1858 – First Burglar Alarm
Installed
The first electrical burglar
alarm is installed by inventor Edwin T. Holmes in Boston, Massachusetts.
1878 – First Telephone Book
Published
The first telephone book is
issued in New Haven, Connecticut by the New Haven Telephone Company. It lists
twenty-one names. You probably have at least twice as many names in your cell
phone today!
1893 – Edison Patents Light
Switch, Sort Of
Thomas Edison receives three US
patents on this day, two of which are in essence the first light switches: “Cut
Out for Incandescent Electric Lamps” (US Patent 491,992) and “Stop Device.” (US
Patent 491,993).
1937 – Waldo Waterman flew the first test
flight of the Arrowbile, and found the aircraft easy to fly and virtually spin
and stall proof. It is considered the first successful flying cat to actually
fly.
1947 – Edwin H. Land demonstrated his
one-step instant camera and film at a meeting of the Optical Society of
America. The first Polaroid camera was on sale within two years.
1986 – The Legend of Zelda, the first in the
ongoing series, was released in Japan for Nintendo’s Famicom console.
1996 – Cox Enterprises Buys
into Digital Domain
Cox Enterprises announces it was
buying a one-third interest in Digital Domain, a computer-generated special
effects company, in order to heighten the use of special effect in media. The
deal reflects “another step in the rapid convergence of various computer,
software, entertainment and media companies,” The New York Times wrote.
2001 – iMac Special Edition
At
Macworld Expo in Tokyo, Japan, Apple Computer introduced the iMac Special
Edition. It would be available in Flower Power, Dalmatian Blue, or Graphite
designs. This special edition would only be available for 1 year as chip
technology was climbing fast.
“iMac has evolved into
an entertainment center, where you can create desktop movies, manage your
digital music library and custom music CDs,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.
“iMovies and iTunes are so easy to learn and use, even your parents can use
them without getting confused.”
The iMac Special Edition featured a 500 or 600 MHz PowerPC
G3 processor, 64 or 128 MB RAM, 256 KB Lever 2 cache, a CD-RW drive, and a
15-inch monitor. Price: US$1199-1499.
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