1790
In his State of the Union address, United States President George Washington urges the second session of the First US Congress to support the introduction of new and useful inventions from abroad and to recognize the skill and genius of US inventors. Within days, the House of Representatives will set up a committee to draft a patent statute, which George Washington will sign into law on April 10, 1790. The first patent will be granted on July 31, 1790.
1838
The first telegraph message in the US in which letters are represented by dots and dashes is transmitted. The message reads, “A patient waiter is no loser.” The message is transmitted over the system invented by Alfred Vail of Morristown, New Jersey, in September 1837.
1889
Herman Hollerith is awarded the world’s first three computer patents for his tabulating machines (No. 395,781, -2, -3). His system is designed to record statistical data on punch cards. The information on these punch cards can be tallied by running the cards through electromagnetically-operated counters. The patents described the system’s potential use in the compilation of census statistics, for which it will be used in 1890.
1940
The Bell Labs Complex Computer, a full-scale relay calculator designed by Bell Labs engineer Dr. George Stibitz, becomes operational. The machine is capable of performing the complex arithmetic calculations necessary for circuit design. In 1937, Stibitz used flashlight bulbs, surplus relays, tin-can strips, and other bric-a-brack items to construct the K-machine, a digital calculator built on a breadboard capable of adding two bits and displaying the result. By late 1938, Bell Labs had authorized the development of a full-scale relay calculator based on the K-machine to assist in the development of wide-area telephone networks, and, by April 1939, Stibitz’s had begun the construction on the Bell Labs Complex Computer.
1962
Cable & Wireless opens a co-axial telephone cable between Bermuda and the United States, which will remain in operatation until 1990.
1973
The Soviet Luna 21 spacecraft is launched on a mission to the Moon, carrying the Lunokhod 2 lunar rover.
1979
Atari files for a patent for a the Atari 400/800 computer system, described as a “Data processing system with programmable graphics generator.” The inventors of the system are listed as: Steven T. Mayer (Auburn, CA), Jay G. Miner (Sunnyvale, CA), Douglas G. Neubauer (Santa Clara, CA), and Joseph C. Decuir (Mountain View, CA).
1982
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announces that a consent decree has been issued in the anti-trust case that it has brought against AT&T. The company has agrees to divest itself of the wholly owned Bell telephone companies that provide local telephone service in the United States. In return for the concession, the DOJ agrees to lift the constraints of its 1956 decree.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) drops its antitrust case against International Business Machines (IBM), which it filed thirteen years ago, in 1969.
1983
Twin Galaxies holds the first significant video game championship January 8 – 9, to name a world champion. Visit the official Twin Galaxies website.
1987
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Atari introduces its line of IBM-PC clones. The US$699 model supports EGA, CGA, Hercules, and IBM monochrome graphics and includes the monochrome monitor. The US$499 model features similar specifications without EGA capabilities or a monitor. Both systems feature 512KB RAM (expandable to 640KB), a Centronics parallel port, a RS232 serial port, and the Intel 8088 CPU. The products are expected to be delivered in the spring.
1990
The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Hunted” first airs. (No. 311) In it, a genetically modified soldier who escapes the custody of the Enterprise reveals his planet’s mistreatment of all of his kind on his home planet. Memory Alpha entry
1991
American Video Entertainment brings a US$105 million dollar lawsuit against Nintendo, accusing the company of violation of antitrust laws by barring compatible game cartridges from the marketplace. The suit comes after American Video Entertainment developed a technology that allows their own game cartridge format to be played on Nintendo machines.
1992
International Business Machines (IBM) begins shipping a 386SX upgrade for the PS/2 Model 57SX, boosting system performance by up to eighty-eight percent.
1993
At the Winter Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Jeff Hansen again defeats Yuichi Suyama to remain reigning World Nintendo Champion for 1993.
1994
At the Winter Consumer Electronics Show (CES), video game industry representatives begin drafting a common rating system for video games, following Senate hearings on video game violence precipitated by the game Night Trap.
Sega announces that it will withdraw game Night Trap pending a re-edit, and they will re-release the game again once the industry has agreed on a common video game rating system.
1996
Netgear, a manufacturer of computer networking equipment, is founded. Visit the company’s official website.
1997
The California state Legal Employment Network is hacked by “Global Kaos”. Visit an archived version of the defaced website.
Intel releases the 166MHz and 200MHz Pentium processors, the first with MMX multimedia extension instructions for games and advanced multimedia. MMX was originally an acronym for “matrix-multiplication extensions”, which provide an expanded instruction and enhanced 64-bit support. However, very few applications exist to make use of the new functions. The AMD-K6-MMX contains a similar instruction set, and Intel will subsequently challenge their right to use the trademarked “MMX” name, though they will loose the challenge. Code-name: P55C
1998
America Online (AOL) reveals that it has named several firms in a suit to bar them from spamming AOL members. The firms named in the suit include: IMS of Knoxville, Tennessee, Gulf Coast Marketing of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, TSF Marketing and TSF Industries of Riverside, California.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is flooded with fake information requests, and is consequently shut down.
The Maryland Board of Education’s computer systems are hacked and payroll files are altered.
Zenith Electronics introduces the Model IQADTV1W, its first digital high definition television receivers, in the US. Price: US$5,995
2000
IT research firm Computer Economics releases a report that companies lost an estimated US$5.3 billion globally to lost productivity due to their employees recreational web surfing and US$12.1 billion as the result of viruses in 1999. Visit the official Computer Economics website.
2001
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) launches the 850MHz Duron processor. Price: US$149 in 1000 unit quantities
2002
BattleBots Season 4.0 premieres on Comedy Central.
Eos publishes the fantasy novel Acorna’s Search by Anne Mccaffrey and Elizabeth A. Scarborough as a hardcover. (ISBN-10: 0380978989) It is the fifth book in the Acorna series. Length: 304 pages
International Business Machines (IBM) announces that it will no longer manufacture desktop computers in most world markets and that it’s desktop facilities in Europe and the United States will be acquired by Sanmina-SCI.
Yahoo! Brasil acquires Cade?, a Brazilian search engine. Visit the official Yahoo! Brasil website.
2003
The Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Dawn” first airs. (No. 213) In it, Trip is attacked by a hostile alien while performing shuttlepod tests, and he is forced to crash-land on a desolate moon. Memory Alpha entry
2004
Dan Pulcrano of the Metro publishes an article entitled, “Triumph of the Robots – When Google tweaks its search rankings, whole economies tremble in fear.” In the article, Pulcrano writes that Google is, “Bigger Than Jesus.” The entire article can be read at Metroactive, the Metro’s online archive.
“The current generation of information bots is likely the Model T Ford version of what lies ahead. Robots will become our personal information gatekeepers, provide content-based spam filtering, answer our mail and determine who gets through to us on the phone. Eventually, robots will begin to route our physical movements, providing Homeland Security border services, examining our biometrics as we enter buildings, guiding our vehicles on the freeways and braking at stop signs. … Technology usually advances ahead of the social wisdom to control it, and benefits arrive in tandem with risks, from Prometheus’ taming of the fire god to the exploitation of nuclear energy. Prometheus was the inspiration for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, about the robot that got away, just as some early robot science fiction drew from the legend of the golem, a clay figurine that came to life in 1580, the creation of Rabbi Judah Low bin Bezulel of Prague.”
2006
Jon Lech Johansen, better known as DVD Jon, announces that he intends to crack the Next-Generation DVD encryption standard, AACS. Visit DVD Jon’s official blog.
2007
Computer manufacturer Asus announces the first external graphics card, the XG Station. The device allows laptop users to perform graphically intensive work while remaining portable. It features a GeForce 7900 GS chip, an LCD screen that displays the device’s status, and the ability to connect to computers via an ExpressCard slot.
Yahoo! acquires the MyBlogLog blogger community. Visit the MyBlogLog website.
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