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First Earthling Into Orbit
November 3, 1957 The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2, the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit and the first spacecraft to carry a living creature into orbit. Laika, a Siberian Husky dog, unfortunately only survived a few hours into the flight and died from stress and overheating. The Soviets had planned to euthanize Laika regardless,…
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Morris Worm Tunnels Through Internet
November 2, 1988 Robert Morris of Cornell University launches a self-replicating worm as part of a research project designed to determine the size of the early Internet. It was intended to count the number of computers that initiated connections when the worm was loaded onto them. However, due to a programming error, the “Morris Worm” began…
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First Transistor Radio Goes on Sale
November 1, 1954 The Industrial Development Engineering Associates company begins selling the Regency TR-1, the world’s first commercial transistor radio. Texas Instruments designed and developed the transistor technology who then partnered with IDEA to design and manufacturer the completed radio. The TR-1 sold over 100,000 units, ushering in the commercial transistor industry. This Day in Tech…
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First Crew to International Space Station
October 31, 2000 Russia launches Soyuz TM-31, carrying the first crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been continuously manned since this first mission. This Day in Tech History Tech History provided by This Day in Tech History.com
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War of the Worlds Scares Pants Off Nation
October 30, 1938 Orson Welles broadcasts his radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds, which reportedly caused panic among listeners who believed the theatrical presentation was a real news broadcast. Regardless of the actual levels of panic caused, The War of the Worlds is one of the most famous radio broadcasts in history. Previous…
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DCMA Signed into Law
October 28, 1998 US President Bill Clinton signs into law the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA). The law is intended to criminalize production and dissemination of technology designed to circumvent digital copyright protection (known as Digital Rights Management or DRM). However, the law has been very controversial, with accusations of abuse of the law to stifle…
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DCMA Signed into Law
October 28, 1998 US President Bill Clinton signs into law the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA). The law is intended to criminalize production and dissemination of technology designed to circumvent digital copyright protection (known as Digital Rights Management or DRM). However, the law has been very controversial, with accusations of abuse of the law to stifle…
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First Major ARPANET Outage
The ARPANET in 1980 October 27, 1980 The ARPANET, the precursor to the modern Internet, stops functioning for about four hours after the network’s routing tables are corrupted by a malfunctioning Interface Message Processor (IMP). Previous post: Pony Express Goes Bye-Bye This Day in Tech History Tech History provided by This Day in Tech History.com
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Pony Express Goes Bye-Bye
October 26, 1861 Only two days after the Transcontinental Telegraph line opened, the Pony Express ceases operation. Prior to the opening of the cross-country telegraph line, the Pony Express was the fastest way to send communication between St. Jospeph, Missouri and San Franscisco, California. Previous post: Windows XP Released This Day in Tech History Tech…
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Windows XP Released
October 25, 2001 Microsoft releases the operating system Windows XP, the successor to both Windows 2000 and Windows ME. Designed to unify the Windows NT line and Windows 95 line of operating systems, Windows XP was not replaced by Microsoft until January 2007 with Windows Vista. However, with a nearly six-year run and the public debacle…