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NASA Unveils Enterprise
September 17, 1976 NASA rolls out the first Space Shuttle, Enterprise, from its assembly facility to a waiting crowd. Included in the crowd was a delegation of actors from the Star Trek TV series. Originally to be named Constitution, a write-in campaign by Star Trek fans convinced President Gerald Ford and NASA to rename the Space Shuttle.…
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Steve Jobs Named Interim CEO of Apple
September 16, 1997 Twelve years to the day after resigning from Apple, Steve Jobs is named Interim CEO of Apple. Only seven months earlier, Jobs’ company NeXT was purchased by Apple and just two months earlier Gil Amelio resigned as Apple CEO. Much of the technology acquired with the purchase of NeXT was used to build…
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The Last Apple II
September 15, 1986 Apple introduces the Apple IIgs, the last major product release in the Apple II series of personal computers. Blending the older Apple II series computers with aspects from the Macintosh computer, the advanced “graphics and sound” capabilities of the IIgs (hence the name) was ahead of other contemporary computers such as the…
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First Man-Made Object on Moon
September 14, 1959 The Soviet space probe Luna 2 crashes onto the surface of the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach the Moon, as well as the first man-made object to reach any celestial body. Previous post: Osborne Declares Bankruptcy This Day in Tech History Tech History provided by This Day in Tech…
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The First Internet Search Engine
September 10, 1990 The first Internet search engine, Archie, is launched. It was used to index FTP archives to make finding files easier. However, as the technology for the World Wide Web was not invented until later in the year, it was not the first web search engine. Previous post: The First Computer “Bug” This…
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The First Computer “Bug”
September 9, 1945 Operators of the Harvard Mark II find a moth trapped in relay #70 in panel F. The bug is taped to their troubleshooting log where it was written, “First actual case of bug being found”. This was not the first use of the term “bug” for computer problems, but this was the…
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RIAA Sues A Twelve-Year Old
September 8, 2003 The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sues 261 people for sharing music on Internet peer-to-peer networks, including 12-year old Brianna LaHara. Eventually bringing suit against at least 30,000 people, the RIAA intended to reduce the amount of music being shared, but instead generated a public backlash against the established recording industry. Previous post:…
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iPod Nano Introduced
September 7, 2005 Apple introduces the iPod Nano, effectively replacing the iPod Mini. The move surprised many in the industry, as the iPod Mini was extremely popular. However, the use of flash storage instead of a hard drive allowed for a much smaller form factor, increased reliability, and better battery life. This proved extremely popular…