1870
Christmas is declared a federal holiday in the United States.
1894
Karl Benz of Germany is granted the first US patent for a gasoline-driven automobile.
1948
William Shockley files the original patent for his grown junction transistor, the first bipolar junction transistor.
1970
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announces its plans to regulating the cable television industry. Most notable among the regulation is the ban on the three major broadcasting networks from entering the cable television market and a prohibition on the joint ownership of cable and broadcast television operations in the same community.
1974
At 8:01am, a Universal Product Code (UPC) label is used to ring up purchases at a supermarket for the first time. The first UPC ever scanned is on a package of Wrigley’s chewing gum, which is purchased at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. Developed by International Business Machines (IBM) and approved for use in 1973, the code is a twelve-digit bar code that numerically representing the manufacturer and and the product which can be read by a laser beam. One of the developers of the UPC, Norman Joseph Woodland, was inspired by Morse code.
1976
The CN Tower, the tallest free-standing structure in the world, is opened.
1978
The world’s first dedicated oceanographic satellite, SEASAT 1, is launched. The satellite carries the first synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and its mission is determine the feasibility of monitoring oceanographic phenomena from orbit. Visit the official NASA Seasat website.
1983
Fisher-Price Toys announces that it has decided not to pursue plans to expand into the video game market. Visit the official Fisher-Price website.
1994
Microsoft announces that it will no longer sell or support MS-DOS operating system. Following the announcement, programmer Jim Hall posts a manifesto that proposes the development of an open-source DOS replacement, which, on July 26, 1994, will be renamed to FreeDOS.
1996
The website of Stockholms Spårvägar is hacked by “The Kevin Mitnick Liberation Front”. View an archived version of the defaced website.
1997
Filming begins on the film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the fourth film in the Star Wars saga. The majority of the film will be shot at Leavesden Film Studios in England. Filming will end on September 30.
In the case of Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Supreme Court of the United States rules the Communications Decency Act, a part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, to be unconstitutional by a vote of 7-to-2. The act was an attempt by Congress to ban sexually explicit material, such as pornography, from the Internet.
Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, and Unwired Planet enter into a partnership to create a common Wireless Applications Protocol (WAP). The first version of WAP specifications will be published on April 30, 1998.
1998
Industry analysts report that the enthusiasm for Microsoft’s Window 98 operating system has been weaker than previously thought, due to early sales reports publicized by CompUSA were artificially inflated by a marketing ploy that allowed a limited number of customers to purchase US$800 computers for only US$98.
2000
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) releases the 550 and 533MHz K6-2+ processors for notebook computers. Price: US$85 and US$99 in 1000-unit quantities
The Brazilian website of #4 Companhia de Habitação do Estado de Santa Catarina is hacked by “aN idIot”. View an archived version of the defaced website.
The Brazilian website of Fotomapa is hacked by the hacking group “Crime Boys”. View an archived version of the defaced website.
The Brazilian website of Internett Comunicagues & Entretenimentos is hacked by the hacking group “Crime Boys”. View an archived version of the defaced website.
The Brazilian website of Itri Rodoferrovia e Servicos Ltda is hacked by “never”. View an archived version of the defaced website.
The Computer Game Developers Association becomes the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). Visit the official IGDA website.
Google and Yahoo! announced a partnership under which Google will provide search results for Yahoo!, solidifying its reputation as a major Internet power.
Intel releases 633, 667, and 700MHz Celeron processors. Price: US$138, US$170, and US$192 in 1000-unit quantities
United States President Bill Clinton, along with representatives of the Human Genome Project (HGP) and Celera Genomics publicly announce the completion of a preliminary draft of the DNA sequence of the human genome that represents about 95% of all genes. From the White House, Clinton explains to the nation that the model will lead to even greater scientific discoveries. In particular, HGP hopes to use the model as a base for generating a complete genome sequence within the next three years.
Yahoo! launches Corporate Yahoo!
2001
Earthlink announces an increase in its monthly service fee for basic Internet access from US$19.95 to US$21.95, effective as of Monday, July 2, 2001. Visit the official . website.
2003
Apple Computer releases an updated Power Mac G4 computer, featuring single or dual 1.25GHz G4 processors as well as a single 80GB hard drive or dual 160GB hard drives. Visit the official website of Apple Computer.
Microsoft releases Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4). The service pack include several new features, including support for USB 2.0 and wireless Internet connections. Visit the official Windows 2000 website.
2007
International Business Machines (IBM) introduces the Blue Gene/P supercomputer, which is designed to run continuously at a speed of 1 petaFLOPS but can reach speeds of more than 3 petaFLOPS using 294,912 small, low-power chips, each of which integrates four 850MHz PowerPC 450 processors. Visit IBM’s official Blue Gene website.
2008
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approves an unrestricted gTLD program, allowing companies to register top-level domains, such as .com, .edu, or .org in any combination or length of letter, including Arabic and Cyrillic script. ICANN expects to begin accepting applications for such domains within the first three months of 2010. In early 2009, ICANN will release a guide to the application process which sets the price of the initial evaluation fee at US$185,000. Visit the official ICANN website
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