1926 – John Logie Baird gave his first
public demonstration of a broadcast television picture that delivered a
recognizable human face. Previously he could only broadcast silhouettes.
1932 – The US patent Office received a
patent application for the cyclotron by Ernest Orlando Lawrence as a “Method
and Apparatus for the Acceleration of lons.”
1949 – The Hale telescope at Palomar
Observatory saw first light under the direction of Edwin Hubble, becoming the
largest aperture optical telescope. Hubble photographed Hubble’s Variable Nebula
(NGC 2261).
1962 – Ranger 3 Launched
Ranger 3
is launched to study the Moon. The space probe was designed to transmit
pictures of the lunar surface to Earth stations during a period of 10 minutes
of flight prior to impacting on the Moon. Due to a series of malfunctions, the
spacecraft missed the Moon by 22,000 miles.
1983 – Lotus 1-2-3 Goes on
Sale
The Lotus
Development Corporation releases Lotus 1-2-3 for IBM computers. While not the
first spreadsheet program, Lotus was able to develop 1-2-3 because the creators
of VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet, did not patent their software. 1-2-3
outsold VisiCalc by the end of the year and 2 years later Lotus bought out the
assets of VisiCalc and hired its main creator as a consultant.
1997 – Electronic vs. Paper
Books in SF Library
The New
York Times chronicles the debate between electronic and paper books in an
article about the new San Francisco Public Library. Critics complained that the
library sacrificed too much book space for computer terminals and too many
books for online information lamenting as well the end of the traditional card
catalogue that has marked a move to the information age for many libraries.
1998 – Compaq Purchased DEC
Compaq
Computer purchases Digital Equipment Corporation for $9.6 billion. Digital, or
DEC, was a pioneering company in the early history of computers from the 1960’s
– 1980’s. Unfortunately, as was seen with many companies, they were slow to
recognize the rise of the PC which ultimately led to the sell-off of all the
company’s business units, cumulating with the final sale to Compaq. Compaq
itself was eventually merged with HP.
2006 – Grand Theft Auto
Lawsuit: Hot Coffee
Grand
Theft Auto: San Andreas was a game that changed perception of the industry. The
grit and cruelty of the GTA franchise has not only brought controversy, its
also brought the fans.
One bit of controversy was the “Hot Coffee” minigame within
GTA. Hot Coffee was a euphemism for sex. In the minigame, the main character
and the girlfriend initiated in coitus, which got a lot of parents upset.
The Hot Coffee minigame was disabled by Take-Two, but people
found ways around the block. This minigame prompted a re-rating to Adult,
ultimately getting pulled from many game shelves.
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