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Skylab Reentry
July 11, 1979 The first American space station, Skylab, reenters the Earth’s atmosphere and burns up after plans for keeping it in orbit fail to materialize. Fragments of Skylab fell around Perth, Australia, killing one cow. This Day in Tech History Tech History provided by This Day in Tech History.com
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First International Communications Satellite
July 10, 1962 The world’s first international communications satellite, Telstar I, is launched into orbit. A collaboration between the US, Britain, and France, Telstar I introduced the world to trans-Atlantic video feeds and ushered in a new era of communication. Previous post: Gil Amelio Ousted from Apple This Day in Tech History Tech History provided…
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Gil Amelio Ousted from Apple
July 9, 1997 Apple Computer announces the resignation of Gil Amelio as CEO. Having been ousted by the board of directors, Amelio’s departure paved the way for Steve Jobs to re-take the helm of Apple. Ironically, it was Amelio who brought Jobs back into the fold of Apple by purchasing Jobs’ company NeXT to use…
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Control Data Corporation Founded
July 8, 1957 Control Data Corporation, an early pioneer in the field of supercomputers, is incorporated. CDC’s most notable employee was Seymour Cray, who during the 1960′s developed for CDC the fastest computers in the world at the time. However, in 1972 Seymour Cray left CDC to form his own company, Cray Research, which then…
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A Whole New Way to Drive a Screw
July 7, 1936 Several US patents are issued for the Phillips-head screw and screwdriver to inventor Henry F. Phillips. Phillips founded the Phillips Screw Company to license his patents. One of the first customers was General Motors for its Cadillac assembly-lines. By 1940, 85% of U.S. screw manufacturers had a license for the design. This…
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Simple as 1-2-3: IBM Buys Lotus
July 6, 1995 IBM completes a $ 3.5 billion buyout of Lotus Development, the producer of the once-dominant Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software and the then-popular Lotus Notes groupware. IBM had hoped to leverage Lotus 1-2-3 to challenge the increasingly demanded Microsoft Excel software, but alas, there was little slowing down the Microsoft juggernaut during the…
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The First 16mm Film System Introduced
July 5, 1923 Kodak introduces the hand-cranked Cine-Kodak Model A, the first complete 16mm film system. 16mm film was developed to be an amateur alternative to 35mm film most often used by professionals. However, it found widespread use during World War II and later for television production, especially TV news. 16mm film is still in use today…
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World, Meet the Internet
UCLA issues a press release stating that it “will become the first station in a nationwide computer network which, for the first time, will link together computers of different makes and using different machine languages into one time-sharing system.” It went on to say that “Creation of the network represents a major forward step in computer…
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The First Mass-Produced Computer
July 2, 1953 IBM announced its 650 series of computers, the first mass-produced computer, and the dominant computer of the decade. The IBM 650 stored information on a rotating magnetic drum and received it on programmed punch cards. Its memory stored numbers with up to 10 decimal digits. This Day in Tech History Tech History…
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Sony Walkman Makes Music Portable
July 1, 1979 The first Sony Walkman, the TPS-L2, goes on sale in Japan. It would go on sale in the US about a year later. By allowing owners to carry their personal music with them, the Walkman and their iconic headphones introduce a revolution in listening habits and popular culture at large. This Day in…