Today is World Standards Day, an annual occasion honoring the efforts of the standards development organizations, such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). So get out there and party for good measure!
1863
Alfred Nobel is granted his first patent, a Swedish patent for the preparation of nitroglycerin.
1884
The first US patent for transparent paper-strip photographic film on a temporary paper backing is issued to George Eastman of Rochester, New York. (US No. 306,594) The film consists of a layer of paper and a coating of insoluble sensitized gelatin emulsion, separated by a layer of soluble gelatin to enable separation after developing the exposed film. He invent the film in February 1884 and applied for the patent the next month. It is flexible, it can be wrapped compactly on a roller, and it can be used within a roll-holder rather than in the glass plate. The method is more convenient, lighter, and less likely to break.
1888
Louis Le Prince films first motion picture, Roundhay Garden Scene.
1922
The Pennsylvania exchange in New York City opens, providing the nation’s first automated telephone service.
1939
Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) is formed in the US as a collection agency for royalties.
1947
American pilot Chuck Yeager becomes the first human to fly faster than the speed of sound, breaking through the sound barrier in a rocket powered Bell XS-1 airplane over Murac Dry Lake, California. The four rocket motors of the tiny needle-nosed research craft is able to burn through its entire supply of fuel in 2½ minutes. To conserve its fuel, the Bell XS-1 is released from a Boeing B-29 Superfortress in mid-air.
1957
The British Computer Society (BCS) is founded to represent those working in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. It will soon become the largest professional body for computing in the United Kingdom. Visit the organization’s official website.
1960
The fourth legal definition of the metre becomes 1,650,763.73 wavelengths in vacuum of the orange-red light radiation of the krypton-86 atom (transition between levels 2p10 and 5d5). This definition is one hundred times more accurate than the previous third legal definition adopted in 1889.
1964
International Business Machines (IBM) releases new versions of the IBM 29 card punch and IBM 59 card verifier.
1968
The first live telecast from outer space is broadcast from Apollo VII in orbit. Captain Walter Schirra, Jr., Major Donn Eisele, and Major Walt Cunningham, gives the American public a tour of the spacecraft and shows views through the craft’s windows. The primary objectives of the Apollo VII engineering test flight, are to “Demonstrate Command/Service Module (CSM) and crew performance; demonstrate crew/space vehicle and mission support facilities performance during a manned CSM mission; demonstrate CSM rendezvous capability.” The Apollo VII was launched October 11, 1968.
1971
The 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction opens in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. The ride is based on the Disney film of the same title.
1976
In Portree on the Isle of Skye, the last operating manual telephone exchange in the United Kingdom is closed.
1987
Garry Tramiel issues a memo to all the Federated Group of Electronics Stores employees announcing reorganization. Sam Crowley is named Vice President and General Manager.
1988
Chuck Forsberg releases the specifications for the ZMODEM file transfer protocol to supersede both XMODEM and his earlier protocol, YMODEM. ZMODEM is the first telnet protocol to allow users to resume an interrupted file transfer of a file that has been interrupted. It is also improves on older protocols by offering faster transfers, introducing auto-start by the sender, an expanded 32-bit CRC, and control character quoting, which allows the it to be used on networks that might “eat” control characters.
1991
The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Silicon Avatar” first airs. (No. 504) In it, The crew, with the help of a scientist, attempt to communicate with the Crystalline Entity. Memory Alpha entry
1992
At the Microprocessor Forum, AT&T Microelectronics unveils its Hobbit processor, implementing the CRISP architecture. The formal name of the processor is ATT92010. The processors are available in speeds of 20 – 30MHz, depending on voltage. Price: US$35 in quantities of 10,000
At the Microprocessor Forum, Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) introduces the ARM250 chip, combining the core ARM processor with memory controller, video controller, and I/O interface. CPU speeds will range from 12 to 16MHz. The chip uses under 100,000 transistors, built in a 1-micron CMOS process. Price: US$25 in 100,000 unit quantities
At the Microprocessor Forum, International Business Machines (IBM) and Motorola formally announces that production of PowerPC 601 microprocessors, in 50MHz and 66MHz versions has begun. PowerPC stands for “Power Performance Chip”, and features an integer unit, a floating-point unit, and a 32MB cache. IBM produces the processor using 0.6-micron CMOS technology, with 2.8 million transistors per chip.
At the Microprocessor Forum, Motorola gives details of its next processor, the Motorola 68060, featuring two integer units, 8KB instruction and data caches, over two million transistors, 0.5-micron CMOS process, and clock rates of 50-66 MHz.
1994
Mosaic Communicationsreleases the first 0.9 beta test version of the Mosaic Navigator Web browser as a download on the Internet. Versions are available for Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, and X Window environments. The software is free for personal use or US$99 for commercial use.
1997
The e-mail account servers of Yale University are hacked using a sniffer.
Integrated Device Technology (IDT) unveils the IDT WinChip C6 processor, designed by Centaur Technology. The processor incorporates 5.4 million transistors in a 0.35-micron process. Price: US$90 (180 MHz) and US$135 (200 MHz) in 1000 unit quantities
1998
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) reveal plans to release a K-7 chip in 1999 that will operate at 500 MegaHertz and integrate technology licensed by the Compaq Computer Corporation.
Apple publicly announced in the middle of the day that demand for its iMac line was extraordinarily high and that it had turned a profit of US$106 million in the quarter, making this its first profitable year since 1995. More than 278,000 iMac computers were shipped in the first six weeks of its released. According to an independent survey, more than 40% of those iMacs were sold to entirely new Apple customers. Of that number, only 29.4% are first-time computer buyers, marking a significant increase in the rate of Windows converts. Apple also introduces the Mac OS 8.5 operating system. The system is scheduled to be released on October 17. Price: US$99
At the Microprocessor Forum, Intel reveals the details of its 64-bit processor code-named Merced. It features a new instruction set, a new cache memory architecture, a three-level cache hierarchy, and a new floating-point unit. A target release date in mid-2000 is announced.
1999
New Science magazine reports that James La Clair of Berlin has developed a molecule that can be switched on and off by nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The discovery may lead to computers that need only gases and light to perform calculations.
Sega launches the Dreamcast games console in Europe. On the morning of the same day, the headquarters of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) is covered by a massive banner with the word PlayStation and an inset reading “best before 14-10-99″. Although the perpetrator will remain officially “unknown”, the Sega and Dreamcast logos are clear on the corners of the banner. Meanwhile, Electronics Boutique tallies sales between midnight and 8am and determines Europe’s first Top Ten chart for Dreamcast software.
1.) Sonic Adventure, 2.) Sega Rally 2, 3.) Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, 4.) Power Stone, 5.) Tokyo Highway Challenge, 6.) TrickStyle, 7.) Virtua Fighter 3TB, 8.) Blue Stinger, 9.) Monaco GP, 10.) Dynamite Cop.
Tor Books releases the fantasy novel The Further Chronicles of Conan by Robert Jordan as a hardcover. (ISBN-10: 0312871953) The volume includes three classic Conan novels in one. Length: 512 pages
2000
The Enhanced PSX emulator (ePSXe), a freeware PlayStation emulator, is first released. It is a breakthrough in the PSX emulation scene, largely because it boasts revolutionary compatibility and speed over other emulators. Visit the application’s official website.
2001
Version 2.0 of the JavE tool for drawing ASCII art is released. JavE stands for Java Ascii Versatile Editor. Visit the application’s official website.
2002
At the Microprocessor Forum, IBM unveils the the 1.8 GHz 64-bit PowerPC 970 processor, which features up to 7.2GBps front-side bus transfer speed and SIMD inputs.
Version 2.2.2 of the Python programming language is released.
2004
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) releases the Athlon 64 3000+, Athlon 64 3200+, and Athlon 64 3500+ processors, which operate at 1800MHz, 2000MHz, and 2200MHz relatively, and feature a 512KB Level-2 Cache and a 1,000MHz hypertransport.
Artica ST first releases Pandora FMSVisit the application’s official website.
The Gen Con UK 2004 is held October 14 – 17 in Minehead Butlins, Somerset, England.
Putnam Publishing Group releases the fantasy novel The Runes of the Earth by Stephen R. Donaldson as a hardback. (ISBN-10: 0-575-07598-8) It is the first installment in the third series of books set in “The Land.” In it, Linden Avery still mourns for her beloved companion. But a violent confrontation with Covenant’s son. who is doing the evil Lord Foul’s bidding-forces her back to the Land, where a dark malevolence is about to unmake the laws of nature and of life and death itself. Visit the author’s official website. Length: 608 pages
2005
Columbia Pictures releases the horror film The Fog, directed by Rupert Wainwright and starring Tom Welling, Maggie Grace, and Selma Blair, to 2,972 US theaters. Exactly one hundred years ago, off the rocky shore of an isolated Northern California town, a ship of lepers seeking refuge was betrayed by the town’s founding fathers and burned, dooming everyone aboard. Now, tonight, the ghosts of the long-dead mariners have returned from their watery graves to exact revenge. Shrouded within a supernatural fog, the ghosts trap the residents of the remote community, intent on seeking out the descendants of those who founded the town…and killing anyone who stands in their murderous path. Produced on a budget of US$18 million, the film will gross US$11,752,917 domestically in its opening weekend. IMDB listing MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 1 hr 40 min
EBay acquires Skype for €1.9 billion in cash and stock. Visit the company’s official website.
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