Kate Johanns

All posts by Kate Johanns

Kate Johanns is a communications professional and freelance writer with more than 13 years of experience in publishing and marketing.

Tech Time Warp
Tech Time Warp: A nostalgic look at Mattel’s Computer Warriors

Tech Time Warp: A nostalgic look at Mattel’s Computer Warriors

Children of the 1980s are familiar with Transformers and can likely still sing “More than meets the eye…” but how many of us remember Mattel’s Computer Warriors? Produced only in 1989 and 1990, the Computer Warriors were in some ways...

/ May 17, 2024
Pioneers in Tech
Pioneers in Tech: An Wang, a key player in technology’s core memories

Pioneers in Tech: An Wang, a key player in technology’s core memories

The layperson might not immediately name An Wang as a 20th-century technical giant, but we certainly should. The Chinese American computer engineer invented the magnetic pulse transfer controlling device, which, as you will learn in this edition of Pioneers in...

/ May 10, 2024
Tech Time Warp
Tech Time Warp: Voyager’s nearly 47 years of technology brilliance

Tech Time Warp: Voyager’s nearly 47 years of technology brilliance

In this edition of Tech Time Warp, we take a look at how, for almost 47 years, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has transmitted the amazing secrets of the universe back to Earth. Along with that, the news that engineers had...

/ May 3, 2024
Tech Time Warp
Tech Time Warp: Not a stretch about IBM supercomputer

Tech Time Warp: Not a stretch about IBM supercomputer

It’s ironic that a computer deemed “not good enough” could have reigned as the world’s fastest computer for three years and made a lasting impact on the tech industry. But that’s the story we dive into in this edition of...

/ April 26, 2024
Tech Time Warp
Tech Time Warp: The breakthrough against software piracy that wasn’t

Tech Time Warp: The breakthrough against software piracy that wasn’t

In this edition of Tech Time Warp we go back to April 14, 1995, when the Chinese government began widespread efforts to stop its government agencies from using pirated software. The move came after a Feb. 27, 1995, accord agreement...

/ April 19, 2024
Pioneers in Tech: Happy birthday to Chief Yahoo David Filo

Pioneers in Tech: Happy birthday to Chief Yahoo David Filo

You’ve heard of Ben and Jerry, but are you as familiar with Jerry and David? Unless you’re a keen watcher of Silicon Valley, perhaps not. But the website founded in 1994 as “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide...

/ April 12, 2024
Tech Time Warp: Don’t take Windows for granted

Tech Time Warp: Don’t take Windows for granted

When was the last time you thought about how easy Windows makes your life? Seriously, though: Now, the ease with which you move from application to application, use keyboard shortcuts, and even resolve crashes with CTRL+ALT+DEL just feels like functionality...

/ April 5, 2024
Tech Time Warp
Tech Time Warp: The wicked ways of the Witty Worm

Tech Time Warp: The wicked ways of the Witty Worm

Although the goal of the Witty Worm wasn’t widespread damage—its entire target population was only 12,000 computers the world over—the malware made its presence known with a vengeance. Within 45 minutes of its first appearance at approximately 8:45 p.m. PST...

/ March 29, 2024
Tech Time Warp
Tech Time Warp: Take a nostalgia trip with the World Video Game Hall of Fame

Tech Time Warp: Take a nostalgia trip with the World Video Game Hall of Fame

In this edition of Tech Time Warp, we look at how The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York announced this year’s 12 finalists’ induction into the World Video Game Hall of Fame this month. The Strong’s World...

/ March 22, 2024
Tech time warp
Tech Time Warp: Magistr “disembowels” computers

Tech Time Warp: Magistr “disembowels” computers

In early 2001, a nasty bug began making the rounds, hitting computer users hard with a particularly challenging payload as seen in this edition of Tech Time Warp. Magistr—sometimes called “Disemboweler” after the Swedish hacker group thought to be behind...

/ March 15, 2024