Results for: tech time warp
Tech Time Warp: An honest look back at the Apple Newton
The history of Apple is filled with greatest hits—but even its rare misses are worthy of retrospective examination. Take the Apple Newton, which received its first public demo on May 29, 1992, in Chicago at the Consumer Electronics Show. By...
Tech Time Warp: Was Java too much of a good thing?
This edition of Tech Time Warp takes us back to 1995—the public debut of Java, the legendary “Write Once, Run Anywhere” programming language—and a textbook example of the security perils of ubiquitous technology. The birth of Java On May 23,...
Tech Time Warp: Ransomware continues to make computer users WannaCry
This month’s Canvas ransomware attack—in addition to making finals week more stressful for thousands of college students and their professors—was a stark reminder about the continued threat of ransomware. Consider it a bit of a Tech Time Warp. It’s enough...
Tech Time Warp: First prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Does the punishment fit the crime? Let’s dive into this week’s Tech Time Warp to find out. Insiders from the nascent cybersecurity industry debated this question after the May 4, 1990, sentencing of Robert Tappan Morris, the first individual prosecuted...
Tech Time Warp: Apple II Forever launches a tech mainstay—the Apple Event
The simply named “Apple Events” are a cultural touchpoint, instantly recognizable to even Android users. These product launches have taken on an identity of their own, a legacy worth revisiting in this Tech Time Warp. They even catapulted the black...
Tech Time Warp: Chernobyl, the first malware known to damage computer hardware
This installment of Tech Time Warp looks back as the fast‑approaching 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident—along with a new report on damage to the defunct facility’s outer protective structure—calls to mind an anniversary in malware history. The fast-approaching...
Tech Time Warp: The Conficker case study
Conficker was a nasty piece of malware that first emerged on the scene in November 2008. By April 1, 2009, many security experts and computer users were bracing themselves for the worst: a predicted “menacing” new phase as machines infected...
Tech Time Warp: A salute to the floppy disk, the foundation of “sneakernet”
The denizens of Gen Z and Gen Alpha may have never used floppy disks, and they may have never given much thought to what the “Save” icon represents. And, like the giant cell phones of the 1990s, the floppy disk...
Tech Time Warp: FBI releases its first warning about a computer virus
Twenty-six years ago, on March 28, 1999, the FBI took a historic step: Its National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) issued its first warning about a computer virus. The NIPC had “received reports of significant network degradation and email outages,” and...
Tech Time Warp: It’s MyLife, the email worm of spring 2002
The year was 2002 when this week’s Tech Time Warp was born. Email and the internet were still enough of a novelty that unwitting computer users were duped by an email worm promising fun screensavers. In multiple variants claiming to...
