The Great Geek Manual

1346
A cannon is first used during a battle in France, using a round ball carved from rock. Edward III of England reportedly uses twenty-two cannons during to defeat of Philip VI of France at Crécy. These cannons, with no more power than a trebuchet, were incapable of bring down the walls by themselves. Their primary purpose is psychological. The flash and noise of them make it impossible for the French to forget that their lives are in danger. Their effect will be recorded in a well known manuscript, Froissart’s Chroniques of the battle of Crécy. “The English fired of some cannons which they had brought to the battle to frighten the Genoese.” However, despite the extensive use of cannons, the battle’s victory will be attributed to the longbowmen.

1843
The first US typewriter design is patented by Charles Thurber of Norwich, Connecticut. (US No. 3,228) The patent is described as a “machine for printing by hand by pressing upon keys which contain the type, called ‘Thurber’s Patent Printer.’” Thurber is the first to design a mechanism which places the paper on a roller and move it longitudinally with accurate letter and word spacing.

1858
News is dispatched by telegraph for the first time. The news is a story concerns China agreeing to the peace demands of Europe, and it is sent to The New York Sun, which will print the story the next day.

1884
The first US patent for the Linotype typesetting machine is issued to Ottmar Mergenthaler of Baltimore, Maryland. (US No. 304,272) The patent is for a “matrix making machine.” It will first be used commercially on July 3, 1886.

1902
Conrad Hubert receives a patent for the first flashlight with an on/off switch in a cylindrical case. (US No. 737,107)

1909
An nearly perfectly preserved Cro-Magnon skeleton is discovered by Swiss paleontologist Otto Hauser. Estimated to be thirty-four thousand years old, the remains provide an excellent example of man’s development.

1913
Eugene Augustin Lauste gives a public demonstration of his Photocinematophone sound-on-film system in London, England.

1926
Warner Bros. premieres Don Juan, directed by Alan Crosland and starring John Barrymore. It uses the Vitaphone sound system for synchronous music and sound effects. The film’s music track, made by British-born George Groves with the 107-member New York Philharmonic Orchestra at the Manhattan Opera House in New York, pioneered a six-microphone technique which represents a significant improvement in the film’s sound balance.

1930
Philo Farnsworth is finally granted a patent for his electronic television system, which he applied for in 1927 after being repeatedly delayed by RCA legal action.

1936
John Logie Baird’s 240-line mechanical and EMI’s 405-line electronic systems are used on alternate days for two one-hour periods to transmit experimental high definition television transmissions for the Radiolympia Exhibition in London through September 5th.

1938
A tape recorder is used to broadcast a radio program for the first time in the United States. The recorder is a sapphire stylus engraved Millertape, invented by James Arthur Miller of the Miller Broadcasting Company. A one thousand foot section of the device’s tape carries a fifteen minute program, which can be edited only by physically cutting the tape. This first program using this sound tape is transmitted by WQXR, the Interstate Broadcasting Company, in New York City from 6:30pm to 7 pm.

1957
Warner Bros. releases the horror film The Abominable Snowman, directed by Val Guest and starring Forrest Tucker and Peter Cushing, to UK theaters. The film is based on The Creature, a BBC Television play by writer Nigel Kneale. It follows an English anthropologist on an American expedition searching the Himalayas for the legendary Yeti. IMDB listing

1978
Dr. Sigmund Jähn becomes the first German cosmonaut when the Soyuz 31 spacecraft is launched on a mission to the Salyut 6 space station.

1984
Judith Martin, who writes a syndicated column about personal etiquette under the pen name Miss Manners responds to a question concerning the use of a computer for the first time. In the column, a reader writes in to ask whether its appropriate to use a word processor to type out personal correspondence. Miss Manners replies that it’s inappropriate, that envelops addressed using dot-matrix printers may be mistaken for sweepstakes entries, and that, if friends find out that portions of personal correspondence have been copied-and-pasted, it would cause further difficulties.

1988
Hudson Soft releases the platform game Xexyz for the Famicom game system in Japan.

1991
The original “pilot episode” of the long-running sci-fi series Doctor Who, “An Unearthly Child,” is aired for the first time on the BBC. Though the series first premiered on November 23, 1963, the pilot was so riddled with small technical issues, it had to be entirely re-shot. As the series grew in popularity, its “unaired pilot” became the stuff of legends, the holy grail for hardcore fans – though, because it wasn’t British practice to shoot pilots the term is incorrect.

Nintendo release the action adventure game Metroid II: Return of Samus for the Game Boy in the US. It is the second title released in the Metroid series. ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults)

1994
KEMCO releases the action roleplaying game (RPG) Dragon View for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in Japan. It is the sequel to the Drakkhen roleplaying game. Despite receiving solid reviews from critics and consumers, the game will remain relatively obscure, partly due to its quite release and partly due to the fact that it was released late in the lifespan of the SNES.

Namco releases the puzzle game Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures for the Super Famicom in Japan.

1997
The Crystal Space framework is first publicly released. It is a framework for developing 3D applications written in C++ by Jorrit Tyberghein as free software, licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License. It is popularly used as a game engine, but is general enough to be used for other applications. Visit the software’s official website.

1998
Be Inc. releases Release 3.2 of the BeOS operating system for Intel-compatible processor-based personal computers. Updated features include more support for Pentium and PowerPC processors, improved DOS and Window file format support, faster animation, and an improved Web browser. Visit Be’s official website.

Gateway introduces the Gateway Destination computer, featuring a 333 MHz Celeron processor, a twenty-seven inch television monitor, a DVD drive, and a 2GB hard drive. Price: US$1,999

Gateway introduces the Gateway Destination computer, featuring a 450MHz Pentium II processor, a thirty-six inch television monitor, surround sound speakers, and a 2GB hard drive. Price: US$4,999

Midway Games releases the platform game Gex: Enter the Gecko for the Nintendo 64. It is a remake of the original, which was released in November 21. This version features a new level, replacing the secret levels of the former game. The new level, “Gecques Cousteau” is based , and named after, the Titanic, which is almost entirely underwater. ESRB: E (Everyone)

The Win95.CIH virus strikes hundreds of computers, as many as five hundred in one company alone. The bug, programmed to attack on the twenty-sixth of every month, exploits a vulnerability of Windows 95 and Windows 98 and often deletes files which cause systems to crash.

1999
Acclaim releases the football game NFL Quarterback Club 2000 for the Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 in the US. ESRB: E (Everyone)

Rick Latman steps down as president of Microworkz.com, an Internet-based low-cost computer retailer, stating “…it’s time for a more seasoned management influence to take hold.”

The website of the
Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines is hacked by “Sarin”, gains access to network passwords and litters the site with South Park cartoon graffiti.

2000
Enix releases the roleplaying game (rpg) Dragon Quest VII for the PlayStation in Japan. CERO: A (All Ages)

2002
The Caldera International software company announces that it is changing its name to The SCO Group to reflect it’s change in focus from the development of server software to UNIX.

Intel releases the 2.5 GHz Pentium 4 processor, with 400 MHz front-side bus. Price is US$243 in quantities of 1000.

Intel releases the 2.6 GHz Pentium 4 processor, with 400 MHz front-side bus. Price is US$401 in quantities of 1000.

Intel releases the 2.66 GHz Pentium 4 processor, with 533 MHz front-side bus. Price is US$401 in quantities of 1000.

Intel releases the 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 processor, with 533 MHz front-side bus. Price is US$508 in quantities of 1000.

Midway releases MLB Slugfest 20-03 for the Xbox. ESRB: E (Everyone)

Nintendo releases the 3-D platform game Super Mario Sunshine video game for the Nintendo GameCube in the US. It is the first original traditional Mario platform game since Super Mario 64, released six years age. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: E (Everyone)

TeamSpeak Systems first releases TeamSpeak, a proprietary voice over IP (VOIP) application that allows users to speak with other users through a chat channel, much like a telephone conference call. The application targets gamers, who can use the software to communicate with their teammates in multiplayer games, especially in MMORPG games. Communicating with Team Speak gives teams a competitive advantage by allowing players to keep their hands on the mouse and keyboards while playing. Visit the game’s official website.

In the US, Microsoft begins offering a full-cost US$30 rebate on a DVD playback kit when purchased with a new Xbox. The offer ends November 2.

2003
Buena Vista Interactive releases the first person shooter TRON 2.0 for Windows in the US. The game is a sequel to the 1982 film Tron. The game is set “inside” a computer in the same sense as the original movie. It makes somewhat dubious use of computing conventions. For instance, at one point, players battle viruses while fleeing a format, and at another point, they wield a sniper rifle known as the LOL. Bruce Boxleitner reprises his role from the original movie as Alan Bradley. Cindy Morgan, who also starred in the original movie, voices the new character, Ma3a. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos provides the voice of Mercury. ESRB: T (Teen)

Crave Entertainment releases the puzzle game Mojo! for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. In the game, players steer a marble through a series of traps in order to break all of the colored blocks in a level, in a manner very similar to Super Monkey Ball or Marble Madness. There are one hundred levels in all, along with multiplayer modes, and players receive a bonus for finishing levels in a certain amount of time. There is also a stage editor where you can create all new levels.

Del Rey publishes the fantasy novel Jarka Ruus by Terry Brooks as a hardback. (ISBN-10: 0345435737) It is the first book in the High Druid of Shannara trilogy. The book is set twenty years after Grianne Ohmsford denounced her former life as the dreaded Ilse Witch – saved by the love of her brother, the magic of the Sword of Shannara, and the destruction of her evil mentor, the Morgawr. Now, fulfilling the destiny predicted for her, she has established the Third Druid Council, and dedicated herself to its goals of peace, harmony among the races, and defense of the Four Lands. However, the political intrigue, secret treachery, and sinister deeds that have haunted Druid history for generations continue to thrive. Length: 416 pages

Del Rey publishes the fantasy anthology Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy by Douglas A. Anderson as a paperback. (ISBN-10: 0345458559) In the book, Tolkien expert Douglas A. Anderson has gathered together the fiction that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien. It includes shorts from such masters as H. Rider Haggard, Andrew Lang, George MacDonald, and E. Nesbit. Length: 436 pages

Del Rey publishes the fantasy novel The Heritage of Shannara by Terry Brooks as a hardcover. (ISBN-10: 0345465547) This volume contains four full novels, set several centuries after the original Shannara trilogy, which tell one cohesive story. The four novels include: The Scions of Shannara, in which the Ohmsfords to meet with the shade of Allanon; The Druid of Shannara, in which Walker Boh reluctantly searches for the Black Elfstone, which has the power to restore the Druids and their keep, Paranor; The Elf Queen of Shannara, in which Ohmsford travels beyond the shores of the Westland in search of the lost Elven race; and The Talismans of Shannara, which details the final conflict between the Ohmsfords and the Shadowen monsters that have overtaken the Four Lands. Length: 1,248 pages

Del Rey publishes the novel The Lost Steersman by Rosemary Kirstein as a paperback. (ISBN-10: 0345462297) It is the third book in the Steersman series, which combines both fantasy and science fiction elements. Length: 432 pages

Namco releases the fighting game Soul Calibur II for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox in the US. Namco and Electronics Boutique (EB Games) hold a midnight release party in New York City.

Version 2 (v1.4.2_01) of the Java programming language is released by Sun Microsystems. Visit the official Java website.

2004
Empire Interactive releases the shooter Starsky & Hutch for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Windows, and Xbox in North America. The game is based on the Starsky and Hutch television series. ESRB: T (Teen)

Gollancz publishes Demonstorm by James Barclay as a hardcover. (ISBN-10: 0575073322) It is the fourth book in the Legend of the Raven series. In it, the dragons have gone home, the elves are safe. The Raven have kept their promises. But fate has not finished with them. As the war between the colleges rages on an old enemy senses that his chance to revenge a bitter defeat has come.

Nintendo releases the pinball game Mario Pinball Land for the Game Boy Advance in Japan. Visit the game’s official website. CERO: All ages

A portion of Half-Life 2 is released for pre-load through the Steam content delivery system. It allows customers to download the encrypted game files to their computer before the game is officially released. When the game is released, customers will be able to pay for the game through Steam, unlock the files on their hard drives and play the game immediately without having to wait for the entire game to download. The pre-load will be available for several weeks and several subsequent portions of the game being will be made available, to ensure that all customers have a chance to download the content before the game is released.

Tor Books publishes The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory as a paperback. (ISBN-10: 0765341417) It is the first book in The Obsidian Trilogy. Length: 736 pages

Tor Books publishes Sinner by Sara Douglass as a hardcover. (ISBN-10: 0312870469) It is the fourth book in the Wayfarer Redemption series. Length: 464 pages

Wizards of the Coast releases Flight of the Fallen by Mary H. Herbert as a paperback. (ISBN-10: 0786932457) It is the second book in the Linsha trilogy of books that explores the south of the Dragonlance setting following the War of Souls. Length: 320 pages

2005
The Battlestar Galactica episode “Home, Part 2” first airs. In it, Roslin and her followers continue their search for the Tomb of Athena on Kobol as Adama travels there to reunite the fleet. Battlestar Wiki entry

The fantasy film The Brothers Grimm, directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Jonathan Pryce, Peter Stormare, and Monica Bellucci, to 3,087 US theaters. In the film, folklore collectors and con artists, Jake and Will Grimm, travel from village to village pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures and performing exorcisms for a living. They are put to the test, however, when they encounter a real magical curse in a haunted forest with real magical beings, testing their courage. Produced on a budget of US$88 million, the film will gross US$15,092,079 domestically in its opening weekend. IMDB listing MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 2 hrs

Farid Essebar, age 18, of Morocco is arrested by local authorities at the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for allegedly creating and releasing the Zotob Worm on commission for Atilla Ekici of Turkey, who is also arrested. On September 16, 2006, Essabar and his friend Achraf Bahloul will be sentenced in Morocco to two years in prison on charges of charges of conspiracy, theft, using forged credit cards, and illegal access to computers. On December 15, 2006 their sentences will be reduced to one year. The worm effected systems running Windows 2000, including those of ABC News, Boeing, Caterpillar, CNN, the New York Times, and the United States Department of Homeland Security. Because Zotob struck so many large media outlets, it received a disproportionately amount of news coverage, and Microsoft subsequently offered a quarter of a million dollar reward for the capture of the hackers responsible. The arrests of Essebar and Ekici comes just two weeks after the announcement of the reward.

Privateer Press publishes Liber Mechanika (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying, Iron Kingdoms Setting) by Iron Kingdoms as a paperback. (ISBN-10: 1933362014) The Liber Mechanika is the handbook to the arcane art of mechanikal artifice and steam-follery in the Iron Kingdoms or any d20 campaign setting. Length: 128 pages

Screen Gems releases the horror film The Cave, directed by Bruce Hunt and starring Cole Hauser, Morris Chestnut, Eddie Cibrian, Rick Ravanello, and Marcel Iures, to 2,195 US theaters. In the film, a group of cave-divers and scientists explore a newly found cave system in Romania. However, a cave-in blocks the exit and after delving further into the cave, the group discover a pack of deadly creatures are waiting for them. With the expedition’s leader suffering very strange side-effects from a wound and with their numbers rapidly dwindling, the group must delve even further into the cave, battle the creatures if they’re to have any hope of finding an exit. Produced on a budget of US$30 million, the film will gross US$6,147,294 domestically in its opening weekend. Visit the film’s official website. IMDB listing MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 hr 37 min

Sega releases the puzzle game Super Monkey Ball Deluxe for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in Europe. The game includes 114 levels from the original Super Monkey Ball, 149 from Super Monkey Ball 2, plus an additional 47 exclusive boards made specifically for the Super Monkey Ball Deluxe edition, making a total of three hundred levels. Every level is named after its background. For instance, level two is named “volcanic magma.” PEGI: 3+

The Stargate SG-1 episode “Ex Deus Machina” first airs. (No. 907) In it, the team learns that Ba’al has been living on Earth for several months as the head of a major corporation. After contacting the SGC, he demands that he be allowed to leave the planet in peace, otherwise he will detonate a naqahdah bomb hidden somewhere in America. However, Gerak is determined to capture him. GateWorld entry

A study is published in the medical journal The Lancet that indicates that drugs based on homeopathy may not be more effective than a placebo.

Ubisoft releases the tactical shooter Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike for the Xbox in Europe. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: T (Teen)

US Scientists publish new data in the journal Science that supports the notion that the Earth’s core is spinning at a different speed than the outer crust. The data comes from a comparison of seismic waves produced by pairs of earthquakes occurring at the same location on the planet at different times. The results show that the inner core is rotating faster than the rest of the planet by about 0.009 seconds per year. Visit the journal’s official website.

White Wolf Publishing publishes VII (Vampire: the Requiem) by Chriftopher Kobar, Greg Stolze, and Chuck Wendig as a hardcover. (ISBN-10: 1588462587) Length: 164 pages