Arrrrrrr! September 19th be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, matey!
1848
Hyperion, a moon of Saturn, is discovered by William Cranch Bond, George Phillips Bond, and William Lassell.
1928
The first talking cartoon film, Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie, premieres at the Colony Theatre in New York, introducing Mickey Mouse.
1957
The United States conducted its first underground nuclear test, in the Nevada desert, at Area 12. The Atomic Energy Commission’s (AEC) first fully contained underground nuclear detonation, known as the Rainier event, detonates in a horizontal tunnel, about 47 meters (1600 feet) into the mesa and 274 meters (900 feet) beneath the surface.
1982
Research Professor Scott E. Fahlman proposes the use of emoticons to express humor for the first time anywhere in a message posted to the Carnegie Mellon University Computer Science department’s general bulletin board. While the use of emoticons will spread like wildfire, the origin of the emoticon will be lost for nearly two decades, until September 10, 2002, when the original post made by Scott Fahlman will be retrieved by Jeff Baird from an October 1982 backup tape of the spice vax (cmu-750x) server. Here is Scott’s original post:
19-Sep-82 11:44 Scott E Fahlman : – )
From: Scott E FahlmanI propose that the following character sequence for joke markers:
: – )
Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark
things that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use
: – (
Read more at Fahlman’s University website. Read the original post at Microsoft.
1985
Capcom releases the platform game Ghosts ‘n Goblins for personal computers and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Ghosts ‘n Goblins is a platform game where the player controls a knight, named Arthur, who must defeat zombies, demons and other undead creatures in order to rescue a princess. Along the way the player can pick up new weapons, bonuses and extra suits of armor that can help in this task. It will come to be regarded as one of the most difficult games released for the NES.
1988
Apple Computer releases the Macintosh IIx, featuring a 16MHz Motorola 68030 processor, a 16MHz Motorola 68882 FPU, 1MB or 4MB of RAM, a DOS-compatible 1.4MB SuperDrive, an 800KB floppy drive, and the System 6.0.1 operating system. This is the first system to feature a SuperDrive, which will become one of the line’s biggest selling points. The system also marks the first release of the System 6.0.1 operating system. Code-name: Spock and Stratos Price: US$7,769 or US$9,300 with a 40MB hard drive
The first Israeli satellite, Offek 1 (Hebrew for “Horizon”), is launched aboard a Shavit rocket from the Negev Desert, making Isreal the ninth country in space. It’s mission is to test the feasibility to satellite surveillance and conduct a number of scientific experiments.
1991
AT&T acquires the NCR Corporation, a technology company specializing in solutions for the retail and financial industries, for US$7.4 billion. Visit the company’s official website.
Two German tourists accidentally discover Ötzi the Iceman, the most ancient human specimen ever found, in the Similaun glacier in the Alps on the Italian-Austrian border along with artifacts of his way of life. Mistaking it for a modern-day corpse, Austrian authorities extract the body using a small jackhammer, doing considerable damage. Some on-looker even went so far as to remove artifacts from the site. The mummified remains will later be dated to about 3300 BC, and they will offer an unprecedented insights into the lives of Copper Age Europeans. Later examinations of the contents of his his digestive system will reveal that he had eaten a meal not long before his death. The meal consisted of a bit of unleavened bread of einkorn wheat, one of the few domesticated grains used in the Iceman’s part of the world at this time, an herb or other green, and meat.
1995
The New York Times and the Washington Post publish the thirty-five thousand-word anti-technology manifesto of the Unabomber, after the bomber threatened to continue his bombing campaign unless the piece was published.
1996
Apple Computer releases the System 7.5.5 Macintosh operating system.
Microsoft releases version 3.51.1057 SP5 of the Windows NT operating system. It is the last update to the Windows NT 3.51 system, which is the last version of Windows to run on an Intel 80386 processor.
1999
The wesbite of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is hacked and deface by “The United Loan Gunman”.
2000
Activision releases the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 for the PlayStation in the US. ESRB: T (Teen)
GT Interactive releases the third-person shooter Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes for the PlayStation in North America. Set mostly in a dystopian future, the game begins in modern day Los Angeles, when Duke is interrupted at a strip club by the sudden teleportation of women and pig-cops. After a gun battle, Duke uses the teleportation device to travel forwards through time, where he is greeted by a woman – a member of the Unified Babe Resistance – who explains that in the future aliens have invaded earth, killed all men and enslaved all women. ESRB: M (Mature) OFLC: MA15+
2001
Version 1.6.5 of the Ruby programming language is released.
Sega and ESPN jointly publish the football game NFL 2K2 for the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and Xboxin the US. Visit the game’s official website.
Tor Books publishes the fantasy novel Mistress of the Catacombs by David Drake as a hardcover. (ISBN-10: 0312873875) It is the fourth book in the Lord of the Isles series. In it, for the first time in a thousand years, the Kingdom of the Isles has a government and a real ruler: Prince Garric of Haft. But the enemies joining against him intend to destroy not only the kingdom but humankind as well. Reptilian and insect monsters from out of the ages march on the kingdom. Unchecked, their ravening slaughter will sweep over the Isles like a flood of lava. Watching it all from the blackness of a tomb walled off in time and space, the Mistress waits… And her fangs drip poison! Length: 464 pages
2002
Ubisoft releases Myst III: Exile for the PlayStation 2 in the US. Visit the official Myst website. ESRB: E (Everyone)
2003
SCi releases Conflict: Desert Storm II for personal computers, the PlayStation 2 and XBox in Europe. PEGI: 16+
Screen Gems releases the action horror film Underworld, directed by Len Wiseman and starring Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, and Shane Brolly, to 2,915 US theaters. In it, a war has been raging between the Vampires and Lycan for centuries. Selene is a death dealer, assigned to hunt down and eradicate the last of the Lycan. When she comes across Michael Corvin who holds the key to end the war, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Produced on a budget of US$22 million, the film will gross US$21,753,759 domestically in its opening weekend. IMDB listing MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 1 hrs 55 min
2004
Nevrax releases the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) game The Saga of Ryzom for Windows in the US. The game’s name will be simplified to “Ryzom” in August 2006 for marketing purposes. ESRB: T (Teen)
2005
Microsoft acquires Alacris, a developer of identity and access management software. It’s primary product will become Microsoft’s Active Directory.
Nintendo releases the Game Boy Micro handheld video game system in North America. The system is released in silver and black, with three possible face plates. The system can play at Game Boy Advance cartridges, but not earlier Game Boy cartridges. Visit the system’s official website. Price: US$99.99
Nintendo releases the puzzle game DK King of Swing for the Game Boy Advance in the US. ESRB: E (Everyone)
The science fiction television series Surface premieres on the NBC network in the US. The series will run for fifteen episode in one season. In the series, a routine submersible dive in the North Pacific Ocean, California oceanographer Laura Daughtery (Lake Bell) is attacked by an unknown life form that appears out of a field of craters on the ocean’s floor. Miles Barnett (Carter Jenkins), a North Carolina teen, finds himself face to face with the strange sea creature after falling off his wakeboard during a nighttime outing with his friends. Meanwhile, Richard Connelly (Jay R. Ferguson), a Louisiana man on a fishing trip, loses his brother in a suspicious diving accident when the creature drags him to the depths of the Gulf of Mexico. All around the world, strange things are occurring in the world’s oceans. Stars fall from the sky and into the water; a horrific howl tears apart a South African lighthouse. In South Carolina, an unknown carcass washes up on a public beach, prompting the government to evacuate and cordon off the area, claiming it as a beached whale killed by red tide poisoning. The series follows a Marine biologist and high school student as the race to discover the truth behind the mysterious occurrences before its too late. TV.com entry
A security breach at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences that exposed the personal information of about 1,600 employees, including their Social Security numbers is discover. The perpetrator will not be discovered and officials, including investigators at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, will come to suspect that the exploit was accomplished by a foreign hacker.
2006
Capcom releases the Okami video game for the PlayStation 2 in the North America. ESRB: T (Teen)
The fifth generation iPod is updated. This update includes a brighter screen, a search feature, gapless playback, support for iPod games, newly designed earphones, and a longer video playback time. Support for iPod games and gapless playback were enabled on original fifth generation classics through a firmware update. 60GB models are replaced by an 80GB model, and prices are reduced by US$50 for both the 30GB (US$249) and the 80 GB (US$349) models. Visit the iPod’s official website.
Koei releases Samurai Warriors 2 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 in North America. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: T (Teen)
Microsoft begins testing a new video-sharing service similar to YouTube called Soapbox. Visit the official Soapbox website.
Sega releases Metal Slug 6 for the PlayStation 2.
Ubisoft releases Open Season for personal computers, the GameBoy Advance, GameCube, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable (PSP), Xbox, and Xbox 360 in the US. It’s based on the film of the same name. ESRB: E10+ (Everyone)
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