The 8-Bit Guy

David Murray (born June 25, 1975), commonly known as The 8-Bit Guy, is an American retrocomputing enthusiast who runs a YouTube channel under the same name.

The 8-Bit Guy
Murray at the 2021 Vintage Computer Festival Midwest
Personal information
BornDavid Murray
(1975-06-25) June 25, 1975
Texas, U.S.
Websitewww.the8bitguy.com
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2006present
GenreRetrocomputing
Subscribers1.36 million[1]
Total views232 million[1]
100,000 subscribers 2016
1,000,000 subscribers 2019

Updated: February 9, 2022

History

Murray launched his YouTube channel in 2006 under the username adric22.[2] He worked on repairing and refurbishing iBook G3 and G4 laptops and later on MacBooks, buying and selling them on eBay, and later from his own website. He called himself the iBook Guy. He made videos to show how he repairs some of the equipment, but had made his living with the actual repairs and resales. In 2011, he shut down his repair business.[3]

Murray noticed his general videos about computing were attracting more subscribers.[3] In 2015, he renamed his primary channel to "The 8-Bit Guy" and focused on retrocomputing.[4] He says an average episode takes about 15 hours to produce.[3]

Murray ran several different YouTube channels with topics such as keyboard instruments from the 1980s, coin collecting, and airguns, although the latter two did not have as much popularity as his retrocomputing videos so he shut them down.[3][5]

Content

The channel is known for its videos on restoration of old computers,[6][7] and demonstration of old technology.[8][9] Murray has also developed video games designed to run on old computers, including Planet X1 for the VIC-20, Planet X2 for Commodore 64, Planet X3 for MS-DOS, and Attack of the PETSCII Robots for the Commodore PET.[10] He has demonstrated the development of these games on his YouTube channel.[11][12] Murray is also passionate about electric cars, and has published videos about them on his channel.[13][6]

Murray also co-hosts the GeekBits podcast alongside his brother Mike Murray and friend Craig Bowes.[14]

Personal life

Murray lives in the Dallas–Fort Worth area in Texas and is married.[15] Murray's second cousin was musician Dimebag Darrell.[16]

References

  1. "About The 8-Bit Guy". YouTube.
  2. "The 8-Bit Guy - YouTube". www.youtube.com.
  3. "8Bit Guy: About". The 8-bit Guy official website. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  4. Michuad, Scott (2015-10-22). ""The 8-Bit Guy" Discusses Game Audio". PC Perspective. Retrieved 2021-07-27.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. Cole, Samantha (2020-10-01). "YouTuber Milkshake Ducked After Incorrectly Disassembling Vintage Computer". Vice. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  6. David Murray (26 February 2017). "I hated Apple II back in the '80s – an interview with The 8-Bit Guy" (Interview). Interviewed by Grzegorz Ciesielski. Arytima. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  7. Grossman, David (2017-02-24). "Watch an Old Macintosh Plus Brought Back to Life". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  8. Dormehl, Luke (2017-01-04). "YouTuber 8-Bit Guy Shows How The NES Zapper Gun Worked". Digital Trends. Retrieved 2021-07-27.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. Limer, Eric (2016-11-02). "The First Real Webcam Is Laughable In Hindsight". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  10. "Attack of the PETSCII Robots". thandor.net. 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-08-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. Griffiths, Josh (2017-12-01). "The 8-Bit Guy Demonstrates the Process of Making a Commodore 64 Game". Cliqist. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  12. Horti, Samuel (2018-07-09). "Meet the dev making his first DOS game -- in 2018". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2021-07-27.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. Cole, Jay (2016-10-07). "BMW i3 REx Road Test, Charging And Fuel Tank Coding - Video Review". InsideEVs. Retrieved 2021-07-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. A Discussion about Piracy: GeekBits Podcast Pilot Episode 1, retrieved 2022-03-29
  15. Tom & Melody (March 7, 2021). "(S1E6) 8-Bit Computers, Mental Health" (Podcast). We Are One. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  16. Casio Superdrums Keyboard Review MT-500 MT-520/205, retrieved 2022-02-18
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