240 BC – Chinese astronomers observed a new broom-shaped “star” in the sky. It was the first confirmed sighting of Halley’s Comet.
1950 – Bell Telephone Laboratories announced the invention of a new kind of electric eye called the phototransistor. Dr. John Northrup Shive invented the transistor, which operated by light rather than electricity.
1951 – The Census UNIVAC System was accepted and subsequently devoted almost exclusively to tabulating results of the 1950 Census of Population and Housing. It was the first UNIVAC and was capable of completing 1,905 operations per second, which it stored on magnetic tape.
Read Tom’s science fiction and other fiction books at Merritt’s Books site.
Samsung announces new S8 phones, Gear VR headset and Gear 360 camera. Microsoft sets date for Windows 10 Creators Update, Intel promises 10-nanometer chips by end of year.
Facebook adds stories to main app, Twitter adds ads to Periscope streams, Ikea unleashes its smart lighting system on the world.