July 19

July 19

Podcast Episode

Day in Tech History: July 19th

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1843

The SS Great BritainThe first iron hulled, propeller driven steamship, the SS Great Britain, is launched

1912

A meteorite with an estimated mass of 190 kg explodes over the town of Holbrook in Navajo County, Arizona causing approximately sixteen thousand pieces of debris to rain down on the town.

1950

NASA attempts the first rocket launch from Cape Canaveral. The rocket is a German V-2 with a 320kg Army-JPL Wac Corporal sounding rocket. Launch is scrubbed first due to the emergency landing of an aircraft in the range. The second attempt is scrubbed when the rocket’s main chamber doesn’t ignite.

1961

Trans World Airlines (TWA) introduces regular in-flight movies in the first-class section of their New York-Los Angeles flights.

1982

The British government formally announces its intention to privatize British Telecom (BT) with the sale of up fifty-one percent of the company’s shares to private investors.

1985

IBM president of entry systems, William Lowe, announces that the rumors of an upcoming PC II are untrue.

IBM announces that some PC AT computers shipped since the beginning of the year include a faulty Texas Instruments chip, affecting about ten percent of shipments. Circuit boards with the flawed chip will be replaced for free.

1988

IBM ships version 4.00 of the PC-DOS operating system featuring a shell menu interface and support for hard disk partitions over 32MB. PC-DOC is one of three major operating systems that dominate the microcomputer market.

1999

Palm Computing introduces the Palm IIIe handheld computer, featuring 2MB RAM, Palm OS 3.1, and a reverse backlit LCD touchscreen. Price is US$229 Weight: 5.8 ounces

Panja introduces Panja 1000 Entertainment Gateway to give consumers random access to Internet audio and video for stereos, televisions, and video recorders through a Panja/Cisco cable modem.

2000

Apple Computer introduces the Apple Pro Mouse, with no buttons, and an elliptical shape. Apple Computer introduces a new low-cost iMac computer to be shipped in September, featuring a 350 MHz processor, 64MB RAM, 7.5GB hard drive, CD-ROM drive, and an indigo blue case. This model does not feature FireWire support. Price: US$799 Apple Computer introduces the iMac DV computer, featuring a 400MHz PowerPC G3 processor, 64MB RAM, a FireWire connector, iMovie2 software, AirPort wireless networking support, and either an indigo or ruby colored case. Price: US$999 Apple Computer introduces the iMac DV plus computer featuring a 450MHz PowerPC G3 processor, a FireWire connector, 64MB RAM, 20GB hard drive, DVD-ROM drive, iMovie2 software, AirPort wireless networking support, and either an indigo, ruby, or sage colored case. Price: US$1299

Apple Computer introduces the iMac DV Special Edition computer, featuring a 500 MHz PowerPC G3 processor, a FireWire connector, 128MB RAM, a 30GB hard drive, the iMovie2 software, AirPort wireless networking support, and either a graphite or snow colored case. Price: US$1499

Apple Computer introduces the PowerMac G4 Cube, featuring either a 450 MHz or 500 MHz PowerPC G4 processor with Velocity Engine, 64MB RAM, a 20GB hard drive, a DVD drive, two FireWire ports, two USB ports, a 10/100Base-T Ethernet card, and a 56 kbps v.90 modem. The unit is enclosed in an eight inch transparent case designed to eliminate the need for a cooling fan. It takes up about a quarter of the space of most personal computers. The G4 is the first personal computer line to ship with standard dual processors, and is reportedly capable of reaching speeds over three billion calculations per second. Price: US$1799 or US$2299 for the 500 MHz version

Apple Computer releases iMovie 2 for the Mac OS 8.6 and Mac OS X.

Sun Microsystems announces that it will be making the source code of StarOffice available for download under both the Lesser General Public License (LGPL) and the Sun Industry Standards Source License (SISSL) with the intention of building an open source development community centered around the software. The new project is known as OpenOffice.org, and its website will go live on October 13, 2000.

2001

A worm dubbed Code Red wreaks havoc among Internet web servers nearly a week after being first observed on July 13th. The worm was named after the popular Cherry flavored Mountain Dew soda flavor. The worm, which spreads via email, is programmed to lie dormant, then attack networks in a collaborative effort.

Version 3.0 of Debian, a free Linux operating system is released. It includes Linux Kernal 2.4, support for a KDE graphical interface, and support for eleven different processors. Code-name: Woody

2004

Apple announces that the upcoming fourth-generation iPod will be physically thinner than the third-generation iPod but larger than the iPod mini. It will also feature an improved battery life of twelve hours, iPod mini-style Click Wheel controls, and small software updates such as a randomized playback feature (shuffle). The first of the units will be available on the twentieth.

2009

The iPhone app “Cannabis” locates the closest medical-marijiuana supplier and doctor

Gateway releases their line of Netbooks, including the LT2000 – a 10.1” screen for $299

2011

The Federal Bureau of Investigation raids the homes of people suspected to be key players in the group Anonymous.

Apple released OSX Lion, along with a newer Mac Mini, and Macbook Air with a Thunderbolt port.