Tech Time Warp is a weekly feature that looks back at interesting moments and milestones in tech history.
Tag: Tech Time Warp
Tech Time Warp: The lesson to learn from Y2K, 20 years later
It’s cool 20 years later to snicker about the non-event Y2K turned out to be. However, the programmers who spent long hours ensuring it was a non-event get a bit defensive about that — and rightfully so. After all, their...
Tech Time Warp: Why Perl — the “duct tape of the internet” — was such a gem
The programming language Perl ended up becoming the backbone of Yahoo and a million other websites, but when Larry Wall released Perl 1.0 for machines running the UNIX operating system December 18, 1987, he was simply sharing his personal code...
Tech Time Warp: The high and lows of the AltaVista search engine
Since “google” is now legitimately considered a verb (per Merriam-Webster), it’s hard to remember a world in which another search engine was considered innovative. However, there was life before Google — and it was called AltaVista.
Tech Time Warp: Teens left their fingerprints on the Goner worm
Much like the “Wet Bandits” left their signature (running water in a stopped-up sink) on home burglaries in the holiday classic Home Alone, the Israeli teenagers arrested in December 2001 for spreading the Goner worm signed their work — and...
Tech Time Warp: Columbia researchers find IoT vulnerability
The headlines were inflammatory in every sense of the word: In November 2011, two Columbia University researchers recognized a security vulnerability in HP printers and set one ablaze. Professors Salvatore Stolfo and Ang Cui realized that every time an HP...
Tech Time Warp: Pixar captures moviegoers’ hearts with computer animation
On November 22, 1995, the release of Toy Story not only introduced Woody and Buzz Lightyear to audiences, but also it represented the culmination of more than 16 years of work and innovation from some of the biggest names in...
Tech Time Warp: Alice and Bob, a couple with secrets
In general, a successful relationship is built on open communication, but in the case of famous technology couple Alice and Bob, secrets are a must.
Tech Time Warp: Mozilla Foundation releases Firefox 1.0
In 2004, you might have assumed Microsoft had won the browser wars for good. At the start of the year, 85 percent of web users relied on Internet Explorer.
Tech Time Warp: Jerusalem malware inspires antivirus industry
Even malware can produce silver linings — at least in the case of the Jerusalem virus, which inspired computer science students to develop some of the first antivirus software. In November 1987, Omri Mann and Yuval Rakavi were computer science...
Tech Time Warp: Say “Aloha” to the first wireless network
As it turns out, you really are saying “Aloha” every time you send a text or make a call using your mobile phone. AlohaNet, the technology that paved the way for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and mobile phone networks, got its start...