1928
The final volume of the Oxford English Dictionary is published. Read more about the history of the Oxford English Dictionary. Visit the official Oxford English Dictionary website.
1957
The first FORTRAN program run outside of International Business Machines (IBM) is run at Westinghouse. The program is a missing comma diagnostic. The name for the language is an amalgam of the words “FORmula TRANslator”. It is the first successful High Level Language (HLL)
1965
Electronics magazine publishes an article by Gordon Moore, head of research and development for Fairchild Semiconductor, on the future of semiconductor components. In the article, Moore predicts that transistor density on integrated circuits will double every eighteen months months for the next ten years.
1971
Salyut 1 is launched on a Proton rocket by the Soviet Union. Although it consists of only a single module, it becomes the first space station to orbit Earth. Salyut 1 will reenter Earth’s atmosphere on October 11, 1971, to be followed by six more future Salyut stations.
1975
The first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, is launched by the Soviet Union from Kapustin Yar using a Cosmos-3M launch vehicle.
1982
Atari’s Consumer Electronics Division Engineering Technical Staff submits a petition to its department head, Dave Remson, protesting that the Atari 5200 (PAM) game system analog controller suffers from several performance and “human engineering” (ergonomic) issues. The staff recommends conducting formal focus groups in order to solicit solutions. However, Atari won’t heed the petition, and upon release, the controller is widely criticized for its poor usability.
Commodore International announces the B(700) and P(500) series of microcomputers, featuring a 6509 CPU, 64KB RAM expandable to 256KB, 28KB ROM, BASIC, a 80×25 green phosphor monitor, a built-in 94-key keyboard, two 5.25-inch floppy disk drives, and several I/O ports. Price: US$1,700-3,000
NASA announces that the first black astronaut will be Guion S. Bluford, Jr. and the first woman astronaut will be Sally K. Ride.
The Soviet Union launches the Salyut 7 space station put into orbit.
1987
The Simpsons debut in the short segment “Good Night” on The Tracey Ullman Show.
1994
Richard Gillmann releases the source of his DLX BBS Program to the public domain.
1995
The Assassin’s Guild BBS, perhaps the largest Pirate BBS in the world, is seized by United States Marshals and Investigators from Microsoft and Novell. The board is the base of operations for both the Pirates With Attitude (PWA) and Razor 1911 warez groups, two of the most infamous pirate groups on the internet. On January 12, 1996, Scott Morris, the board’s sysop, will agree to a settle a civil suit brought by Microsoft and Novel.
1996
Atari Corporation releases Fight for Life, the first polygonal fighting game for the Atari Jaguar video game system. The game was developed by Francois Bertrand, the co-developer of Virtua Fighter arcade game. Production was nearly canceled, but at the last minute, designers found additional ways to enhance the game’s graphics and colors without sacrificing the game’s responsiveness. It was held back by Atari for a late release scheduled to give the appearance of long-term support of the Jaguar system. It will be the last new video game released by Atari Corporation as an independent public company.
Hackers break into the New York Police Department (NYPD) phone system and change the taped message that greets callers. The new message greets callers with a notice that “officers are too busy eating doughnuts and drinking coffee to answer the phones” and directs them to dial 119 in case of an emergency.
1998
The website of Leonardo DiCaprio is hacked by “D3str0, Fouk0, and Lunat1c”. View an archived version of the defaced website.
1999
Infogrames Entertainment confirm its acquisition of video game developer Accolade for US$60 million. Visit the official Infogrames Entertainment website.
Caldera Systems releases version 2.2 of the OpenLinux operating system, featuring Corel WordPerfect 8 and StarOffice software. Price: US$50
International Business Machines (IBM) introduces the IBM ThinkPad 570 portable computer, featuring mobile 300 to 366MHz Pentium II processors, a 4GB hard drive, an external floppy drive, a 64MB RAM, a 12.1 to 13.3 inch inch TFT LCD screen, and a USB port. Visit the official IBM website. Price: US$2700-4000 Weight: 3.9 pounds
Microsoft reveals plans to acquire Access Software Inc., a leading developer of golf games for personal computers, for an undisclosed sum.
The United States Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 in a case against ApolloMedia Corporation, a privately held San Francisco, California company that maintains Annoy.com, which encourages users to anonymously send vulgar email to politicians whom they disagree with.
The website of Anniston Army Depot is hacked by the “Zo0mer Hacker Project”. View an archived version of the defaced website.
2000
Casio introduces the Casio Cassiopeia E-115 handheld computer, featuring a 131MHz 64-bit NEC VR4121 processor, 32MB RAM, a 64,000-color 2.3 x 3.0-inch 240×320-pixel display, a Type II CompactFlash slot, infrared and serial ports, speaker, microphone, stylus, and the Pocket PC operating system. The lithium ion battery powers the unit for about six hours. Price: US$599 Weight: 9.2 ounces
Compaq Computer introduces the iPAQ Pocket PC handheld computer, featuring a a 206MHz Intel StrongARM processor, 32MB RAM, a 2.25 x 3 inch color screen, a USB port, and the Windows CE 3.0 operating system. Expansion packs offer access to PC Cards, flash memory cards, email, music player, digital camera, modem, bar code scanner, etc. Price: US$699
Hasbro Interactive announces that it has reached a settlement in an intellectual property lawsuit under which GT Interactive and Varcon Systems will cease all sales of video games that infringe on the copyrights of Hasbro’s arcade games.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) releases the HP Jornada 545 handheld computer, featuring Windows CE 3.0, a 4096-color 240×320 pixel passive matrix display, and 16MB RAM. Price: US$499
Microsoft introduces Pocket Expansion Packs for Pocket PC devices to promote the launch of the Pocket PC operating system. The Fun Pocket PC Expansion Pack will be made available free to qualifying new purchasers of Pocket PCs. It includes a true-to-arcade edition of Pac-Man in honor of the game’s twentieth anniversary.
Microsoft“>Microsoft launches the Pocket PC specification for handheld computers at an event held at New York City’s Grand Central Station. The Pocket PC runs Microsoft Windows CE 3.0, and includes several bundled applications, including: an internet browser, a music player, and a word processor. Visit the official Windows CE website.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announce that they have formally charged a fifteen-year-old Montreal high school student with two counts of “mischief to data” for launching denial of service (DoS) attacks against CNN.com on February 8, 2000. The hacker is known by the web handle “Mafiaboy.” He was apprehended after he bragged about his misconduct in several chat rooms.
2001
Activision releases Spider-Man for the Dreamcast. ESRB: E (Everyone)
Apple Computer announces that it has shipped its five millionth iMac computer. Visit the official website of Apple Computer.
MandrakeSoft releases version 8.0 of the MandrakeLinux operating system, based on Linux kernel 2.4.3. Visit the official Mandiva Linux website.
2002
An Apple I computer with a nine inch amber monitor and a Magnavox cassette player, sells for US$14,000 at auction.
Nintendo releases a Game Boy Advance“>Game Boy Advance with a black case in the United Kingdom.
Nintendo releases Super Mario Advance 2 for the Game Boy Advance in the United Kingdom.
US District Judge Stephen Limbaugh rejects a request to invalidate a St. Louis ordinance that went into effect in 2000 limiting minors’ access to video game arcades. The judge rules that video games are not protected by the constitutional right to freedom of speech.
2004
The Andromeda episode “Trusting the Gordian Maze” first airs. (No. 418) In it, the Triumvirate sends an operative to steal the Star Map from Dylan.
2005
Buena Vista Games acquires the video game developer Avalanche Software, based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit the official Disney Interactive Studios website.
Majesco releases Psychonauts for the Xbox in the US. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: T (Teen)
Midway releases Unreal Championship 2 for the Xbox in the US. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: M (Mature)
Nintendo announces that Broadcom has signed a contract to supply the wireless technology for the next Nintendo video game console. Visit the official Nintendo website.
2006
Capcom releases the survival horror game Resident Evil: The Missions for mobile phones in the US.
2007
Introversion Software releases the real-time strategy (RTS) game DEFCON for the Macintosh. Visit the game’s official website. Price: US$29.99
Nintendo releases the platform game Super Paper Mario for the Wii in Japan. Visit the game’s official website. CERO: A (All ages)
Nintendo releases the racing game Diddy Kong Racing DS for the Nintendo DS in Australia. Visit the game’s official website. OFLC : G (General)
Taito releases the game anthology Furu Furu Park for the Wii in Japan. CERO: A (All ages)
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