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
U.S. 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 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 U.S. 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: 1 hr 46 mins
The SCO Group offers a US$250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the creator of the Mydoom worm. Both the FBI and the Secret Service launch investigations into the origins of the worm. The worm, discovered on January 26th, is designed to launch a massive distributed denial-of-service attack against the SCO group website. Read the original press release.
2006
Western Union discontinues its Telegram and Commercial Messaging services. Western Union was the last company to offer a telegram service, the first of which was launched in 1851 with the founding of the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company. Western Union reports that use of its service has fallen into disuse due to the proliferation of competing technologies, such as e-mail, with as few as 20,000 telegrams a year being sent.
2009
The social-networking site Facebook removes a group created for the purpose of raising money to hire a gunman to “liquidate” Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales. At the time of its removal, the group, created in August, has 8,069 members, but its creator Hony Pierola, age 20, denies that the group was intended to be malicious.
2010
At a press conference at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Steve Jobs unveils the iPad, a tablet computer designed primarily as a platform for audio-visual media. The device features a 30-pin Dock connector, a speaker, a microphone, Bluetooth, and 802.11n WiFi. When the iPad is released in April 2010, three million of the devices will be sold in just eighty days. Price: US$499 (16GB), US$599 (32GB), and US$699 (64GB) Weight: 1.5lb
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