Old Tech Geek is rebooting

Old Tech Geek is back.

Not just as an idea, and not just as a website waiting to be built. The reboot has already started. The new site is online, the basic structure is in place, and the first processes for producing, organising, and publishing content are underway.

What comes next is the part that matters most: building the actual archive, documenting the collection, and turning the project into a living body of work.

A reboot, not a return to the old setup

The previous version of Old Tech Geek ran on a rented server with WordPress and a database behind it. That setup worked, but it also introduced a monthly bill, maintenance overhead, and infrastructure that was increasingly disproportionate to what the project needed.

The reboot moves the website to a static architecture: pages are generated ahead of time and served as plain files from a CDN.

The result is a site that is faster, cheaper to operate, easier to maintain, and better suited to its real purpose: preserving and presenting articles, guides, technical notes, news, and the history of the machines and games that make up the collection.

The technology behind the site should support the archive — not become the archive’s main concern.

What is already in place

The foundations of the reboot are no longer just plans.

• The new static website is online.
• The main site structure has been established.
• The primary sections — Articles, Guides, News, Collection, GeekDex, About and History — are in place.
• The first articles and guides have been published.
• The publishing workflow and content organisation are being rebuilt around a more structured archive.
• The website is being prepared to work alongside YouTube and social media, rather than existing as an isolated blog.

There is still a great deal to build, but the project has moved beyond the starting line.

What Old Tech Geek is becoming

Old Tech Geek is a personal project dedicated to old computers, videogame consoles, games, software, hardware, and the history surrounding them.

It is also becoming something more structured than a conventional technology blog.

The goal is to build a long-term personal archive: a place where machines can be documented, experiences can be recorded, technical information can be preserved, and the history of older technology can be explored through both research and hands-on use.

The collection is central to that process. It is not simply a list of objects owned. It is a growing record of platforms, hardware revisions, regional variants, accessories, games, software, repairs, upgrades, and the stories attached to them.

The project will continue to favour substance over volume: fewer disposable posts, more useful documentation; fewer generic summaries, more first-hand testing, research, and preservation.

The website: the permanent archive

The website is the foundation of Old Tech Geek.

It is where the longer-lived material belongs: articles, technical guides, restoration logs, collection records, historical references, and the written documentation that should remain accessible long after a social media post disappears from a feed.

The seven sections that provide the initial structure:

• Articles — long-form writing, research, commentary, and personal explorations.
• Guides — practical documentation, setup instructions, troubleshooting, maintenance, and technical references.
• News — relevant developments in retrocomputing, videogames, preservation, hardware, and the wider community.
• Collection — a structured catalogue of the computers, consoles, games, and media in the collection.
• GeekDex — a catalogue of notable technology: computers, consoles, handhelds, games, audio gear, gadgets — anything worth documenting or preserving.
• About — the project, its purpose, its history, and the places where Old Tech Geek can be followed.
• History — historical context, timelines, platforms, companies, technologies, and the evolution of computing and videogames.

The structure will continue to evolve as the archive grows, but the principle is simple: content should be organised so that it remains useful, discoverable, and understandable years from now.

Video and text belong together

YouTube will become an important part of Old Tech Geek, but it will not replace the website.

The two formats serve different purposes.

YouTube is the discovery layer. It is where people can discover a machine, a game, a repair, a technical problem, or a particular piece of history through video.

The website is the permanent reference layer. It is where the information can be expanded, corrected, indexed, and preserved in a form that is easier to search and revisit.

Whenever appropriate, major videos will have a written companion:

• An article explaining the subject in greater depth.
• A technical appendix with specifications, measurements, or configuration details.
• A restoration or repair log.
• A collection entry documenting the specific hardware or software.
• A historical reference that places the subject in context.

The intention is not to duplicate every video in text. It is to make each format useful in its own right, while allowing them to reinforce one another.

The collection becomes part of the archive

The Old Tech Geek collection is one of the main reasons this project exists.

It includes retrocomputers, videogame consoles, handhelds, games, software, accessories, and related hardware. The collection is being built with a historical perspective, with an initial focus on establishing a broad baseline of important platforms and their original software.

The long-term objective is a structured, searchable catalogue rather than a simple inventory.

Each relevant entry may include:

• Historical context and significance.
• Technical specifications.
• Regional and model identification.
• Serial numbers and hardware revisions, where appropriate.
• Original packaging and included accessories.
• Condition and current state.
• Testing and maintenance history.
• Current configuration and planned upgrades.
• Related games, software, peripherals, and documentation.
• Links to articles, guides, videos, and other entries in the archive.

The collection will arrive in phases. The catalogue is being built carefully, with the intention that it becomes one of the most useful and distinctive parts of the site.

YouTube and Instagram

The next stage of the reboot is not only about writing more articles. It is also about bringing Old Tech Geek back into the formats where people discover and follow projects today.

YouTube

The channel will focus on the subjects that define Old Tech Geek:

• Retrocomputers and videogame consoles.
• Hardware history and model differences.
• Collection acquisitions and documentation.
• Testing, repairs, maintenance, and upgrades.
• Games and software.
• Technical explanations.
• Historical context.
• Personal experiences with the machines.

The aim is to produce videos that are informative, practical, and grounded in real hardware — not simply nostalgia for its own sake.

Instagram

Instagram will complement the longer-form content with a more visual and immediate view of the project.

It can be used for:

• Collection photography.
• Newly acquired hardware and games.
• Close-ups of interesting details.
• Before-and-after restoration work.
• Short technical observations.
• Behind-the-scenes documentation.
• Announcements of new articles and videos.
• Small historical facts and references.
• Progress updates from the archive.

The social channels are not intended to become separate projects with disconnected identities. They are different windows into the same Old Tech Geek archive.

What comes next

The reboot has already established its foundation. The next phase is about making the project grow in depth and consistency.

The priorities are:

1. Expand the written archive with more articles, guides, historical references, and technical documentation.
2. Continue building the collection catalogue, documenting the hardware and software already owned and the platforms still to be acquired.
3. Develop the YouTube channel and establish a sustainable process for planning, recording, editing, and publishing videos.
4. Start publishing consistently on Instagram, using the collection and the archive as the primary source of content.
5. Connect the formats, so that articles, guides, collection entries, videos, and social posts support one another.
6. Improve the archive over time, refining its structure, searchability, presentation, and usefulness.

There is no expectation that everything will appear at once. Old Tech Geek is a long-term project, and the archive will grow one entry, one machine, one game, and one piece of documentation at a time.

A long-term project

The reboot is not about recreating the old website exactly as it was. It is about building something more durable:

• A place for the machines that shaped computing.
• A place for the games that shaped videogames.
• A place for technical knowledge that should not disappear.
• A place for documenting a personal collection with care.
• A place where research, experimentation, preservation, and personal experience can exist together.

The infrastructure is now simpler. The ambition is not.

Old Tech Geek is back, and there is still much to build.

One byte at a time.

The shell is here. The archive is growing. The next chapters are being written.