October 3

Podcast Episode

Previous DITH - Next DITH

Prev: October 2 - Next: October 4 - Full Catalog list at Day in Technology History Project

1950

The U.S. Patent Office issued a patent to John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley for the transistor. The three AT&T Bell Laboratories researchers had successfully tested the first of their devices two years earlier. The transistor started a revolution in computer engineering that led to the development of the semiconductors, microprocessors, and integrated circuits common in modern computers.

1955

Captain Kangaroo debuts on the CBS television network.

The Mickey Mouse Club debuts on ABC.

1964

First Buffalo Wings are made at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York.

1985

The space shuttle Atlantis was launched on its maiden voyage , carrying two military communications satellites in a mission dedicated to the US Department of Defense.

1986

The Tandem Accelerator Superconducting Cyclotron (TASCC), at the Chalk River Laboratories, is officially opened.

1989

Microsoft announces the availability of Microsoft Flash File System, a file system for Intel's flash memory technology. This system allows MS-DOS to support new memory storage devices as well as traditional storage media. It allows the MS-DOS end-user to use flash memory in exactly the same way as a conventional disk drive. Microsoft will license the Flash File System in binary form to OEMs.

1994

In an e-mail dated October 3, 1994, Bill Gates ordered his top executives to retract the documentation of the browsing extensions, but only until Microsoft's own developers of the Office suite of applications had sufficient time to work with the hidden extensions to build an insurmountable advantage over competitors such as WordPerfect. Gates further explained that without this advantage, Office could not compete with the major ISVs.

1995

Former football player and actor O.J. Simpson was found 'not guilty' for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and her friend, Ronald Goldman

2003

A white tiger used in their illusion act attacks Roy Horn of the duo "Siegfried & Roy" during a performance in Las Vegas, leaving him partially paralyzed

2007

NBC Jeff Zucker calls for pulling in all levels of government, ISPs, consumer electronics makers, credit card companies, user-generated content sites to counter piracy.

Google launches ‘Google Transit’

2008

A Bank Robber was able to get away with an armored truck robbery in Washington. He solicited decoys on Craigslist with the promise of a road maintenance job. Apparently seen The Thomas Crowne Affair too many times. He then escaped in a creek headed for the Skykomish River in an inner tube, and the cops are still looking for him. "A great amount of money" was taken.

A rumor that Steve Jobs had a heart attack comes across the internet, including a post on CNN. The news was of course not true. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launches an investigation because of it.

After a long battle, Congressmen can now use third-party sites, after both the House and the Senate recently approved new rules.

Yahoo launches a Beta of Yahoo News.

2010

Google acquires BlindType, a startup for mobile typing that allows you to look less at your screen when you are typing.