Tech Time Warp: Augmented Reality’s journey to the Super Bowl
CBS has announced that Super Bowl LIII between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams will feature unprecedented use of augmented reality. Four cameras — including the popular Skycam — offer live augmented reality graphics will be used...
Tech Time Warp: Microsoft takes down the Waladec botnet
Waladec would be just another botnet that churned out spam if it weren’t for Microsoft’s groundbreaking approach to stop it. The botnet — which first began noticeably proliferating in January 2009 — was sending 1.5 billion spam messages daily. Microsoft’s...
Tech Time Warp: Happy birthday, Blackberry!
On Jan. 19, the Blackberry turns 20. Not quite old enough to drink, but still relegated to the history books. (Although a spot at the Smithsonian isn’t too shabby.)
Tech Time Warp: The brothers behind the “Brain” PC virus
Over the years, the motives for malware creation have ranged from simple curiosity to monetary gain. In the case of the Alvi brothers from Pakistan, it was revenge, dished up on a floppy disk.
Tech Time Warp: Mockapetris invents the domain name system
It’s easy to tell your friends that your favorite blog is SmarterMSP.com. It would be harder to suggest that they visit 104.196.23.244. You can thank Paul Mockapetris for the ease with which you can recommend websites. In January 1985, Mockapetris...
Tech Time Warp: Time names the computer “Machine of the Year”
The announcement of Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” has been a year-end tradition since 1927, when Charles Lindbergh was named “Man of the Year” following his solo flight across the Atlantic.
Tech Time Warp: Santy worm brings unwelcome gifts
Network administrators had to deal with an unfriendly visitor during the 2004 holiday season: the Santy worm. Written in Perl, this malware targeted servers that hosted online bulletin boards running on the free phpBB software.
Tech Time Warp: Patent issued for Williams Tube, an early form of RAM
After World War II, British electrical engineer Frederic Williams found himself on the hunt for his next project. During the war, he had developed radar technology that could identify friendly aircraft, using “Friend or Foe,” or IFF, radar. So, what...
Tech Time Warp: The modern-day Robin Hoods of the Chaos Computer Club
The Chaos Computer Club, Europe’s self-described “largest association of hackers,” has always taken an unorthodox approach to saving the world. Founded in 1981 by activist Wau Holland, the club — also known as the CCC — boasts 5,500 members and works to...
Tech Time Warp: The Birth of Pong and the Video Game Industry
The patrons of Andy Capp’s Tavern in Sunnyvale, California, didn’t know they were witnessing history during the night of Nov. 29, 1972. On that evening Al Alcorn installed the game Pong at the bar, jumpstarting the video game industry.