Archive for February, 2012

In 1850, the first U.S. patent for push-key operation of a calculating machine was issued to Dubois D. Parmelee of New Paltz, N.Y.

In 1974, the U.S. space probe Mariner 10 returned the first close-up images of Venus and became the first spacecraft to use a gravity assist from one planet to help it reach another.

In 1999: The first Victoria’s Secret online fashion show became the first major webcast, attracting an estimated 1.5 million viewers worldwide. Proving even back then the Internet is for shopping.

Hosts: Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar and Jason Howell

Anonymous is listening to the FBI, Panasonic and Sharp are hurting, watch those Xooms, and more.

Guest: Darren Kitchen and Stephen Johnson

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Running time: 57:10

In 1890, Thomas Edison received a patent for the first quadruplex telegraph, which could send two messages simultaneously in each direction. One message consisted of an electric signal of varying strength, while the second was a signal of varying polarity.

In 1998 Noël Godin, a Belgian who made a practice of pieing rich and famous people struck a pie against the face of Bill Gates. Gates did not press charges.

In 2004 Mark Zuckerberg and a few other guys at Harvard launch TheFacebook so Harvard students can look up and hook up with each other. Theyw ould eventually expand the service to the world. And drop the “the”.

In 1879, the first practically usable incandescent filament electric light bulb was demonstrated to an 700 people by Joseph Wilson Swan at the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne.

In 1966, the Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft landed safely on the moon in the Ocean of Storms. It was the first lunar soft landing and first transmission of photographic data from the Moon to Earth.

In 2011 The Number Resource Organization announced that the free pool of available IPv4 addresses was fully depleted. The IANA allocated the last of the blocks equally between the five Regional Internet Registries.

Hosts: Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar and Jason Howell

Sony’s in the red, Google got itself a Bouncer, the Facebook fallout, AMD’s new strategy, and more.

Guest: MG Siegler and Fr. Robert Ballecer

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Running time: 54:42

Hosts: Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar and Jason Howell

Facebook files for IPO, Sony’s new CEO has his work cut out for him, Microsoft and Google are mudslinging, and more.

Guest: Shannon Morse

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Running time: 52:35

In 1046: English monks recorded “no man then alive could remember so severe a winter as this was.” They’re analog weather blog entry recorded the beginning of the Little Ice Age.

In 1931, Friedrich Schmiedl launched the first rocket mail (V-7, Experimental Rocket 7) with 102 pieces of mail between Schöckl and St. Radegund, Austria.

In 1935: Detective Leonarde Keeler, co-inventor of the Keeler polygraph, tried out the lie detector on two suspected criminals in Portage, Wisconsin. Both suspects were convicted of assault.

Come back tomorrow for more history.

In 1951: TV viewers witnessed the live detonation of an atomic bomb blast, as KTLA in Los Angeles broadcast the explosion of a nuclear device dropped on Frenchman Flats, Nevada.

In 1972, the first scientific hand-held calculator the famous HP-35 was introduced for $395 by Hewlett-Packard. It was the first handheld caluclator to perform logarithmic and trigonometric functions with one keystroke.

In 1985 Shortly after it’s founding the November before, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence kicked off. SETI Institute began operations.

Hosts: Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar and Jason Howell

Amazon has good and bad news, Megaupload files are safe for now, Google’s privacy policies, …and more.

Guest: Justin Robert Young

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Running time: 53:37

Host: Tom Merritt

Three of the most important events in tech history that happened on January 30th.

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Running time: 0:58