1833
The first issue of the daily newspaper in the US, The New York Sun, is published by Benjamin H. Day. By 1836, the penny paper will have a circulation of thirty thousand papers, the largest in the nation.
1860
The Mercury arc lamp is demonstrated for the first time on the Hungerford suspension bridge in London, England by Professor J.T. Way.
1941
NBC’s KYW in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania becomes the first television station outside of New York to come on air.
1972
The first USA-Japan Computer Conference is held in Tokyo, Japan.
1976
The unmanned spacecraft Viking 2 spacecraft lands at Utopia Planitia on Mars. Its mission is to analyze the soil and climate and return the first close-up photographs of the planet. The lander houses instruments to examine the physical and magnetic properties of the soil, analyze the atmosphere and weather patterns of Mars, and to seek out evidence of the presence of life, be it past or present. The site will later be used as the fictitious setting of the Federation’s ship yard in the science fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
1981
Coleco Industries obtains exclusive use of a Midway Manufacturing trademark on self-contained and portable electronic versions of Midway’s coin-operated arcade games.
1985
Microsoft selects the Republic of Ireland to be the site of the company’s first foreign production facility. The facility will produce all of Microsoft’s software for the European market.
1986
Doubleday publishes the science fiction novel Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov as a hardcover. (ISBN-10: 0385233124) It is the fifth novel of the Foundation series. In the book, which is set several centuries after the events of Second Foundation, two citizens of the Foundation seek to find Earth, the legendary planet where humans are said to have been originated. Even less is known about Earth than was the case in Foundation, when scholars still seem to know the location of ‘Sol’. Length: 356 pages
1987
Culture Brain releases the roleplaying game The Magic of Scheherazade for the Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan. In the game, players must attempt to rescue Princess Scheherazade from the evil wizard Sabaron, who has summoned the demon Goragora to do his bidding. Along the way, eleven non-player character (NPCs) join the party to fight against Sabaron. The majority of play takes place on an overhead map where the player moves between screens, as in The Legend of Zelda. In each world, the player must complete a number of tasks and recruit the area’s allies, traveling between two eras of the world using the Time Gate found on a particular screen. Read more.
Roc Books (an imprint of Penguin Putnam) publishes the fantasy novel Shadows of Doom by Dennis L. McKiernan as a paperback. (ISBN-10: 0451451031) It is the first in The Iron Tower trilogy. Length: 304 pages
1991
Integral Peripherals introduces the first 1.8 inch hard disk drive, with capacities of 20MB and 40MB. The drive is about the size of a deck of cards.
Lotus Development ships the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software for Windows. The name “1-2-3″ stems from the product’s integration of three main capabilities. It integrates spreadsheets, charting and graphing functions, and rudimentary database operations. Visit the application’s official website. Price: US$595
1993
Dimension Films releases the sci-fi film Fortress, directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Christopher Lambert, Kurtwood Smith, Loryn Locklin, Jeffrey Combs, Vernon Wells, and Clifton Collins, Jr., to 1,204 US theaters. The film is set in a future in which it is forbidden for women to give birth to more than one child. John and Karen Brennick are apprehended for violating the restriction and imprisoned in a futuristic prison simply known as the “Fortress,” where prisoners are controlled by lasers, neutron-cannons, cameras, mind-scanners, and electronic pain devices implanted in their stomachs. But they are determined to escape. Produced on a budget of US$8 million, the film will gross US$4,040,711 in its opening weekend. IMDB listing MPAA Rating: R Run Time: 1 hr 31 mins
Infogear files an application for a US trademark on “I PHONE” (with a space) for its “communications terminals comprising computer hardware and software providing integrated telephone, data communications and personal computer functions.” On March 20, 1996, it will also file for a trademark on “IPhone”. The two patents will raise legal issues when, on January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs announces that Apple will be releasing a product called iPhone.
1995
eBay, the online auction site, is founded in San Jose, California by computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as “AuctionWeb.” The first item to be sold on the website will be a broken laser pointer for US$14.83. Surprised by the success of the auction, Omidyar contacted the winning bidder and asked if he understood that the laser pointer was broken. The buyer responded by explaining, “I’m a collector of broken laser pointers.” Visit eBay’s official website.
1996
Iomega announces the Ditto tape backup drive, featuring a 2GB storage capacity and backward-compatibility with other tape formats. Cartridges are priced at US$19.99. Price: US$199.95 (external) or US$149.95 (internal)
Nintendo releases the Game Boy Pocket handheld game system in the US.
David Slowinski & Paul Gage discover the thirty-fourth known Mersenne prime number, 21257787-1.
Version 4.10 of Corel’s Paint Shop Pro bitmap and vector graphics editor for Windows. It is the second 32-bit release of the application. Visit the application’s official website.
1997
Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) releases Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation in North America. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: T (Teen)
Yahoo! launches Yahoo! Korea.
1998
Konami releases the stealth action game Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation in Japan. Metal Gear Solid’s story centers on Solid Snake, a retired soldier who infiltrates a nuclear weapons disposal facility to neutralize the terrorist threat from FOXHOUND, a renegade special forces unit. He must liberate two hostages, the head of DARPA and the president of a major arms manufacturer, and then, he must stop the terrorists from launching a nuclear strike. The game will ultimately ship more than six million copies of the game worldwide. Upon its release, it immediately becomes one of the most rented games ever, tops sales charts, and receives a number of prestigious awards, including an unprecedented Platinum Award from Electronic Gaming Monthly for receiving four perfect scores of ten out of ten. CERO: 15+
1999
Britian’s ARM holdings Plc announces that they have won a bid to supply Nintendo Company, Ltd. with ARM computer microchips for use in Nintendo’s newly announced Game Boy Advance system.
GTR Group, Inc., operators of a Canadian-based chain of used video game resellers called Game Traders, announces that they have acquired Mad Catz, Inc. of San Diego for US$30 million. Mad Catz is a manufacturer of video game accessories and peripherals.
Microware Systems files a lawsuit in US District Court against Apple Computer, claiming trademark violation by Apple of Microware’s “OS-9″ operating system. Microware seeks Apple’s earnings from the sale of Mac OS 9, and an order restraining Apple from using the name in advertising.
2001
Activision releases Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 5: Platinum Series for Windows.
Hewlett-Packard announces that it will acquire Compaq in a deal valued at US$25 billion. Analysts anticipates that the merger of the two computer giants will create a stronger competitor for IBM and Sun Microsystems in the server market, while putting pressure on Dell, Gateway, and IBM in the personal computer market. Hewlett-Packard and Compaq claim that the merged company will be in a position to compete with IBM across virtually its entire product line. Under this new deal, approved by the boards of both companies, each Compaq stockholder will receive 0.6325 shares of HP stock in addition to their current shares in Compaq stock. The merger is expected to be final in the first half of 2002, at which time sixty-four percent of all stockholders in the new company will consist of the original HP stockholders.
Nintendo releases Mario Party 3 for the Nintendo 64 in Australia. ESRB: E (Everyone)
2002
Roc Books (an imprint of Penguin Putnam) publishes the fantasy novel Summer Knight by Jim Butcher as a paperback. (ISBN-10: 0451458923) It is the fourth novel in The Dresden Files which follows the character of Harry Dresden, present-day Chicago’s only professional wizard. Length: 371 pages
2003
The Hubble Space Telescope begins photographing the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF), a small region of space in the constellation Fornax, which will be composited from data accumulated between September 3, 2003 and January 16, 2004. The final composite is the deepest image of the universe ever taken in visible light, looking back in time more than thirteen billion years. The HUDF contains an estimated ten thousand galaxies. The patch of sky in which the galaxies reside is just one-tenth the diameter of the full moon when viewed from Earth. It was chosen because it had a low density of bright stars in the near-field. The composite required eight hundred exposures taken over the course of four hundred orbits of the telescope around the Earth. The total amount of exposure time is 11.3 days
2004
Capcom releases the platform game Mega Man Zero 3 for the Game Boy Advance in Europe. ESRB: E (Everyone)
Nintendo releases WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$! for the Nintendo GameCube in Europe. Visit the game’s official website. The game is a compilation of 213 microgames. Most games last for eight “beats,” though “IQ games” last for sixteen beats. In almost every Single Player and Multiplayer game, microgames start out relatively slow (about 140 beats per minute), and become faster as players advance. PEGI: 3+
Wizards of the Coast premieres the tabletop game Star Wars Miniatures by releasing the “Rebel Storm” set.
2006
Intel releases the 1066 MHz Core Duo ULV U2400 32-bit dual-core mobile microprocessor, featuring a 2048KB Level-2 cache and a 533MHz front side bus. Price: US$262 in 1,000-unit quantities
Intel releases the 1833 MHz Core Duo LV L2500 32-bit dual-core mobile microprocessor, featuring a 2048KB Level-2 cache and a 667MHz front side bus. Price: US$316 in 1,000-unit quantities
The science fiction film Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón and starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Claire-Hope Ashitey, Pam Ferris, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, premieres at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival. It will later be released to UK theaters on September 22 and to US theaters on December 25.
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