Pioneers in Tech: Mary Allen Wilkes, first to WFH with a computer
Remote work has long been common in the tech industry, even pre-coronavirus, but it had to start somewhere. After all, you couldn’t exactly squeeze an ENIAC in the spare bedroom. That’s why the story of Mary Allen Wilkes remains relevant...
Tech Time Warp: The colorful history of the iMac
In April, Apple launched preorders for a new collection of new iMacs, available in seven bright colors with accessories to match. It’s a homage to the first iMac, which Steve Jobs introduced to the world May 6, 1998. The iMac...
Tech Time Warp: The “Model K” lays groundwork for digital computing
If you need inspiration for using your free time wisely, look no further than Bell Labs computer pioneer George Stibitz. One weekend during fall 1937, Stibitz (who was born April 30, 1904) sat at his kitchen table and used a...
Tech Time Warp: Introducing the Concept of a macro virus
As computer users learned from the Melissa virus, malware often arrives as a wolf in sheep’s clothing: a commonplace file such as a Word doc or Excel spreadsheet. But Melissa—the scourge of spring 1999—was not the first such “macro virus”...
Tech Time Warp: Tech begins moving toward accessibility
Accessibility is a top priority of developers today, and with good reason. As Tim Berners-Lee, W3C director and inventor of the World Wide Web, has said: “The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of...
Pioneers in Tech: Elizabeth “Jake” Feinler’s domain names
The use of .com, .edu, .org, etc., is so commonplace you might not have contemplated its origin story. But someone had to make sense of what became the internet—and that someone is Elizabeth “Jake” Feinler, who managed the internet’s host...
Tech Time Warp: Remembering Microsoft’s Z80 SoftCard
Microsoft’s recent success with the Surface doesn’t change the fact the tech giant is primarily known for software. After all, Windows and Microsoft Office are ubiquitous in corporate life. But don’t let these juggernauts erase memories of the Z80 SoftCard,...
Tech Time Warp: Melissa virus opens eyes to risks of cybercrime
In 1999, the internet seemed like a more innocent place. Few of us were aware of the risks associated with logging on. But then the Melissa virus came along and opened our eyes. Reportedly named after a Florida stripper, the...
Tech Time Warp: John Vincent Atanasoff named inventor of the digital computer
The story of the Atanaoff-Berry Computer, or the ABC, has plenty of interesting twists—not the least of which is a March 19, 1972, court ruling pronouncing co-inventor John Vincent Atanasoff the rightful inventor of the electronic digital computer. Previously that...
Pioneers in Tech: Frances Allen, first female Turing Award winner
Legendary IBM computer scientist Frances Allen, who passed away on her 88th birthday in August 2020, is an exemplary technology pioneer to recognize during Women’s History Month. Allen grew up on a dairy farm and attended a one-room school in...