Tech Time Warp: Hollerith automates the 1890 census
The ongoing 2020 U.S. Census is historic: It’s the first U.S. census to be conducted primarily online, with citizens encouraged to visit my2020census.gov to be counted. Although the bureau conducted some online test counts during the 2000 census, it passed...
Tech Time Warp: Mr. ZIP (code) speeds up the Post Office
Given the ongoing political debate over postal efficiency, it’s easy to forget one of the biggest drivers of Big Data today is a postal innovation. The ZIP code makes it possible for marketers to guess how much you’ll charge on...
Pioneers in Tech: Hedy Lamarr, Hollywood’s Golden Age Inventor
Even if you’re not an old movie buff, the name Hedy Lamarr likely conjures images of glamorous red carpets, camera flashes, and the Hollywood sign. After all, Lamarr captivated audiences of the 1930s and 1940s with her beauty—even serving as...
Tech Time Warp: AppleLink sends first emails from space
Here’s a bit of trivia for your next cocktail party or Zoom happy hour: The first email sent from outer space was delivered via a long-forgotten Apple venture that could rightfully be called the precursor to the Genius Bar or...
Tech Time Warp: Zotob worm wreaks havoc on the news
One way to make headlines is to go after the journalists themselves. On August 16, 2005, computers at CNN, ABC, The New York Times and The Associated Press were infected by the Zotob worm, along with machines at Caterpillar, and...
Tech Time Warp: Almost the end of the road for Adobe Flash
Network administrators may have Dec. 31, 2020, marked on their calendars as a day of celebration. In just over five months, Adobe Flash—once a major breakthrough in online video, eventually a security hassle—reaches its end of life. Adobe will remove...
Tech Time Warp: Daniel McCacken helps spawn FORTRAN
Here’s an early birthday salute to the late Daniel McCracken, author of the definitive textbooks on FORTRAN. McCracken, who passed away in 2011, would have turned 90 on July 23. He wrote 26 books, including the first textbook on FORTRAN...
Pioneers in Tech: Katherine Johnson, no longer a hidden figure
The movie “Hidden Figures” introduced the masses to Katherine Johnson, but it only scratched the surface of this fascinating and influential woman’s life. Played by Taraji P. Henson in the 2016 film, Johnson broke barriers throughout her life and played...
Tech Time Warp: A Technological Whirlwind at MIT
July 4, 1956, doesn’t quite rank with July 4, 1776, in terms of independence, but it was a remarkable day in terms of freedom for computer users—freedom from punch cards, dials, and switches, that is. On July 4, 1956, researchers...
Tech Time Warp: Did you forget about the first iPhone?
As ubiquitous as the iPhone is today (and as many competitors as it has inspired), it can be difficult to think back to June 2007, when the first iPhone went on sale. Disrupting the Blackberry world, the iPhone of 2007...
