1184 BCE
The Greeks penetrate Troy using the infamous Trojan Horse.
1061
Halley’s Cometappears over England, heralding an invasion. A monk sights it and predicts the destruction of the country.
1800
The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate US$5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress”. Visit the official Library of Congress website.
1877
Charles F. Brush is issued a patent for his first dynamo, which he had first assembled in the summer of 1876. (US No. 189,997) The patent is titled “Improvement in Magneto-Electric Machines.”
1888
The Eastman Kodak Company is founded by George Eastman. Within a year he perfects and markets the first affordable camera using roll film. Visit the official Kodak website.
1925
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is taught in Dayton, Tennessee by John Scopes, who uses the high school textbook, “A Civic Biology: Presented in Problems” by George William Hunter. Scopes, age 24, will be prosecuted under the Butler Act, a state law enacted March 21 1925. The law prohibits the teaching of evolution in public schools. The trial, which will be held July 10-21, 1925, will be used to challenge the legality of the statute on a national stage. Scopes will ultimately be convicted and fined US$100. On appeal, the Tennessee supreme court will uphold the constitutionality of the law, but it will acquit Scopes on the technicality that he had been fined excessively. On May 17 1967, the law will be repealed.
1955
The half-hour science fiction radio series “X-Minus One” premieres on NBC radio this day. The series is revival of the popular Dimension X radio program, which ran from April 8, 1950 to September 29, 1951. It will garner wide critical acclaim as it continue to feature stories from some of the best-known authors in science fiction, including: Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein, Frederik Pohl, and Theodore Sturgeon. It will run until January 9, 1958 in various timeslots. Listen to X Minus One episodes.
1962
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) achieves the first transcontinental satellite relay of a television signal with the a transmission between Camp Parks, California and Westford, Massachusetts. The picture quality is poor, but the images remain recognizable. The signal is reflected from Echo I, which was launched two years earlier. With the broadcast, the era of satellite television begins.
1967
Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1, when the capsule’s parachute fails to open, becoming the first human to die during a space mission. Read a detailed biography of Komarov at Astronautix.
1970
The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, is launched. Upon reaching orbit, the satellite transmits a popular Communist Chinese song, “The East is Red.”
1978
Fortune magazine publishes an article on ComputerLand, the first retail store really devoted to computers.
1981
International Business Machines (IBM) introduces its first personal computer, the IBM PC (model 5150). The system features a 4.77MHz Intel 8088 processor, an optional 8087 math coprocessor, 16KB RAM, one or two 160 KB 5¼ inch disk-drives, five expansion slots, IBM Basic, PC-DOS 1.0, and either CP/M-86 or UCSD p-System. It will be released on August 12th and discontinued on April 2, 1987. Read more at the Old Computers online museum. Visit the official IBM website.
1984
Apple Computer introduces the Apple IIc, a portable machine designed to have the same operating capacity as the standard Apple IIe model, at the Apple Forever Conference at the Moscone Center in San Diego, California. The system features a 1.023MHz 65C02A CPU, 128KB RAM, a 63-key keyboard, and a 5¼ inch floppy disk drive. It is the fourth machine in the Apple II line of computers, and Apple Computer’s first attempt at producing a portable computer. The “c” in Apple IIc stands for “compact.” Two thousand dealers place orders for a total of more than fifty-two thousand units in the first day following the system’s introduction. Apple discontinues both the Apple III and Apple III+, with the announcement that over sixty thousand Macs have been sold to date. Price: US$1,295 Weight: 7½ pounds (without monitor)
1985
The first Internet domains are registered, including bbn.com, berkeley.edu, cmu.edu, purdue.edu, rice.edu, rutgers.edu, and ucla.edu. Symbolics.com became the first assigned domain on March 15.
1989
The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Icarus Factor” first airs. (No. 214) Riker’s father visits the Enterprise to brief him in preparation for taking command of the Aries, while the crew help Worf celebrate the Rite of Ascension. Memory Alpha entry
1990
At the Palladium in New York City, Commodore hosts Multimedia Live! and announces the Amiga 3000 computer, featuring a Motorola 16 or 25MHz 68030, 68881 or 68882 math coprocessor, a new Enhanced Chip Set, Zorro III bus, 2MB RAM, a 40 or 100MB hard drive, the AmigaDOS v2.0 operating system, and the AmigaVision authoring system. Price: US$3,299 (16MHz, 40MB), US$3,999 (25MHz, 40MB), US$4,699 (25MHz, 100MB)
The Space Shuttle Discovery is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida carrying the Hubble Space Telescope to be placed into orbit. Visit the official NASA website for the Hubble Telescope.
1991
Andrew Milner’s RemoteAccess BBS v1.01, written in Turbo Pascal, is released. RemoteAccess (RA) was first developed as a clone of QuickBBS, with the additional ability to run multiple nodes simultaneously. RA will quickly outstrip QuickBBS in terms of features, and will eventually become one of the most popular bulletin board systems (BBS) in the western world.
1995
The Comdex Spring trade show is held concurrently with The Windows World ‘95 conference over four days in Atlanta, Georgia.
1996
Nolan Bushnell, founder of both Atari and the Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza-Time Theaters chain, announces plans to start a venture to sell wholesome coin-operated video games to restaurants and other businesses through a company called Aristo. Bushnell, who is credited as the inventor of the first commercial video game, plans to finance the project by selling his private company, Vistar, to Aristo.
1997
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announces that Digital Equipment will use the K6 processor in a business desktop computer line.
The website of Republic of Indonesia is hacked by “Toxyn”. View an archived version of the defaced website.
1998
Gateway 2000 announces plans to launch a new advertising campaign that drops “2000″ from the company’s name. A spokesperson states that as Gateway approaches the new millennium, they feel the original name will be dated. Visit the official Gateway website.
The last of sixty-two game titles is released for the NEC PC-FX video game console, First Kiss Story, is released in Japan. The game is an interactive visual romance novel.
2000
ATI introduces their Radeon line of graphics processing units (GPU). Visit the official ATI Technologies website.
Expert sources speculate that the United States Justice Department may be seeking a break-up of the Microsoft Corporation for violations of antitrust law. Microsoft vows to fight any such efforts to full extent of the law.
Intel releases the 550MHz Mobile Celeron 550, featuring a 128KB Level-2 Cache and a 100MHz Front-Side Bus.
Intel releases the 700MHz (Mobile) processor. Visit the official Intel website.
Magic Box News reports that Sony recommends that owners of the SCPH-1020 memory card should remove the card prior to powering off the PlayStation 2. This will help to avoid accidental erasure of the memory cards’ data.
2001
HarperCollins publishes the fantasy novel Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett as a hardcover. (ISBN-13: 978-0060199562) It is the twenty-sixth Discworld novel. Visit the author’s official website. Length: 336 pages
2002
Konami releases the music game Dance Dance Revolution Konamix for the PlayStation in the US. ESRB: E (Everyone)
Microsoft Game Studios releases Halo: Combat Evolved for the XBox in Japan. Visit the game’s official website. CERO: C (Ages 15 and up)
The Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Detained” first airs. (No. 121) In it, Archer and Travis are trapped in a Suliban prison camp by the Tandarans. Memory Alpha entry
A team of hackers known as the “Deceptive Duo” publicly defaces an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) server used by the administration’s Civil Aviation Security organization, which is responsible for supervising passenger screening at US airports. On the site, the Duo post a mission statement vowing to expose America’s poor state of cyber-security for the good of the nation.
Version 6.0 of the Intel C++ Compiler is released. Visit the official Intel Compiler website.
2003
Apple Computer discontinues the seventeen inch PowerBook G4 Aluminum.
Bethesda Softworks releases the racing game All-Star Racing 2 for the PlayStation in the US. ESRB: E (Everyone)
From Software releases the stealth action game Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. Visit the game’s official website.
Microsoft releases Windows Server 2003, also known as Windows NT 5.2 and, for a time, Windows.NET server. 2003 includes many new security features, including a new “Manage Your Server” wizard that simplifies configuring a machine for specific roles, and improved performance. A few services not essential for server environments are disabled by default for stability reasons, most noticeably the “Windows Audio” and “Themes” services. Users have to enable them manually to get sound or the “Luna” look as per Windows XP. The hardware acceleration for displays is also turned off by default, users have to turn the acceleration level up themselves if they trust the display card driver.
2004
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) releases the dancing game EyeToy: Groove for the PlayStation 2 in South Korea. Visit the game’s official website.
2005
Microsoft releases the Windows XP Professional x64 Edition operating system is released. Visit the official Windows XP Professional x64 Edition website.
2006
4sight Licensing Solutions, a subsidiary of 4Kids Entertainment, announces plans to oversee Xbox and Xbox 360 global licensing. Visit the official 4Kids Entertainment website.
Apple Computer announces the seventeen-inch MacBook Pro, which is intended to replace the seventeen inch PowerBook, featuring a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 and the 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo processor. Weight: 6.8 pounds (3.08kg)
EA Sports releases 2006 FIFA World Cup for personal computers, the Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox, and Xbox 360 in North America. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: E (Everything)
GameSpot launches a United Kingdom version of its website, GameSpot UK.
Midway releases Rampage: Total Destruction for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 in the US. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: E10+ (Everyone)
Nintendo releases the shooter Star Fox: Assault for the GameCube in the US. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: T (Teen)
Sony announces that it will begin testing chip components for the PlayStation 3 shortly, suggesting a worldwide release in November.
Viacom purchases the gamer-oriented freeware instant messaging service Xfire for US$102 million. Visit the official Xfire site.
2007
Bandai Namco Games releases the racing game The Fast and the Furious for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) in North America. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: T (Teen)
Eidos Interactive releases the third-person shooter Bionicle Heroes for the Wii in the US. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: E (Everyone)
Hewlett-Packard announced it is acquiring Arteis, the operater of the Logoworks distributed graphic design service. Visit the official Logoworks website.
Hyperion publishes the fantasy novel The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima as a hardcover. (ISBN-13: 978-1423104872) Length: 464 pages
Midway Games releases the fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar for Windows in Europe and the US. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: T (Teen)
Play Ten Interactive releases the real-time strategy (RTS) game Ancient Wars: Sparta for Windows in the US. Visit the game’s official website.
The potentially Earth-like extrasolar planet Gliese 581 c is discovered in the constellation Libra.
SNK Playmore releases SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS for the Nintendo DS in the US. ESRB: T (Teen)
Vivendi Universal releases the first-person shooter (FPS) F.E.A.R. for the PlayStation 3 in North America. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: M (Mature)
|
|
|
Comments are closed
