Category: Tech Insight
Tech Time Warp: District judge rules that computer code is protected by copyright
Sept. 22, 1986, marked a milestone in a protracted legal battle between Intel and NEC Corp. over copyright protection of computer code. As they fought for control of the microprocessor market, the two semiconductor companies—Intel American, and NEC Corp. Japanese—found...
Higher salaries make IT hiring for MSPs more challenging
IT labor is still the most expensive cost any managed service provider (MSP) is going to incur, and a new report suggests those costs will only continue to rise. The report, based on an analysis of 907,000 interview requests involving...
Tech Time Warp: Fondness and appreciation for the floppy disk
The BBC recently reported Japanese digital minister Taro Kono had “declared war” on floppy disks. Approximately 1,900 Japanese government activities still require the use of floppy disks, along with CD-ROMs and other outdated technology. Kono vowed to seek regulatory updates...
Pioneers in Tech: Charles Simonyi, the brain behind Word and Excel
It’s estimated at least 1.2 billion people worldwide use Microsoft Office products. The tech pioneer behind the flagship Office programs Word and Excel is the fascinating Charles Simonyi, whose Microsoft success has enabled him to become the first repeat space...
Tech Time Warp: News leaks about Library of Congress plan to go digital
Nowadays, one expects major museums and institutions such as the Library of Congress (LOC) to have online catalogs and exhibitions. But it wasn’t that long ago that such an online presence was a groundbreaking proposition. This week’s Tech Time Warp...
Tech Time Warp: Shamoon virus makes its first appearance
On Aug. 15, 2012, someone with high levels of network access at Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s largest oil companies, unleashed a virus that wiped data from more than 30,000 computers. The release of Shamoon is considered one of...
Pioneers in Tech: Mina Rees, a mid-century technology trailblazer
Like so many “pioneers in tech,” Mina Rees did not let much dissuade her from her ultimate goals. Born Aug. 2, 1902, in Cleveland, Ohio, Rees grew up in New York City. After graduating summa cum laude from Hunter College...
Tech Time Warp: The truth about shatter attacks
In this week’s Tech Time Warp, we’re looking back at August 2002, when security researcher Kristin Paget published a whitepaper on the dangers of “shatter attacks,” and Microsoft had more than a few quibbles with it.
Tech Time Warp: Koobface Worms Its Way Through Facebook
For this week’s Tech Time Warp, we’re going back to August 2008—when you were still juggling Facebook and MySpace profiles—unsuspecting social networkers found their machines infected by Koobface, a particularly nasty computer worm. Koobface (an anagram for Facebook) caught its victims...
Tech time warp: ode to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
News that a gamer has made freely and publicly available a comprehensive collection of Super Nintendo game manuals has opened the door to a wave of ’90s gamer nostalgia. The hundreds of manuals collected by Kerry Hays—known as “Peebs” on...
