1625
Johannes Faber of Bamberg, Germany coins the word “microscope” in a letter written to Federigo Cesi, Duke of Aquasparata and founder of Italy’s Lincean Academy (Accademia dei Lincei or Academy of the Lynx).
1941
FM Station W71NY in New York becomes the first commercial broadcaster to sign an advertiser to a contract.
1959
The United States Air Force (USAF) launches the Discoverer II surveillance satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base into a polar orbit aboard a Thor Agena A.
1960
Transit 1B, first navigational satellite, is launched into Earth orbit for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It is the first satellite to use a magnetic torque device to maintain attitude control. It will remain operable for eighty-nine days.
1967
The Star Trek episode “Operation: Annihilate!” first airs. (No. 29) In it, the Enterprise encounters a muderous swarm of neurological parasites that have swept through a Federation colony. Memory Alpha entry
1970
An oxygen tank aboard the Service Module of Apollo 13 explodes at 2:08 UTC (10:08PM EST), mid-mission. The explosion cripples the spacecrafts, resulting in a near-complete loss of electricity and oxygen, and it will lead to the most spectacular rescue mission in US space history. The Apollo 13 crew will be stranded for four days, more than 200,000 miles (321,860km) from Earth. An oxygen leak will force them to to abandon ship and return to Earth in the lunar module. Against all odds, the three astronauts will return safely back to Earth. The crew include: Fred Haise, Jim Lovell, and Jack Swigert.
1974
In cooperation with Hughes Aircraft and NASA, Western Union launches the United States’ first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite, Westar 1.
1983
Atari signs a long-term agreement with Williams Electronics, giving Atari first refusal rights to Williams’ coin-operated arcade games for home platforms.
John Sculley holds his first executive staff meeting at Apple Computer. Visit the official website of Apple Computer.
1987
The April 13 issue of Business Week magazine features Bill Gates on the cover. Visit the official Business Week website.
Stephen Jones publishes an article in the San Jose Business Journal entitled, “Atari targets computer sales: Firm’s ‘gee whiz’ image may make sales tough.” In the article, Jerry Brown, vice president and general manager of Atari’s US operations is quoted as saying, “You can debate whether people think we’re a game company or not, but I think our past is a plus.”
1989
TriStar Pictures releases the science fiction horror film DeepStar Six, directed by Sean S. Cunningham and starring Greg Evigan, Nia Peeples, and Miguel Ferrer is released to theaters in Australia and Germany. The film follows the adventures of a crew posted to an underwater military outpost in the near future. The film is one of many released around the end of the eighties to feature alien or other foreign lifeforms under the ocean, including: The Abyss, Leviathan, The Evil Below, Lords of the Deep, and The Rift (Endless Descent). IMDB listing
1990
SNK releases Crystalis for the Famicom in Japan.
1992
Nintendo releases The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in North America. It is the third game in The Legend of Zelda series. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: E (Everything)
1997
Basketball star Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons is interviewed courtside after a game against the Chicago Bulls. When he is asked what he thought of the victory and he replies, “Well, it wasn’t as easy as beating them on the PlayStation.”
Subband Software releases the MacAmp MP3 player for Macs. Visit the official MacAmp website.
1998
Thousands of AT&T internet customers experience the a service interruption lasting up to twenty-four hours beginning at 3:00pm. Many internet-based business services, including airline reservation services, bank Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) services, and gas station pumps payment systems, are disabled. Within forty-eight hours, AT&T will correct the issue by replacing two of its frame relay switches, but the company will never organization is unable to determine what actually caused the switches to fail in the first place.
1999
Lewis Platt, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Hewlett-Packard Company raises a controversy on Wall Street when he announces his intentions to generate a “double digit” revenue growth in 1999. Once the market closes, the firm’s marketing department issues a statement elaborating on Platt’s remarks and explaining that “double digit” refers to the expected shipments of computers rather than the financial results.
The heavy metal group Metallica sues Napster, alleging copyright infringement and racketeering. Visit the official Napster website.
United States prosecutors announce indictments against five alleged Internet child pornography traffickers. According to US District Attorney Paul Coggins, “This indictment is the first in history to target foreign Web masters and their corrupt co-conspirators in the United States.” The indictment names Thomas and Janice Reedy, who have allegedly collected over one million dollars for providing clients access to child pornography sites hosted by three web masters in Indonesia and Russia.
Version 1.5.2 of the Python programming language is released. Visit the official Python website.
2000
The website of the Porsche Club is hacked by “glue”. View an archived version of the defaced website.
Yoda the dwarf mouse is born in the laboratory of Dr. Richard A. Miller, a professor of pathology at the Geriatrics Center of the University of Michigan Medical School. He will become the world’s oldest mouse on his fourth birthday. At the age of 1,462 days, his age will be comparable to a 136 human years, nearly twice that of an average laboratory mouse. Miller, an expert on the genetics involved in aging developed the strain of mouse that live longer, but remain smaller than ordinary mice.
2001
Apple Computer discontinues the Power Mac G4 667 computer. Visit the official website of Apple Computer.
Capcom releases Project Justice for the Dreamcast in Europe. Visit the game’s official website.
International Business Machines (IBM) introduces the PowerPC Internet Appliance Platform (PowerPC I.A.P.), a new line of microchips for consumer-electronics devices that are intended to drastically reduce the size and power requirements of Internet appliances. The technology combines a microprocessor with other technologies such as touch-screen management, memory drivers, and Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) drivers. Read more at the New York Times. Price: US$60
Yahoo! announces that it will begin removing all adult-related merchandise, including pornography from its auction, classifieds, and shopping services. The announcement precipitates a barrage of complaints from users. Visit the official Yahoo! Auctions, Yahoo! Classifieds, and Yahoo! Shopping websites.
2002
Adventure Soft releases Simon The Sorcerer 3D for Windows in North America.
The Andromeda episode “The Things We Cannot Change” first airs. (No. 221) In it, after being blown out into space, Dylan finds himself in a life in which he is married with a son in a utopian life.
2004
Microsoft releases a special version of the Xbox video game system bundled with the Halo video game in the US. The system bears a bright green case rather than the standard black. Two hundred thousand units are available. Price: US$169
2005
Gmail becomes available in several new languages, including: British English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, simplified Chinese, and traditional Chinese. Visit the official Gmail website.
In an interview, Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore says of Moore’s Law that, “It can’t continue forever. The nature of exponentials is that you push them out and eventually disaster happens.” Moore’s Law is the tenet that the power of microprocessor technology will double every eighteen months. He goes on to predict that transistors will eventually reach the limits of miniaturization. “In terms of size [of transistor] you can see that we’re approaching the size of atoms which is a fundamental barrier, but it’ll be two or three generations before we get that far—but that’s as far out as we’ve ever been able to see. We have another 10 to 20 years before we reach a fundamental limit. By then they’ll be able to make bigger chips and have transistor budgets in the billions.”
Paramount studios and the United Paramount Network (UPN) re-confirms that the cancellation of the Star Trek series Enterprise is final. Startrek.com reveals that studio officials have denied the repeated efforts of the fan club TrekUnited to have the series picked up for another season. Officials of the TrekUnited fan club, however, claim to still be in talks with Paramount over the future of the series.
2006
Bandai releases Fullmetal Alchemist: Dream Carnival for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. Visit the official website. CERO: A (All Ages)
Electronic Arts (EA) releases the third-person shooter From Russia with Love for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) in Europe. The game is based on the 1963 film From Russia with Love. Visit the game’s official website. PEGI: 16+
Google Calendar offers Gmail integration. Visit the official Google Calendar website.
Nintendo releases the platform game Densetsu no Stafy 4 for the Nintendo DS in Japan. Visit the game’s official website. CERO: A (All Ages)
Panasonic announces its first Blu-ray Disc player for the US market, the DMP-BD10. It will ship in late 2006 along with Panasonic’s first commercially available plasma HDTV. Visit the official DMP-BD10 specifications website.
Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) releases the platform game Daxter for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) in Europe. Visit the game’s official website. PEGI: 7+
Square Enix Co., Ltd. releases Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King for the PlayStation 2 in Europe. Visit the game’s official website. PEGI: 12+
Tecmo releases the versus fighting game Dead or Alive 4 (DOA4) for the Xbox 360 in Australia. OFLC: M (Mature)
Version 1.0.8 of Firefox is released, featuring several security fixes. Visit the official Firefox website.
2007
Codemasters releases Heatseeker for the PlayStation 2 and Wii in Australia. OFLC: PG (Parental Guidance)
First Look Pictures releases the animated film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, directed by Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis and starring the voice talents of Dana Snyder, Dave Willis, Carey Means, Andy Merrill, and Mike Schatz is released to 877 US theaters. It’s based on the Cartoon Netowrk animated series Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Produced on a budget of US$750,000, it will gross US$3,005,175 domestically in its opening weekend. Visit the film’s official website. IMDB listing MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 1 hr 27 mins
Revolution Studios releases the thriller Perfect Stranger, directed by James Foley and starring Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, and Giovanni Ribisi to 2,661 US theaters. The film follows a newspaper reporter who chases her friend’s killer through “the darkest corners of the Internet,” as she observes her primary suspect, the multi-millionaire CEO of a powerful advertising company. It will gross US$11,206,163 domestically in its opening weekend. Visit the film’s official website. IMDB listing MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 1 hr 49 mins
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