The Great Geek Manual

1879
Thomas Alva Edison first publicly demonstrates his electric incandescent light bulb at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. His bulb isn’t the first electric light, since arc lights are already in use for the illumination of large areas, such as department stores and streets lamps. Edison isn’t even the first inventor to experiment with incandescent lamps, which use electricity to heat a filament to a high temperature. However, Edison’s lamp uses the first practical filament and is the first to feature a vacuum seal sufficient to remove the oxygen from the bulb’s interior.

1955
General Motors becomes the first corporation in the United States to earn over US$1 billion in a single year when it reports to its stockholders a listed net income of US$1,189,477,082 in revenues.

1974
Popular Electronics releases its January issue, featuring the Altair 8800 computer on its cover, marking the leading edge of the age of the home computer.

1975
Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) has shipped over two thousand Altair 8800 kits worldwide to date. IMS Associates, Inc. has shipped fifty IMSAI 8080 systems worldwide to date.

1976
Microcomputer manufacturer CROMEMCO is incorporated by Harry Garland and Roger Melen, two roommates at Stanford University. The company’s name, CROMEMCO, is an acronym inspired by the name of their dormatory: CROthers MEMorial Hall COmpany. The company’s first line of products will be based on the Zilog Z80 microprocessor and the S-100 bus.

Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) has shipped over ten thousand Altair 8800 kits worldwide to date.

1978
Microsoft’s year-end sales exceed US$1 million for the first time.

Over 270,000 floppy disk drives have been shipped worldwide to date.

1979
Over 2.5 million floppy disk drives have been shipped worldwide to date.

1981
Over 250 million floppy disk drives have been shipped worldwide to date.

1982
750,000 Commodore VIC-20 computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

600,000 Timex/Sinclair 1000 computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

575,000 Texas Instruments TI 99/4 computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

1983
The AT&T Bell System is broken up by the United States Government.

One million IBM personal computers have been sold to date.

1984
3.5 million Commodore 64 computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

6,000 IBM JX personal computers have been sold in Japan to date.

1987
10.5 million units of the MS-DOS operating system have been shipped worldwide to date.

350,000 IBM PS/2 Model 30 computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

340,000 Apple IIgs computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

308,000 IBM PS/2 Model 50 computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

263,000 IBM PC AT Model 5170 computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

261,000 Atari 130XE and Atari 65XE computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

255,000 Apple Macintosh SE computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

231,000 Apple IIe computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

217,000 IBM PC XT Model 5160 computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

210,000 Leading Edge PC Model D computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

1988
Sega releases the platform game The Revenge of Shinobi for the Sega Genesis in the US. The game is a sequel to the popular 1987 arcade game Shinobi, and it is notable for featuring a soundtrack composed by famous video game soundtrack composer Yuzo Koshiro.

1990
The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Loss” first airs. (No. 410) In it, Troi loses her empathic abilities as the Enterprise is slowly pulled off course by an unknown force. Memory Alpha entry

Vic Tokai releases the platform game Clash at Demonhead for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America. The game is based upon and lampoons the anime medium.

1991
7 million Apple Macintosh computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

15 million units of Microsoft’s Windows 3.0 operating system have been shipped worldwide to date.

16 million units of the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet application have been shipped worldwide to date.

According to Symantec, one thousand viruses exist “in the wild”.

1992
An estimated 135 million personal computers have been shipped worldwide to date.

Perfect Entertainment releases the shooting game Predator 2 for the Sega Genesis and the Sega Master System.

1993
Nintendo releases The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color in the US. It is the fourth official installment in The Legend of Zelda video game series. ESRB:E (Everyone)

1994
1 million units of Windows NT have been shipped worldwide to date.

10 million units of IBM’s OS/2 2.0 operating system have been shipped worldwide to date.

50 – 60 million units of Microsoft’s Windows operating system have been shipped worldwide to date.

According to the Information & Interactive Services Report, America Online (AOL) now serves 1.5 million subscribers, CompuServe serves 2.4 million subscribers, Prodigy serves 1.2 million subscribers, eWorld serves 65,000 subscribers, and Delphi serves 120,000 subscribers.

Nintendo releases the platform game Rocko’s Modern Life: Spunky’s Dangerous Day for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in the US. It is based on the animated Nickelodeon series Rocko’s Modern Life.

1995
According to the Information & Interactive Services Report, America Online (AOL) now serves 4.5 million subscribers, CompuServe serves 4.0 million subscribers, Prodigy serves 1.6 million subscribers, Microsoft Network serves 1.6 million subscribers, eWorld has 126,000 subscribers, and Delphi serves 125,000 subscribers.

Dynamix releases the mecha simulation game Earthsiege 2 for Windows 95 in North America. ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults)

Electronic Arts releases the spaceflight simulator Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom for Windows in the US. The game was produced on a record-shattering budget of $12million, largely due to the unprecedented amount of full motion video featured in the game. ESRB: M (Mature)

Gremlin Interactive releases the racing game Slipstream 5000 for DOS in the US.

The last Calvin and Hobbes comic strip by Bill Watterson is published. Following his retirement, Watterson will withdraw entirely from the public spotlight, giving no interviews, making no public appearances, never giving autographs, and refusing to license his characters. Visit the official Calvin and Hobbes website.

1996
65 million units of Microsoft’s Windows 95 operating system have been shipped to date.

Electronics Arts releases Crusader for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in the US. ESRB: T (Teen)

International Business Machines (IBM) announces that it has developed a hard drive capable storing five gigabits per square inch, which won’t be ready for the consumer market for years.

The NCR Corporation becomes an independent company, emerging as a spin-off from AT&T. Visit the official NCR website.

1997
Eighteen websites with .com and .net top-level domains (TLDs) are hacked and their frontpages are replaced with the same message by “Newport”. The hacked websites include: Awesomegod.net, Marlattconsulting.com, Net4christ.com, and Thisisworldnet.com. View an archived version of the defaced websites’ message.

Eighteen websites with .com and .org top-level domains (TLDs) are hacked by “inhale” and each of their frontpages are replaced with a simple message reading “0wned by inhale”. The hacked websites include: http://www.invent.org, http://www.wbvi.com, and http://www.wfob.com. Some claim that more websites were hacked, but only eighteen were recorded by hacker history sites such as Bill Wall’s list. View an archived version of the defaced websites’ message.

In an attempt to make the Microsoft Network competitive with America Online (AOL), Microsoft announces the acquisition of Hotmail, a free web-based e-mail service, for an industry-estimated US$400 million. The entire acquisition will be finalized on January 3, 1998. Hotmail has 8.5 million users. Visit the official Hotmail website.

Midway releases the racing game Arcade’s Greatest Hits: Atari Collection 2 for the PlayStation in US. ESRB: E (Everyone)

The website of China’s Agricultural University is hacked by “A #HaCkPhR3Ak PhFool”. The website’s frontpage is replaced with a “FreeTibet Now” political message. View an archived version of the defaced website.

The website of Craig Enterprises is hacked by the “FTH crew”. View an archived version of the defaced website.

The website of Datatech Consulting in Sweden is hacked by “414″.

1998
3DO releases BattleTanx for the Nintendo 64 in the US. ESRB: T (Teen)

Activision and Buena Vista Games releases the platform game A Bug’s Life for personal computers in Europe and the US. It is based on the Pixar movie of the same name. ESRB: E (Everyone)

Capcom releases the puzzle game Magical Tetris Challenge for the Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, and PlayStation in Japan. The game is a version of Tetris that features Disney characters.

Microsoft Game Studios releases the real-time strategy (RTS) game Close Combat III: The Russian Front for Windows in the US. It will become critically acclaimed, and in 2007, it will be revamped and released as Cross of Iron. ESRB: E (Everyone)

Sierra Entertainment releases the turn-based strategy game Lords of Magic for Windows in the US.

1999
1.4 billion CD-R discs have been shipped worldwide to date.

14 million CD-RW drives have been shipped worldwide to date.

Activision releases the first-person shooter (FPS) Battlezone II: Combat Commander for Windows in the US. ESRB: E (Everyone)

The Chicago Syslink BBS, which has been operated by George Matyaszek for nearly twenty years, closes.

Computer Associates International, Inc. warns computer users of three newly found viruses designed to prey on Y2K vulnerabilities: the Esmeralda.807 virus, which will cause 32-bit Windows files to open slowly, the Lucky 2000 virus, which steers users to a Russian website, and the Spaces.1633 virus, which interferes with the Windows boot process.

Eidos Interactive and Enix release Dragon Warrior Monsters for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color in the US. ESRB: E (Everyone)

Eidos Interactive releases Final Fantasy VIII for Windows in North America. It will become the fastest selling game in the Final Fantasy franchise when, thirteen weeks after the game’s release, it earns more than US$50 million is sales. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: T (Teen)

Infogrames releases Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time for personal computers in the US. ESRB: E (Everyone)

Working Designs releases Silhouette Mirage for the PlayStation in the US.

2001
Apple Computer has sold a total of 125,000 iPods.

Microsoft discontinues support for the Windows 1.01, Windows 2.0, Windows 2.1, Windows 3.0, and Windows NT 3.51 operating system.

2002
Apple Computer unveils its first limited edition iPods, featuring the signature of Beck, Madonna, or Tony Hawk or the logo of No Doubt engraved on the back plate for an additional US$49. They are the most expensive iPods yet sold by Apple. Price: US$548

2003
Nintendo releases the sports game Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside for the Nintendo 64 in Japan.

Tim Berners-Lee is knighted in recognition of his creation of the World Wide Web. Visit Tim Berners-Lee’s website.

2004
Daniel James Cuthbert, age 28, of Whitechapel, London donates becomes concerned that a website through which he has donated money towards Tsunami relief efforts is actually a phishing scam designed to collect credit card data from unwary users. Being a security consultant, Cuthbert uses an Apple notebook and a Safari browser to perform two very simple penetration tests between 3:12 and 3:15pm. The first test is simply to add ../../../ to the website’s URL in an attempt to access the host’s higher directories. The action, while exceptionally mild, is interpreted at a DTA (Directory Traversal Attack) and subsequently triggers an alarm. Twenty days later he will be arrested at his play of employment, ABN AMRO (from which he will be consequently fired), and his home will be searched. On October 6, 2005, Cuthbert will be convicted of violating Section 1(a) of the UK’s Computer Misuse Act of 1990 and fined £400 by district Judge Quentin Purdy. Section 1(a) reads, “(1) A person is guilty of an offence if (a.) he causes a computer to perform any function with intent to secure access to any program or data held in any computer.” The prosecution will make an application for costs, which will result in another £600 in costs for Cuthbert, but declines to seize the Apple notebook.

Microsoft discontinues support for the Windows NT 4.0 operating system.

2006
Version 1.3 of the PC-BSD operating system is released. PC-BSD is a Unix-like operating system based on FreeBSD that features a simplified graphical installation process. Visit the system’s official website.