-
Dell Founded
May 3rd, 1984 Dell Computer Corporation is founded by Michael Dell, running the direct-to-order PC company from his dorm room. Dell, Inc. eventually became the largest manufacturer of PCs in the world for many years. It is currently surpassed by HP and Acer. Previous post: Microsoft Acts Mousey This Day in Tech History Tech History…
-
Microsoft Acts Mousey
May 2, 1983 Microsoft introduces the Microsoft Mouse for IBM and IBM-compatible PCs. The mouse featured two buttons and is available by itself or will later be bundled with the new Microsoft Word software, which Microsoft would release in September. Microsoft will manufacture nearly one hundred thousand units of the device, but will only sell…
-
GPS Gets Less Selective
May 1, 2000 The U.S. government removes Selective Availability from its Global Positioning System, improving the accuracy of civilian GPS devices from 100 meters to 20 meters. Previous post: World Wide Web Made Public Domain This Day in Tech History Tech History provided by This Day in Tech History.com
-
World Wide Web Made Public Domain
April 30th, 1993 At the urging of Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web protocol, the directors of CERN release the source code of World Wide Web into the public domain, making it freely available to anyone, without licensing fees. The decision to make the World Wide Web software and protocols freely available…
-
Sprechen Sie Sassy?
April 29, 2004 The Sasser worm is released into the wild, infecting over 1 million Windows computers worldwide. Looks like 1 million PC users stepped into a big pile of sassy! This Day in Tech History Tech History provided by This Day in Tech History.com
-
iTunes Music Store Launched; Record Execs Wet Themselves
April 28, 2003 Apple Computer launches the iTunes Music Store. The store sells music for 99¢ a song for use with the Apple iPod and iTunes software. It is not the first service to sell digital music, but it will become the first to gain widespread popularity. The service will be an instant success, selling…
-
Commercial Computer Mouse Introduced
April 27, 1981 Xerox introduces the Xerox 8010 Star Information System, the first commercial system utilizing a computer mouse, among other now commonplace technologies. The 8010 was geared towards business and was not a commercial success, therefore the mouse remained in relative obscurity until the Apple Lisa, but more prominently the Apple Macintosh, brought the mouse into…
-
Chernobyl Virus Melts Down PCs
April 26, 1999 The first known virus to target the flash BIOS of a PC, the CIH/Chernobyl Virus trigers on this day, erasing hard drives and disabling PCs primarily in Asia and Europe. One of the most destructive viruses in history, Turkey and South Korea alone report 300,000 infected systems. Previous post: Do You Yahoo? This…
-
A Crazy Day for Apple
April 24, 1984 On the same day in 1984, Apple introduces the Apple IIc computer, announces Mac sales numbers, and discontinues the Apple III line. The Apple IIc was Apple’s first attempt at a portable computer. Dealers place orders for more than 52,000 units on the first day. Apple also announces that over 60,000 Macs…
-
Mosaic 1.0
April 22, 1993 Version 1.0 of the web browser Mosaic is released by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. It’s the first software to provide a graphical user interface for the emerging World Wide Web, including the ability to display inline graphics. The lead Mosaic developer is Marc Andreesen, one of the future founders of Netscape. My first experience…