Today in Tech History – September 19, 2015

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1982 – In a posting made at 11:44 AM, Professor Scott Fahlman first proposed using the characters 🙂 to indicate jokes on a computer-science department bulletin board at Carnegie Mellon University. In the same post he suggested :-(.

In 1989 – About 100 hospitals that used software from Shared Medical Systems saw their computers go into a loop when the date was entered. The day was 32,768 days from January 1, 1900, which caused a system overflow.

In 1995 – International Talk Like a Pirate Day was first celebrated by John Baur (Ol’ Chumbucket) and Mark Summers (Cap’n Slappy), of Albany, Oregon. They had come up with the idea on June 6th while playing racquetball, but that was D-Day. The 19th was Summers’ ex-wife’s birthday, and the only day he could reliably remember.

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DTNS 2584 – To Virtually Go Where No One Has Gone Before

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comNASA has been working on virtual reality for 20 years. Erin Carson talks with Tom Merritt and Jennie Josephson about what she learned touring NASA’s lab and why lag was never the big issue.

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A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here or giving 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes
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Today in Tech History – September 18, 2015

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1830 – America’s first native locomotive, the “Tom Thumb” lost a race to a draft horse at Ellicotts Mills, Maryland.

In 1927 – The Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System went on the air with 47 radio stations. Within two years it would be sold and become the Columbia Broadcasting System and later simply CBS.

In 1998 – The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers aka ICANN was created in order to take over Internet administrative tasks from the US Government. The most famous of those tasks is overseeing the Domain Name System.

Like Tech History? Get the illustrated Year in Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.

DTNS 2583 – To Google Glass– and Beyond!

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comGoogle Glass is apparently now part of Project Aura which is not Project Ara and also not Google X. Confused? Robb Dunewood and Tom Merritt will attempt to clear it up for you.

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A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here or giving 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!

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Today in Tech History – September 17, 2015

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1822 – Jean-François Champollion, permanent secretary of the French AcadĂ©mie des Inscriptions, presented his Lettre a M. Dacier, describing his solution to the mystery of the Hieroglyphic inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone. A nifty bit of decryption.

In 1991 – The first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) was posted to a Finnish FTP server in Helsinki. Originator Linus Torvalds wanted to call the OS FreaX, but the FTP admin didn’t like the name and renamed it Linux.

In 2007 – AOL announced plans to refocus the company on advertising and relocate its corporate headquarters from Dulles, Virginia to New York City.

Like Tech History? Get the illustrated Year in Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.

DTNS 2582 – Clock Blocked

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comWhat Apple giveth, Apple taketh away and what Tom Merritt and Scott Johnson think of the Texas high schooler’s controversial clock and what it means for tech education.

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A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here or giving 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!

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It’s Spoilerin’ Time 87

Movie Draft Wrap Up, Triage (Mr. Robot), Mr. Robot Finale, Rick and Morty (207), The Shield (705)

00:47 – Movie Draft Update – Summer 2015 Wrap Up

03:47 – Triage (Mr. Robot)

09:07 – Mr. Robot 110 (season finale)

16:06 – Rick and Morty (207)

20:28 – The Shield (705)

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Today in Tech History – September 16, 2015

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1959 – The first successful photocopier, the Xerox 914, was introduced at the Sherry-Netherland hotel in New York City. One of them caught fire. The demo that was carried live on television did not catch fire.

In 1985 – Steve Jobs spent his last day as an employee of Apple after submitting his resignation to the board.

In 1997 – After purchasing NeXT the previous December, bringing Steve Jobs back to the company, the Apple Board named Jobs as interim CEO, replacing Gil Amelio.

Like Tech History? Get the illustrated Year in Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.

DTNS 2581 – 99 Googballons

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comCould virtual assistants replace search or even our UI? Tom Merritt and Patrick Beja discuss.

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A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here or giving 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!

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