The Great Geek Manual

1785
The University of Georgia, the first public university in the United States, is founded. Visit the official University of Georgia website.

1880
Thomas Edison receives a patent for “an electric lamp for giving light by incandescence” which he first invented on November 21, 1879. (US No. 223,898) Edison’s invention will have a tremendous impact on the electronics industry. In the course of developing the light bulb, one of Edison’s assistants discovered the flow of energy from one electrode to another in what will later come to be known as the “Edison effect,” which will later be fundamental principal of the electron tube, which will be, in turn, the foundation of electronics industry. To view a high resolution scan of the patent application, or to read a transcript of the patent application, visit US News online.

1888
In Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Society is founded as a non-profit organization for the purpose of disseminating geographical knowledge.

1926
This date is often incorrectly cited as the day John Logie Baird first publicly demonstrated the television. The date will be accidentally given to reporters during a series of talks in 1931 by Baird himself. The actual date is January 26, 1926.

1948
The Wire Recording Corporation of America announces the commercial availability of the “Wireway,” the first magnetic wire recorder. It is a is lightweight, portable device with a built-in oscillator. Price: US$149.50

1950
An article in the journal Science announces a new antibiotic named Terramyacin, which was manufactured by Charles Pfizer & Co. and isolated from soil in Indiana. Effective against dysentery, pneumonia, and other infections, Terramyacin is the first pharmaceutical discovered as the result of the company’s intensive quest to find new organisms to fight disease. Pfizer had collected 135,000 soil samples from around the globe, including the bottom of mine shafts and oceans, deserts, and mountains.

1956
The “CBS Radio Workshop” premieres with Aldous Huxley reading his science fiction classic, “Brave New World“. The anthology series is a revival of the Columbia workshop. It will run until September 22, 1957 and feature some of the biggest names in science fiction. The success of series will make way for such ground-breaking television series as The Twilight Zone.

1967
Apollo 1 astronauts Roger Chaffee, Gus Grissom, and Edward White are killed when a fire is ignited in the crew cabin, which maintains a pure oxygen atmosphere, during a ground test of the spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center. The ensuing investigation will ground all manned mission through the middle of the next year.

More than sixty nations sign the Outer Space Treaty, which effectively bans nuclear weapons outside of Earth’s atmosphere and forms the basis of all future international space law. The treaty goes into effect on October 10, 1967

1972
Magnavox begins producing the Odyssey video game system, which will be released in May. The Odyssey is the world’s first commercial video game console. The system is fairly primitive. It doesn’t contain any processors; its logic is completely the result of discreet electrical components. Game cartridges are only jumpers that set the configuration of the electronic components of the system. It will be discontinued after only a year on the market, selling very few units.

1977
The International Business Machines (IBM) Data Processing Division introduces the Interactive Instructional System, computer software for training employees or students via remote terminals.

1980
The science fiction series Galactica 1980 premieres on the ABC television network with the episode “Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I“. (No. 1) In it, after thirty years of searching for the planet Earth, the crew of the Galactica find it, only to realize that its people are not advanced enough to help in the war against the Cylons. The series is the result of a massive write-in campaign in which fans protested the cancellation of the original series, but it will be canceled after only ten episodes. TV.com entry

1988
Release 26 of the Infocom interactive fiction game Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels is published for personal computers. It is Infocom’s thirty-first game.

1989
Vic Tokai releases Clash at Demonhead for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in Japan.

1992
The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Hero Worship” first airs. (No. 511) In it, Data saves the life of a young boy who is orphaned in a ship wreck, and the boy begins to emulate Data as the crew investigates the cause of the wreck. Memory Alpha entry

1994
US District Judge Richard G. Stearns dismisses the case against Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student David LaMacchia in the Cynosure Piracy case, in which LaMacchia was accused of using MIT servers to run a bulletin board system (BBS) which offered pirated software. However, LaMacchia will continue to be under pressure until he learns on January 27 that prosecutors will not appeal the judge’s ruling. Although LaMacchia was alleged to have helped other users make illegal copies of software, there was no claim that he profited from the activity, and current laws that he was being prosecuted under only attach criminal penalties to copyright infringement done for profit. In his decision to dismiss the case, Stearns writes that the government’s “interpretation of the wire fraud statute would serve to criminalize the conduct of not only persons like LaMacchia, but also the myriad of home computer users who succumb to the temptation to copy even a single software program for private use.” The dismissal will later be referred to as “LaMacchia Loophole”, wherein it becomes difficult if not impossible to prosecute hobbyists who circulate pirated software recreationally. This loophole will later be closed by the 1997 No Electronic Theft Act (NET Act).

Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) co-founder Jim Clark resigns to found Mosaic Communications, which later became the Netscape Communications Corporation with with Marc Andreesen. Read a profile of Jim Clark at Salon.com.

1995
Kevin Mitnick cracks into the WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link) community servers in order to post files stolen files from Tsutomu Shimomura and credit card numbers stolen from Netcom.

The United States Attorney’s Office announces that it will not file an appeal of the dismissal of the case against David LaMacchia in the “Cynosure” BBS case, in which LaMacchia was accused of running a pirate bulletin board system (BBS) on servers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). LaMacchia’s case was dismissed because of what will come to be known as the “LaMacchia loophole,” under which the court ruled that sharing files without making a financial gain is not a felony.

1997
In an interview on CNBC America Online (AOL) chairman and president, Steve Case, explains that he has no intentions of issuing refunds to satisfy customers who are angry that AOL has failed to deliver the promised unlimited access promised as part of the new flat-fee pricing policy. Many AOL subscribers have either been unable to connect or have been disconnected from the system following the enactment of the new policies in December.

1998
Apple Computer announces that it will restructure its Claris subsidiary, laying off three hundred employees to shift development back to Apple, and that it will be shifting the unit’s focus to developing FileMaker Pro. The subsidiary’s name will be changed to FileMaker, Inc., while the name of the ClarisWorks office suite will be changed to AppleWorks. Visit the official FileMaker website.

The website of Prairie View A&M University is hacked by “Zyklon”.

The website of Virginia Commonwealth University is hacked by “Zyklon”.

The website of Walnut Ridge High School in Arkansas is hacked by “OptikCore”.

1999
The website of Greenpeace is hacked anonymously. View an archived version of the defaced website.

The website of Tech Broker is hacked by “HFG” (”H4CK1NG F0R G1RL13Z”). View an archived version of the defaced website.

The website of the Ku Klux Klan is hacked by “Scream & H.A.R.P.” (”Hackers Against Racist Parties”). View an archived version of the defaced website.

2003
The Andromeda episode “Delenda Est” first airs. (No. 311) In it, the crew must prevent the invasion of a mysterious enemy.

The Apache Software Foundation releases version 2.0 of the Web Services Invocation Framework, a simple Java API for web services. Visit the official Apache WSIF website.

Sony releases the Sony Clié SJ33 handheld computer in Japan and Hong Kong, featuring a 66MHz Motorola Dragonball Super VZ processor, 16Mb RAM, an MP3 player, the Palm 4.1 OS, a 65,536 color 320×320 pixel screen, and a rechargeable battery. Price: US$318

2004
Miramax releases the mockumentary Comic Book: The Movie, directed by and starring Mark Hamill to US theaters. In it, a comic book fan battles against a fictional film studio that is about to announce a movie based on his favorite superhero. The film is notable for its many cameos, including: Bruce Campbell, Peter David, Paul Dini, Matt Groening, Edd Hall, Hugh Hefner, Stan Lee, David Prowse, Kevin Smith, and Bruce Timm. IMDB listing MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running time: 1hr 46 mins

2006
Nintendo releases the platform game Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time for the Nintendo DS in Europe. Visit the game’s official website. PEGI: 3+