Show Notes
In 1994, Dave Plummer wrote the original Windows Task Manager. Three decades later, he has rebuilt the idea for modern hardware as Task Manager OG—and in this episode, he gives us a complete tour.Dave demonstrates TMOG running on a Mac, including its real-time performance graphs, long-term history, customizable colors and themes, process management, system information, thermal monitoring, benchmarks, disk analysis, and other tools. He also explains why he wanted to revisit such an iconic Windows utility using today’s CPUs, GPUs, memory, and graphics capabilities.After the demonstration, we answer viewer questions about the original Windows Task Manager, developing and dogfooding Windows NT, PDP-11 and BSD influences, Microsoft’s MIPS workstation, Mark Lucovsky, the famous FAT32 32 GB formatting limit, ScanDisk’s x86 assembly code, OS/2, AI-assisted debugging, Arch Linux, cross-platform development, and what classic Windows component Dave might reinvent next.Download Task Manager OG: https://tmog.org#Windows #TaskManager #TaskManagerOG #WindowsNT #RetroComputing #SoftwareDevelopment0:00 - Hey I’m Dave...00:30 Why Dave Built Task Manager OG01:07 Task Manager OG on Mac01:56 Colors, Themes and Visual Bloom03:39 Performance Monitoring and History05:24 Processes and System Tools07:05 Free and Pro Features07:23 The TMOG Benchmark09:25 App and Disk-Space Analysis10:16 How to Download Task Manager OG12:19 - Why Build Task Manager OG?16:01 - Running Task Manager OG on Mac18:59 - What Modern System Monitors Lost19:29 - Task Manager OG’s Most Popular Features22:35 - Using AI to Mine Old Videos23:42 - Does AI Replace Debugging?24:23 - Debugging This the Old-School Way26:16 - What Did the AI Actually Figure Out?27:14 - Memory Leak or Just History?27:45 - The Original Windows Task Manager28:18 - From PDP-11 top to Task Manager29:09 - Developing Windows NT on MIPS30:27 - Mark Lucovsky and Task Manager32:14 - The Story Behind FAT32’s 32 GB Limit34:11 - Why ScanDisk Was Written in Assembly35:19 - Dogfooding Windows NT36:27 - Was OS/2 Warp a Threat to Windows NT?37:27 - Could Modern Windows Run OS/2 Apps?38:40 - Dave Tries Arch Linux39:45 - Getting Productive in Arch40:15 - Making Task Manager OG Cross-Platform45:06 - What Would Dave Reinvent Next?45:57 - Why Old Mechanical Interfaces Feel So Good48:49 - Shenanigans and outtakes…
More from Dave’s Garage: Shop Talk
What would 1996 Dave think of rebuilding Task Manager with AI? Dave and Glen celebrate 100 episodes of Shop Talk with Windows stories, retro computing, fresh viewer questions, and a look at the community behind the show.Across the first 99 episodes, our comment archive contains more than 23,000 comments. We recognize some familiar contributors, revisit the rebuilt Task Manager episode’s response, and share the most-liked comment in the archive.Then it’s back to your questions: how overlays helped programs fit into limited memory, porting Colossal Cave to a PDP-11, getting started with AI, checking AI-generated code, and using AI for business strategy.Plus: a difficult day at Microsoft, whether Spy++ deserves a modern makeover, TMOG follow-ups, missing hard-drive activity lights, and Deluxe Asteroids.Thank you to everyone who has watched, commented, and kept the conversation going.
Windows war stories meet AI-assisted retro computing in this week’s Shop Talk. Dave and Glen explore AI development on the PDP-11, how they prompt and review generated code, and what older computers can still teach us.Dave discusses improving top for BSD, compiler changes for ksh, and getting Samba running on a 16-bit machine. Viewer questions cover detailed specifications, native apps versus Electron, ownership of AI-generated code, and improving PDP Gary.We also revisit Microsoft Bob’s connection to the Windows XP disc, instant shutdown shortcuts, and a CHKDSK job that could run for days. Plus: TMOG memory usage and temperature graphs, lessons from the TRS-80, Windows 3.1 on modern hardware, and Tempest with a joystick.
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