1876
The stenotype is patented by John C. Zachos of New York City. (US No. 175,892) It is the first US patent for a device that rapidly prints legible text in the English alphabet.
1905
Albert Einstein first unveils his Theory of Relativity.
1936
German civil engineer and early computer pioneer Konrad Zuse files for a patent on the automatic execution of calculations, a process that will become central to the Z-1, Germany’s first computer. In the patent application, Zuse describes the first programmable memory, which he dubs “combination memory” to describe the process of breaking programs into bit combinations for efficient storage. The Z1 is the first device able to make calculations in binary and translate those calculations back to decimal. Read more about the Z1 at Epemag.
1943
The California Rocket Society tests the first hybrid rocket design in the United States, using oxygen and carbon as fuel. Hybrid rocket propulsion systems uses a solid fuel in conjunction with a liquid or gas oxidizer.
1957
During a test flight, a Ryan X-13 Vertijet becomes the first jet to take-off and land vertically, at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Read more about the Ryan X-13 Vertijet at the US AirForce National Museum.
1960
The first successful weather satellite, Tiros 1, is launched.
1970
NASA launches Apollo 13 from Cape Canaveral at 2:13pm EST on what is intended to be the third manned mission to the Moon. Two days later, an explosion in the liquid oxygen tank will force astronauts to dramatically abort their mission in order to return to the Earth. By April 17, the crew will return safely to Earth.
1978
The Microsoft COBOL-80 programming language, which conforms to the 1974 ANSI standards for 8080, Z80, and 8085 microprocessor systems, is announced.
1982
According Twin Galaxies, Joe Ergo scores a record-setting 674,437 points playing the Atari arcade game Tempest after playing the game for twenty minutes at Just for Kicks in Baldwin, New York. Visit the official Twin Galaxies website.
1983
Commodore International announces a rebate program for new customers of the Commodore 64. Customers who mail in a used video game system or computer will receive a one hundred dollar rebate.
Release 23 of the Infocom interactive fiction game Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz, written by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Bruce Daniels and Tim Anderson, is released for personal computers. The game follows the adventures of a once-respected wizard whose powers began to fade when he was exiled by Dimwit Flathead. The game’s goal is to avoid the wizard’s capricious tricks and learn to control his magic. It is Infocom’s second game. Download and play Zork II now.
1984
Astronauts aboard the NASA Space Shuttle Challenger complete the first in-space satellite repair. (STS-41-C) Astronauts George Nelson and James Van Hoften retrieve the malfunctioning Solar Maximum Mission astronomy satellite, bring it into the shuttle’s cargo bay and service its attitude control mechanism and coronagraph instrument, before releasing it back into orbit to resume normal operations.
1985
At an Apple Computer board meeting, John Sculley, with the backing of the company’s other executives, asks Steve Jobs to step down as head of the Macintosh division. Visit the official website of Apple Computer.
1988
The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Arsenal of Freedom” first airs. (No. 121) In it, an away team led by Riker is trapped on the surface of a planet and soon discovers that it is being hunted. In orbit around the planet, the Enterprise is being tested by the same system that is endangering the away team. Memory Alpha entry
1989
At the Comdex trade show, Atari Computers introduces the Portfolio portable computer, featuring 128KB RAM, the MS-DOS operating system, a keyboard, and a 8 line by 40 character LCD display. The system is about the size of a videocassette, uses memory cards and is powered by three AA batteries. The computer comes bundled with an address book, calculator, calendar, spreadsheet, and word processor application. It will begin shipping in June. Price: US$399 Weight: 1lb
1991
Kevin Poulsen, also known by the web handle “Dark Dante”, is arrested for hacking into the Pacific Bell telephone systems following a seventeen month pursuit. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had sought to arrest Poulsen under the suspicion that he had hacked into a database of information concerning the investigation of former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, but Poulsen and his cohort, hacker Justin Petersen fled. During their time in hiding, Poulsen and Petersen discovered a security hole in Pacific Bell’s test and maintenance system which could be exploited to take control of any phone line within Pacific Bell’s network. The allegedly simple hack only required one computer and two phone lines – one with which to control the system and one with which to monitor the system. Poulsen and Petersen used the exploit to seize control of the phone lines of radio station KIIS-FM 102 in order to win several call-in contests. Over the course of seventeen months, they won two brand new Porsches, twenty thousand dollars, and two Hawaiian vacations. When Poulsen was featured on Unsolved Mysteries, the pair crashed the show’s toll-free hotline just as Poulsen’s picture came on the screen. Poulsen was finally captured after the television episode aired nationally by supermarket employees who recognized and restrained him in their store. Poulsen will be held without bail for five years, before he is charged with money laundering and wire fraud with the more serious charges dropped. He will be sentenced retroactively to five years’ “time served” and released on the condition that he not touch a computer for three more years. Poulsen will later go on to become the senior editor of Wired News. Read more about Kevin Poulsen at the NNDB website.
US District Court Judge Fern Smith agrees to allow Tengen, a subsidiary of Atari Games, to sell its game cartridges for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), pending the outcome of an appeal.
1992
Nintendo releases Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo in Europe.
Nintendo releases the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe.
1997
Compaq Computer announces plans to acquire Microm, manufacturer of modems and remote access technologies. Visit the official Compaq website.
2000
The International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) of Paris, France, announces that it has filed a lawsuit against Yahoo!, which hosts auctions of Nazi memorabilia.
Research in Motion of Canada releases the RIM 957 Wireless Handheld computer featuring an Intel 386 processor, 5MB Flash RAM, a built-in keyboard, a wireless modem, and a monochrome screen. Price: US$499 Weight: 5.3oz
2001
Indrema, of Alameda, California, announces that it is unable to continue the development of the L600 video game system, which was to be based on the Linux operating system, and that it will be going out of business.
Kozmo.com, an Internet-based home delivery service, announces that the company has shut their doors and ceased operations after failing to merger with PDQuick. The company offered free one-hour delivery of a range of goods, including coffee, food, or video rentals. The company employed 1,100 people.
Microsoft announces that it will no longer include Clippy with future releases of Microsoft Office. Visit the official Microsoft Office website.
2002
The Securities and Exchange Commission files a complaint against Xerox alleging that the company deceived the public between 1997 and 2000 by employing several “accounting maneuvers,” the most significant of which was a change in when Xerox recorded revenue from copy machine leases. Xerox recognized a “sale” in the period a lease contract was signed, rather than recording the revenue over the course of the contract. At issue is when the revenue is recognized, not the validity of the revenue. Visit the official Xerox website.
2003
The Livejournal blogging community reaches one million registered accounts. Less than a year later, on January 29, 2004, the site will reach two million accounts. Visit the official LiveJournal website.
Microsoft reduces the price of the Xbox video game system in Europe from &euros;249.99 Euros to &euros;199.99 Euros (about US$214) and from £159.99 to £129.99 pounds (about US$202) in the United Kingdom. Visit the official Xbox website.
2005
Milton Feng and Walid Hafez of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign announce the development of a record-breaking three material layer transistor less than half a micron long that operates at 604GHz, three times faster than the fastest silicon-based device on record.
2006
Apple Computer releases version 3.0 of Apple Remote Desktop which features Automator support, encryption for file transfers, and spotlight searching. Visit the official website of Apple Computer.
The European Space Agency spacecraft Venus Express arrives at the planet Venus and inserts itself into an orbit with a nine day period approximately five months after its launch. Visit the official Venus Express website.
FBM Software releases version 3.4 of ZeroSpyware for Windows. The anti-spyware shareware which can scan and remove many types of adware and spyware, along with browser hijackers, commercial surveillance software, dialers, keyloggers, rootkits, and trojans. Visit the official ZeroSpyware website.
Mad Catz releases the Gametrak three-dimensional input device, along with an enhanced version of Real World Golf for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox media formats in the US. Visit the game’s official website.
Microsoft launches Live Search Academic, a web search engine for scholarly literature as a beta service. Visit the official Live Search Academic website.
2007
Sony discontinues the 20GB model of PlayStation 3 video game systems in North America in favor of the 60GB line, due to an alleged “lack of consumer demand.” However, some industry analysts speculated that the move is, in fact, calculated to reduce manufacturing costs and improve profits, as the 60GB model is sold for US$30 more than the 20GB model.
Version 7.1 of the iMesh peer-to-peer network is released. Visit the official iMesh website.
2009
The eight billionth torrent file is downloaded from the Mininova bittorrent index website. Visit the official Mininova website.
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