The Great Geek Manual

1856
The first US patent for the tintype photographic picture process is issued to Professor Hamilton L. Smith of Gambier, Ohio, “For the Use of Japanned Metallic Plates in Photography” to obtain “positive impressions upon a japanned surface previously prepared upon an iron or other metallic plate or sheets; and it consists in the use of collodion and a solution of a salt of silver and an ordinary camera.” (US No. 14,300) The patent describes the preparation of the black varnish, along with the varnish’s application and baking.

1878
Thomas Edison patents the phonograph. His first recording is of himself reciting “Mary Had a Little Lamb” by speaking into the device’s large horn, which transmits vibrations to a needle, which inscribes a recording onto a tin-foil cylinder, which is rotated by hand. (US No. 200,521) Read an excellent history of the Edison phonograph at the US Library of Congress website.

1946
Alan Turing presents the “Proposal for the Development in the Mathematics Division of an Automatic Computing Engine (ACE)” to a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in Teddington, England.

1970
The Soviet Union launches the Sputnik 52 space probe and the Molniya 1-13 communications satellite.

1971
The first warrant to search a computer is issued in San Jose, California. The search will ultimately lead to a conviction for theft of trade secrets.

1974
Nolan Bushnell is issued a patent for a “video image positioning control system” for his Pong home video game system. (US No. 3,793,483) Read more about Pong. View the patent at Google.

1981
At the International Solid State Circuits Conference, Intel introduces the iAPX432 processor, the company’s first 32-bit processor, and begins shipping evaluation sets. The processor is a set of three chips, which incorporate over two hundred thousand transistors. Intel claims the processor should perform at two million instructions per second (MIPS). Visit the official Intel website.

1982
Embassy Pictures releases the horror film Swamp Thing, directed by Wes Craven and starring Louis Jourdan, Adrienne Barbeau, Ray Wise, and David Hess, to US theaters. The film is based on the DC Comics character “Swamp Thing“. The film was produced on a budget of US$3 million. IMDB listing Running time: 1 hr 31 mins

Mattel Electronics introduces several of its Intellivision video games ported to the Atari VCS video game system.

1983
According to Twin Galaxies, Tracey Miller scores a record-setting 171,110 points playing Ant Eater at the Bun ‘n Games arcade in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Visit the official Twin Galaxies website.

According to Twin Galaxies, Mike Klug scores a record-setting 65,410 playing the popular Pole Position racing game at the Video Paradise in San Jose, California. Visit the official Twin Galaxies website.

1985
United States President Ronald Regan awards Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak of Apple Computer, Inc. a National Medal of Science in recognition of the company’s technological innovations just two weeks after their highly publicized parting ways.

William J. Schroeder becomes the first artificial heart recipient to leave a hospital in good health.

1986
Activision, an American computer and video game developer, makes a deal to acquire Infocom, an American software company, for US$7.5 million in cash and stock. Visit the official Activision website.

1987
Apple Computer registers internet domain “Apple.com”. It is one of the first one hundred companies to register a .com domain. Visit the official website of Apple Computer.

1990
The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise” first airs. (No. 315) In it, the crew encounters the Enterprise C at a spacial anomaly, and during the subsequent change in the timeline, Tasha Yar rejoins the crew. Memory Alpha entry

1991
American Video Entertainment accuses Nintendo of secretly making technical changes to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to make competitors’ game cartridges unplayable. Nintendo claims that the changes are part of an ongoing effort to stop worldwide game counterfeiting. Visit the official Nintendo website.

1994
Mike Godwin publishes an article entitled “When Copying Isn’t Theft: How the Government Stumbled in a ‘Hacker’ Case” in the January-February issue of the magazine Internet World. The article comments on some of the issues involved in the Craig Neidorf case. Read a transcript of the Craig Neidorf trial at the Temple of the Screaming Electron.

1996
Apple Computer announces that Motorola’s Computer Group has licensed the Mac OS. Motorola will be able to sub-license the Mac OS to other manufacturers who purchase PowerPC motherboards from Motorola. Visit the official Motorola website.

The Star Trek: Voyager episode “Death Wish” first airs. (No. 218) In it, a member of the Q Continuum ready to commit suicide comes aboard seeking assistance. Memory Alpha entry

1997
Heidi Roizen, Vice President of developer relations, resigns from Apple Computer“>Apple Computer in order to spend more time with her family. Visit the official website of Apple Computer.

The US federal government announces a severe crackdown on Internet-based scams in which users are lured to free software which covertly dials international toll numbers after being run.

1998
The website of Maxout is hacked by “Jf_ aka Josh Freedaleman” of the “CoF”. View an archived version of the defaced website.

The website of the Interpraesenz Online-Service is hacked by “The Tech Voodoo Crew”. View an archived version of the defaced website.

The website of Virginia K12 Schools is hacked by “The Tech Voodoo Crew”. View an archived version of the defaced website.

1999
The COMDEX website is defaced by “E-pROM”.

2001
Apple Computer announces that it has begun shipping its new 733MHz Power Mac G4, which is the first system to feature the SuperDrive, a combination CD-RW/DVD-R drive is able to read and write CD as well as DVD media.

Interplay releases the expansion pack Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter for the roleplaying game (RPG) Icewind Dale for Windows. The expansion features a new campaign, new difficulty setting, new magical items, and new opponents. ELSPA: 11+ ESRB: T (Teen) USK: 12+

2002
The NASA space probe Mars Odyssey begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system. The mission will ultimately be a success, revealing more underground ice on the Red Planet than scientists had expected.

Paul Puzyrev and Sergei Larionov releases the miniBB under a GNU General Public License. It’s a PHP-based threaded discussion board designed to be user-friendly and easily installed by amateur web masters. MiniBB stands for “mini bulletin board.” Visit the official miniBB website.

Video game developer Sierra Entertainment, Inc. changes its name to Sierra On-Line. Visit the official Sierra website.

2003
Microsoft announces that it has acquired Connectix, a developer of virtualization software. Visit the official Microsoft website.

The Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Future Tense” first airs. (No. 216) In it, the Enterprise encounters a derelict ship, but the Suliban and the Tholians both attempt to claim it. Memory Alpha entry

Version 2.3a2 of the Python programming language is released. Visit the official Python website.

2004
A Louisiana man is arrested by the FBI for releasing the 911 Worm to WebTV users in July 2002. David Jeansonne, 43, of Metairie, Louisiana allegedly sent an e-mail to WebTV users that included a worm which reprogrammed their computers to dial “911″ (the US emergency services number) instead of a local Internet access telephone number. On February 14, 2005, Jeansonne will plead guilty to intentionally damaging protected computers and causing a threat to public safety (including losses of over five thousand dollars).

Yahoo! discontinues the use of Google-powered search results, launching its own search algorithm. Visit the official Yahoo! website.

2006
United States President George W. Bush awards George Lucas and Chrissie England of Industrial Light & Magic a National Medal of Science in recognition of the company’s technological innovations.

2008
Analog cellphone networks in the United States are shut down.

Jon Lech Johansen, better known by the handle “DVD Jon,” releases the desktop application doubleTwist into open beta through the company DoubleTwist Ventures. DoubleTwist simplifies the process of sharing media files protected by digital rights management systems between portable media players and over web-based social networks.

Toshiba announces that it will discontinue its support of its HD DVD format, leaving Sony’s Blu-ray format the prevailing next generation format.