Today in Tech History – September 24

 

1979 – CompuServe Launches MicroNET

            CompuServe launches the first consumer-oriented online information service, which they called MicroNET. This marked the first time a consumer had access to services such as e-mail. The service was not favored internally within the business-oriented CompuServe, but as the service became a hit, they renamed the service CompuServe Information Service, or CIS. By the mid-1980’s CompuServe was the largest consumer information service in the world and half their revenue came from CIS. In 1989 CompuServe connected its proprietary e-mail system, making it one of the first commercial Internet service. However, CompuServe did not compete well with America On-Line or independent Internet Service Providers in the 1990’s and lost its dominant market position.

1986 – Computer Maker Honeywell Seeks Partner

             Honeywell, a company that joined the early foray into the computer industry but had faded from prominence by the mid-1980s, announced it was beginning discussion of a merger of its computer operations with the Japanese firm NEC and France’s Group Bull. Analysts saw the move as part of a trend of consolidation in the industry prompted in part by IBM’s control of more than half the market. Honeywell had experienced a 37-percent drop in its first half 1986 earnings.

1993 – Ultima Online launched, revolutionizing online gaming by supporting thousands of simultaneous players in a persistent shared world.

1998 – eBay filed IPO

             In 3 years since its inception, eBay grew to be a powerful auction site. Therefore, eBay decided to go public. They offered 9 million shares on NASDAQ starting at $18 a share. When all is said and done, they closed the day at $47.375. 

2013 – Valve announced their new Steam OS, a free version of Linux built around the Steam video game service.

2014 – The shellshock vulnerability was made public. The way bash handled variables could allow malicious code to be run on computers running Linux and OS X. This meant routers; webcams and other connected devices were also vulnerable.

 

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