Tech Time Warp: The hidden surprises of technology Easter eggs
Have you ever typed “answer to life, the universe, and everything” into Google? In a nod to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Google returns “42” as a calculator result. Or perhaps you’ve noticed a white X in front of...
Tech Time Warp: Apple co-founder Ronald Wayne says goodbye after only 12 days
They say hindsight is 20/20, or — in the case of Apple’s lesser-known third co-founder Ronald Wayne — billions of dollars. On April 1, 1976, Wayne drew up a contract with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to found Apple Computer...
Tech Time Warp: Appreciate Windows 3.1 for all of its 16-bit glory
If you’re in search of some nostalgia on April 6, head over to the Internet Archive to celebrate the 27th anniversary of Microsoft’s release of Windows 3.1. Thanks to the hard work of dedicated developers, you can once again play...
Tech Time Warp: A Cold War-era April Fools’ joke
Google’s April Fools’ Day hoaxes have become an annual tradition, but long before Larry and Sergey met at Stanford, another Internet pioneer was having some fun online. On April 1, 1984, a message appeared on Usenet, an early online network...
Tech Time Warp: Pentium processor makes its debut
Pentium. Even a quarter-century after the processor first made its debut, the brand name still carries connotations of speed and innovation. Intel’s famous product processor line was introduced March 22, 1993, and despite some notable issues, Pentium was above all...
Tech Time Warp: This worm might have been “Witty,” but it certainly wasn’t charming
Some viruses are merely pesky; others are downright nasty. The Witty Worm, which made its debut at approximately 8:45 p.m. PST March 19, 2004, falls into the latter category. Within a swift 45 minutes, the Witty Worm had corrupted the...
Tech Time Warp: AOHell was a long way from “You’ve got mail”
The speed of fiber Internet makes it easy to view the days of America Online with rose-colored glasses. Recalling the dulcet tones of the “You’ve got mail,” one tends to overlook the nefarious activities that occurred on AOL. It turns...
Tech Time Warp: The story of Herman Hollerith, inventor of the punch card
A 5-inch floppy is a quaint relic today, but even it had a predecessor: the punch card. Invented by Herman Hollerith in 1887 to solve the problem of tabulating census data, punch cards were the standard for business accounting well...
Tech Time Warp: Windows Refund Day, 20 years later
It is a universally acknowledged truth that Linux users are not Microsoft fans. At no time was this more apparent than on Feb. 15, 1999, when approximately 100 Linux users stormed Microsoft’s Silicon Valley offices in Foster City, California to...
Tech Time Warp: The one with Anna Kournikova
Think before you click. It’s a mantra that could have stopped so many email viruses in their tracks. After all, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is — and that was the case with the Anna...
