history
Online
Happy Birthday, Internet! Let’s Celebrate Your History, You Old Gal
1:00PM Rosa Golijan | We’ve had many cake-themed posts lately, but it’s not that we’re fat-asses. We’re just celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Internet. And there’s a lot to celebrate, because, as the Guardian shows, she’s seen a lot of action. More »
Random Stuff
How To Disguise An Aeroplane Factory As A Subdivision
11:20AM Adam Frucci | During World War II, the Army Corps of Engineers wanted to hide the Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant in case the Japanese decided to attack the West Coast. So, of course, they built a fake subdivision on its roof. More »
Screens
First HDTV From 1958 Doesn’t Have HDMI Inputs, Unfortunately
4:40AM Adam Frucci | Historic tech collector Michael Bennett-Levy just auctioned off his collection in London, and amongst the goods was a Teleavia type P111, an HDTV from 1958. More »
GPS
Ancient Man Used Stone “Sat Nav” 5000 Years Ago
10:20AM Sean Fallon | New research is suggesting that Stone Age Britons were arranging hilltop monuments in an elaborate grid of isosceles triangles—allowing travellers to navigate the country without maps. Apparently, these markers included famous sites like Stonehenge and The Mount. More »
Random Stuff
It’s About Time: Britain’s Prime Minister Apologises to Alan Turing
11:09AM Joanna Stern | Remember how we told you that there was a petition to ask the British government to apologise for chemically castrating computer science legend Alan Turing during WWII because he was gay? Yeah well, Prime Minister Gordon Brown did today! More »
Random Stuff
Thousands Calling For Apology To Founder Of Computer Science
9:00AM Joanna Stern | Alan Turing, who is said to be the father of modern computer science, was a WWII code-breaker until he was prosecuted by the British government for having homosexual relations. Thousands have now signed a petition calling for a government apology. More »
Business
12 Years Ago Today, Bill Gates Showed Up At A Jobsnote
7:00AM Adam Frucci | Remember this? When Steve had to put a live feed of Bill Gates up in front of a seething mass of fanboys in exchange for $US150 million to save Apple from certain death? More »
Online
CompuServe Classic Finally Put To Rest
7:36PM John Herrman | Have you noticed anything different about your inbox this week? Where are all the weirdly threatening chain letters from family members you’ve never met? The hyperventilating urgent FWD: FWD: FWD: messages about Barack Obama’s secret Hellenic Polytheism? Your tri-weekly update on the power of prayer, told through the perspective of your fourth cousin’s cat? They are gone, is where, stemmed at the source. CompuServe Classic is dead. More »
Hardware
The First Integrated Circuit Chip: Celebrating The 50th Anniversary
10:30AM Dan Nosowitz | The Computer History Museum is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the integrated circuit, pictured above, with a multimedia exhibit called “The Silicon Engine” to explain why many claim the IC as one of mankind’s greatest and most important inventions ever. More »
Computers
