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: Could I have email, texts, and spam, without the spam?
This week’s Tech Time Warp is all about “spam.” Spam can now be used as a noun or verb and even has an adjectival form: “spammy.” And to think, not long ago it was solely canned meat! So how did...
Tech Time Warp: The ANIMAL instinct to do good
If you have ever dabbled in Dungeons & Dragons, you are familiar with the “alignment system,” which is a way to chart characters’ tendency toward good vs. evil as well as their inclination to follow rules (“lawful” vs. “chaotic”). With...
Tech Time Warp: The USB drive that changed military cybersecurity
Persistent BadUSB-style attacks are nothing new. The spread of malware via USB once caught the U.S. military by surprise, leading to a temporary Army ban on the use of external drives and ultimately the creation of Cyber Command to protect...
Tech Time Warp: Smelling a RAT in Graybird
This week’s Tech Time Warp is one of the most insidious forms of malware: the remote access Trojan, or RAT. While other viruses brick your machine or spam your email contacts, a RAT lurks in the background, quietly stealing passwords...
Tech Time Warp: Remembering the Z80 SoftCard, Microsoft’s first hardware product
Microsoft’s success with the Surface doesn’t change the fact the tech giant is primarily known for software. After all, Windows and Microsoft Office are ubiquitous in corporate life. But don’t let these juggernauts erase memories of the Z80 SoftCard, Microsoft’s...
Tech Time Warp: Once upon a time, autofill was a novelty
At this point, autofill/autocomplete/autocorrect technology is such a part of our everyday lives that we laugh at autocorrect fails and avoid typing in our address while online shopping whenever possible. But, like everything in the technology world, this convenience was...
Tech Time Warp: How Street Fighter II revolutionized gaming
A crucial chapter in gaming history is receiving a fresh look in the new book Like a Hurricane: An Unofficial Oral History of Street Fighter II by Matt Leone.
Tech Time Warp: LA Times story raises awareness of assistive technology
Efforts to make technology accessible to all through assistive devices and international standards for HTML and CSS are still relatively new. The Computer History Museum cites a March 5, 1993, Los Angeles Times story as an early example of the...
Tech Time Warp: First computer storage warrant issued
Nowadays, everyone knows the first things sought with a search warrant will be laptops and smartphones. The digital trails we all leave are revealing whether one is involved in something illegal or simply has a potentially embarrassing health condition. But...
Tech Time Warp: Mocmex sneaks in via digital photo frame
“Beware of Greeks bearing gifts” is the old saying associated with the story of the Trojan horse—the same story that gives Trojan viruses their name. In 2008, however, a more appropriate saying would have been “Beware of relatives bearing digital...