This Day in Geek History: October 6
1996
Intel releases the 200Mhz version of the Pentium Processor.
1997
American biology professor Stanley B. Prusiner wins the Nobel Prize for medicine for discovering “Prions,” which he describes as “an entirely new genre of disease-causing agents.”
Michael Dell suggests that Apple be shut down. Gil Amelio had been ousted and Apple is searching for its next CEO. Steve Jobs was asked to to fill the position, but many felt that Jobs wasn’t an appropriate choice, Dell among them. When he was asked at an industry conference what he thought Apple should do at the Gartner Group symposium, Dell replied, “What would I do? I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.” Whether the response is a sincere educated opinion or competitive bravado isn’t clear. By Friday, January 13, 2006, Dell’s US$71.97 billion market cap is exceeded by Apple’s US$72.13 billion market cap, and Apple’s performance will continue to significantly surpass Dell’s.
The science fiction series Earth: Final Conflict premieres with the episode “Decision” in Canada and the U.S. The series was created by Gene Roddenberry, but it wasn’t put into production until after his death. In the episode, William Boone is offered a job working for the Taelons; he refuses at first, but after his wife dies in an automobile crash, he agrees. Boone is contacted by the Resistance. The series will run for one hundred ten episodes over five seasons. TV.com entry
1998
At the Sega New Challenge Conference in Tokyo, Sega debuts the Dreamcast video game system.
Creative Labs lowers the price of the 12MB 3D Blaster Voodoo2, a graphics accelerator card, to US$199.99 minus a US$50 mail-in rebate. The 8MB version is repriced to US$109.99 minus a US$30 rebate.
Intel announced the 450MHz version of its Pentium II Xeon processor, designed for use in dual-processor workstations and servers.
Jeff Goldblum appears in two new thirty-second television commercials to promote Apple’s new iMac computers. The first of the spots airs during Home Improvement on ABC.
Microsoft introduces its first telephone, the Microsoft Cordless Phone System, which uses computers to deliver customizable call management and message services. The 900MHz phone system is scheduled to be released in November 1998. Visit an archived version of the official Microsoft Cordless Phone System website. Price: US$199.95
Microsoft releases Visual J++ 6.0 Java development software. Price: US$109 (Standard Edition) or US$549 (Professional Edition)
The science fiction television series Seven Days premieres in the U.S. with the episode “Pilot, Part I” on the United Paramount Network (UPN) network. It will run for three seasons and a total of sixty-six episodes. The series follows a secret branch of the United States’ National Security Agency who have developed a time traveling device based upon alien technology found after the legendary crash at Roswell. The Chronosphere, or Backstep Sphere, sends one human being back in time seven days to avert disasters. The series will run for sixty-six episodes over three seasons. TV.com entry
