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The Birth of Wireless
May 10, 1894 “Wireless” is born when Guglielmo Marconi sends a radio wave three-quarters of a mile. Three years later the Marconi Company will successfully communicate “ship to shore” over a distance of twelve miles. Marconi’s work leads to the commercialization and proliferation of most of the radio technologies we know today. The post The Birth…
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Linux Gets Happy Feet
May 9, 1996 Linus Torvalds decides to adopt Tux the penguin as a mascot for the Linux operating system. Perhaps had he known the movie Happy Feet would be released a little over 10 years later, he would have chosen a Warbler instead. The post Linux Gets Happy Feet appeared first on This Day in…
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Germans Can Be So Dry
May 8, 1886 German scientist, Dr. Carl Gassner, is issued a German patent for the first “dry” cell battery, which uses zinc as its primary component. A U.S. patent will be issued to Gassner in 1887. His battery is much like today’s carbon-zinc, “general purpose” batteries, although most people use alkalines. The post Germans Can…
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IBM 704 Introduced
May 7, 1954 IBM announces the IBM 704 Data Processing System, the world’s first mass produced computer to feature floating point arithmetic hardware. Besides this ultra-geeky distinction, the IBM 704 will leave its mark in computer history before it is discontinued on April 7, 1960. Both the FORTRAN and LISP programming languages were first developed…
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“i” is for Apple
May 6, 1998 At the Flint Center Theater, the same place where the Mac was first unveiled in 1984, Steve Jobs introduces the original iMac. This iMac was later known as the “Bondi Blue”, after the color of its case (named for a beach in Australia). According to Jobs, the iMac is “the Internet-age computer…
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Wolfenstein 3D Blasts Onto Scene
May 5, 1992 Id Software Inc. releases the game Wolfenstein 3D, the original first person shooter game for DOS computers. The game becomes an instant success, putting id Software on the map and launching the first person shooter genre. If you’re curious, you can play the game today on an iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad. The…
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Love Stinks
May 4, 2000 The Love Letter computer virus, aka the “ILOVEYOU” bug, spreads to personal computers running Windows around the world in just six hours. Spreading through e-mail, the virus entices victims to open the message with the subject of “ILOVEYOU”. About 2.5 to 3 million PCs will become infected. The cost of system downtime…
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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. The post Dell Founded appeared first on This Day in Tech History.…
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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…
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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. The post GPS Gets Less Selective appeared first on This Day in Tech History. This Day in Tech History Tech History provided by This Day in Tech History.com