1998
The “Dancing baby“, a 3-D animation popularized by the Internet is featured on an episode of Ally McBeal in which Ally is distressed about the fact that her “biological clock” is ticking away. The episode marks the growing influence of the Internet on mainstream culture.
The made-for-television science fiction film Babylon 5: In the Beginning, directed by Michael Vejar and starring Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs, Andreas Katsulas, Peter Jurasik, Reiner Schöne, and Michael O’Hare airs on TNT. It airs between seasons four and five of the television series Babylon 5. IMDB listing
1999
Intel introduces a new 366MHz Celeron processor and a 400MHz Celeron processor. Price: US$123 and US$158 respectively, in 1,000-unit quantities
2000
Intel releases the 533MHz Celeron processor, with a 66MHz system bus. Price: US$167 in 1,000-unit quantities
2001
Build 2410 of the Windows XP operating system is released to testers. The build features a number of new features, most of them superficial.
Intel unveils its fastest microprocessor to date for low-cost personal computers. The 1.3GHz Pentium 4 will cost US$409 in 1,000-unit quantities
Jagex Limited releases the java-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) RuneScape, later known as RuneScape Classic, for personal computers. The game will boast over nine million active free players and 850,000 paying members at the height of its popularity. In 2004, RuneScape will be rated among the most popular online games in the world. Visit the game’s official website.
Linus Torvalds releases version 2.4 of the Linux kernel source code. New features included in this version include better multiprocessor support for four or more processors, support for 36-bit memory addressing, and IEEE 1394 and USB support. Visit the software’s official website.
2002
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) offers amnesty to businesses using unauthorized copies of software. Business that come forward will only be required to pay the necessary licensing fees without additional penalties, which might otherwise run as high as US$150,000. The BSA offers the program through the end of January. Visit the organization’s official website.
Dimension Films releases the science fiction film Impostor, directed by Gary Fleder and starring Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe, and Vincent D’Onofrio, to 1,870 US theaters. It is based on the 1953 short story of the same name by Philip K. Dick. In it, an engineer glees from the police who have accused him of being an alien infiltrator. Produced on a budget of US$30 million, it will gross US$3,022,523 domestically in its opening weekend. IMDB listing (MPAA Rating: PG-13) Running Time: 1 hr 35 mins
Intel releases the 1.3GHz Celeron processor, featuring a 256kB level 2 cache, and 100 MHz system bus. The processor is manufactured using a 0.13-micron process. Price: US$118 in 1,000 unit quantities
Microsoft releases version 7 of Visual FoxPro for Windows. Visit the application’s official website.
2004
The Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit, lands successfully in the Gusev Crater on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
2005
Stanford Wallace, widely dubbed the “Spam King,” reaches an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to refrain from sending unsolicited advertisements until the federal case brought against him by the agency is resolved. The case alleges that Wallace has used spyware to distribute spam and offered ineffective tools to users for disinfecting their computers. Under the terms of the agreement, Wallace’s companies will continue to send ads only to people who have actually visited one of the companies’ websites.
2006
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Philips and Samsung introduce the first Blu-ray Disc players for the US market. The Philips model is the BDP-9000, and the Samsung model is the BD-P1000. Philips also announces the all-in-one TripleWriter Blu-ray Disc drive for personal computers.
Palm releases the Palm Treo 700w, the first Treo to feature the Windows Mobile operating system. It is the first mobile device to be produced in partnership with Microsoft and Verizon Wireless.
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