Pioneers in Tech: Nicholas Metropolis & and the MANIAC
While not the namesake of an Academy Award-winning film, “Nicholas Metropolis” is a name you’re not likely to forget once you’ve read this edition of Pioneers in Tech. Born on June 11, 1915, in Chicago, Nicholas Constantine Metropolis was recruited...
Tech Time Warp: ExploreZip offers yet another reminder to beware the unexpected attachment
The timing of news that pirated versions of Microsoft Office software are spreading “malware cocktails” is interesting. After all, it was also in early June (back in 1999) that the ExploreZip virus destroyed Microsoft Office files the world over. Let’s...
Tech Time Warp: The staying power of COBOL
In this edition of Tech Time Warp, we see how technology moves quickly. Each new iPhone renders the previous generation obsolete, with the earliest models now firmly in the quaint antique category. That’s why it’s so remarkable that COBOL, a...
Tech Time Warp: A look back at the “Woodstock of the Web”
“The feeling of delicious possibility was immense.” This evocative line comes from the founding curator of the Computer History Museum, Marc Weber. It sums up what it must have been like to attend the first web conference 30 years ago...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
