs, restorations, and demonstrations of well-known vintage computers such as the UsefulNotes/AppleII, the Commodore UsefulNotes/VIC20, the UsefulNotes/Commodore64, the Tandy UsefulNotes/ColorComputer, and the UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum, as well as more obscure vintage computers. He also produces long-form documentaries that delve into the history of notable computer systems.

** However, it is subverted in an video where he shows [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrDnTXqoqjM how to rebuild a laptop battery pack]]; while David doesn't actually swear, he has a "bullshit" graphic over an Website/EBay listing for cheap Chinese rechargeable 18650 Li-ion batteries advertised as being rated for 6,000 milliamp-hours and explains that their real world capacity is a fraction of that[[note]]A 18650 cell from a reputable manufacturer like Samsung or Panasonic will be rated for 2,000 to 3,000 mAh[[/note]].

* SurprisinglyGoodForeignLanguage: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB27L6OuxHE In the video where he visits Germany for the Thomann Synth Reactor event]], David can speak German pretty well. In his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWEssj8Qyas one million subscriber special]], David reveals that he took 4 years of German in high school and was an exchange student in Germany in his senior year.

** Techmoan also appears towards the end of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsMRxNSDccc How Speech Synthesizers Work]]", when David demonstrates a PrankCall using an 1980s era speech synthesis program.[[note]]This is also apparently a ShoutOut to the WebAnimation/YouTubePoop ''Techmoan Won't Leave The 8-Bit Guy Alone'', which both of them admitted to enjoying on Twitter even though they generally don't encourage the making of such videos.[[/note]]

* BitingTheHandHumor: His actions during a video on the IBM Executive Workstation 7496 ended up causing a bit of an uproar due to perceived recklessness in his attempts to get it up and running, specifically cutting a few screws with a Dremel when he didn't have the correct security bit and using a paperclip to short the power supply due to a mistaken conclusion he reached when using a multimeter [[note]]And we will [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement leave it at that]][[/note]]. Since the controversy, he has poked fun at himself on numerous occasions in reference to it, such as referring to the paperclip as "his favorite thing" in the roadside NES repair video, and in [[TheCameo a cameo appearance]] on an [[WebVideo/LazyGameReviews LGR video]] about Computer Reset, he is holding a Dremel and paperclip menacingly (while [=LGR=] is showing a couple boxes of new old stock IBM Executive Workstation 7496's, natch).

* AluminumChristmasTrees: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hdazA-VUf0&t=1657 During David's time in tech support]], a number of his colleagues got reports of the memetic sort of incident where the user thought their CD-ROM drive was a cup holder, resulting in coffee being spilled onto the keyboard, and one actually played him a recording of one such call to prove that they were an {{Urban Legend|s}} only in extent. During the presentation, David admits that he's glad he never received a call like that because he doesn't think [[EnragedByIdiocy he would have been able to nicely explain what the "cup holder" actually was]].

In June 2021, David, his older brother Mike Murray, and childhood friend Craig Bowes launched the [[https://www.youtube.com/c/GeekBits/featured GeekBits Podcast]], where the trio mostly discuss retrocomputing and other geek topics, but sometimes they discusses topics unrelated to their channels.

** In the Game Boy Color backlight episode he says {{Creator/Nintendo}} has been acting like a Jackass to content creators.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThink: In the episode where he discusses how [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niKblgZupOc CGA graphics work]], David demonstrates that CGA was capable of producing more color in composite mode than in RGBI mode due to NTSC artifacting, similar to how the Apple II series produced color graphics. However, CGA composite mode had the side effect of making text near unreadable due to the effective horizontal resolution being cut in half (160×200), and composite mode became less prevalent for games when Tandy graphics and EGA came out in 1984, since both standards could produce 16 colors at 320×200 on a digital TTL signal[[note]]Tandy graphics used the full 16 colors of the CGA palette whereas EGA used 16 colors out of a possible 64, with the CGA palette as its default for backwards compatibility[[/note]], and obsolete by the time VGA came out in 1987, which can produce 256 colors at 320×200 or 16 at 640×480, and games whose intended mode of operation was VGA (and to a lesser extent, EGA and Tandy) only supported the RGBI mode of CGA as an afterthought, if at all.

In June 2021, David, his older brother Mike Murray, and childhood friend Craig Bowes launched the [[https://www.youtube.com/c/GeekBits/featured GeekBits Podcast]], where the trio mostly discusses retrocomputing and other geek topics, but sometimes they discusses topics unrelated to their channels.

In June 2021, David, his older brother Mike Murray, and childhood friend Craig Bowes launched the [[https://www.youtube.com/c/GeekBits/featured GeekBits Podcast]], where the trio mostly discusses technology but sometimes discusses other topics.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Besides his early videos that focus on Apple products, a few of his other early videos are unrelated to technology, like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqBbUmITyu8 this video on how to conceal a handgun]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCAwzPfo9ts this video where he builds a wooden tower for his pet cats]], and a few videos that focus on eco-friendly cars.

*** In the second episode, while traveling to UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}, David makes a pit stop in Madisonville at [[https://buc-ees.com/ Buc-ee's]], a Texan convenience store chain well known for their huge size[[note]]Buc-ee's has since expanded to other states in the Southern US.[[/note]]. David also makes a stop in Huntsville to show off the giant statue of Sam Houston, visible from Interstate 45.

David occasionally reviews homebrew games made for vintage systems, and he himself has also made his own homebrew games and software, notably ''[[http://www.the8bitguy.com/product/planet-x2-commodore-64/ Planet X2]]'' for the C64 and ''[[http://www.the8bitguy.com/product/planet-x3-for-ms-dos-computers/ Planet X3]]'' for MS-DOS; both are sci-fi RealTimeStrategy games where the player controls an army of human colonizers on a uninhabited Earth-like alien planet and must defeat a [[AliensAreBastards hostile race of alien colonizers]], known as the Protoids, who seek to claim the planet as their own.[[note]]There is a ''Planet [=X1=]'' for the VIC-20; while the game is free to download from his website and in a playable state, it is unfinished. Also, the game requires [=32KB=] of RAM to run, requiring either a VIC-20 emulator or a RAM expansion cartridge if using real hardware.[[/note]] His most recent game is ''[[http://www.the8bitguy.com/product/petscii-robots/ Attack of the PETSCII Robots]]''; it is an sci-fi ActionAdventure game where the player must use their wits, rather than brute force, in order to survive against {{killer robot}}s. David initially created the game for the Commodore PET, VIC-20, and C64, and subsequent ports were developed by other people for platforms including but not limited to the Commodore 128 and Plus 4, Apple II, UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers, UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}, UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum, [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]], UsefulNotes/SuperNES, [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Sega Genesis/Mega Drive]] and MS-DOS.

David occasionally reviews homebrew games made for vintage systems, and he himself has also made his own homebrew games and software, notably ''[[http://www.the8bitguy.com/product/planet-x2-commodore-64/ Planet X2]]'' for the C64 and ''[[http://www.the8bitguy.com/product/planet-x3-for-ms-dos-computers/ Planet X3]]'' for [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer MS-DOS compatibles]]; both are sci-fi RealTimeStrategy games where the player controls an army of human colonizers on a uninhabited Earth-like alien planet and must defeat a [[AliensAreBastards hostile race of alien colonizers]], known as the Protoids, who seek to claim the planet as their own.[[note]]There is a ''Planet [=X1=]'' for the VIC-20; while the game is free to download from his website and in a playable state, it is unfinished. Also, the game requires [=32KB=] of RAM to run, requiring either a VIC-20 emulator or a RAM expansion cartridge if using real hardware.[[/note]] His most recent game is ''[[http://www.the8bitguy.com/product/petscii-robots/ Attack of the PETSCII Robots]]''; it is an sci-fi ActionAdventure game where the player must use their wits in order to survive against {{killer robot}}s. David initially created the game for the Commodore PET, VIC-20, and C64, and subsequent ports were developed by other people for the Commodore 128 and Plus 4, the Apple II series, UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers, the UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}, UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum, and [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]], with ports in progress for the Commander X16 and MS-DOS. Also in development is the [[https://www.commanderx16.com/forum/index.php?/home/ Commander X16]], a 6502-based 8-bit computer built with modern off-the-shelf parts; though David started the project and entitled it "his dream computer", eventually most of the aspects of development were taken over by other people, most notably fellow retro tech [=YouTuber=] Christian Simpson, aka "[[https://www.youtube.com/user/Perifractic Perifractic]]", who was responsible for the marketing and branding and Kevin Williams of [=TexElec=], who is responsible for the hardware design.

In June 2021, David, his older brother Mike Murray, and childhood friend Craig Bowes launched the [[https://www.youtube.com/c/GeekBits/featured GeekBits Podcast]], where the trio mostly discusses technology but sometimes discusses other topics.

** Techmoan also appears towards the end of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsMRxNSDccc How Speech Synthesizers Work]]", when David demonstrates a PrankCall using an 1980s era speech synthesis program.[[note]]This is also apparently a ShoutOut to the YoutubePoop ''Techmoan Won't Leave The 8-Bit Guy Alone'', which both of them admitted to enjoying on Twitter even though they generally don't encourage the making of such videos.[[/note]]