Tom Merritt's Blog, page 1179

Tech History Today – Oct. 1

In 1958 – The National Advisory Committee of Aeronautics was officially absorbed by the brand new National Aeronautics and Space Agency. Another expanded government bureaucracy that was only good for putting people on the moon.

In 1982 – Sony started selling the first CD players to the public, the CDP-101 for 168,000 yen (that’s about $730 US). At the time you could get Billy Joe’s album 52nd street on CD…. and soon many more.

In 2003 – 4Chan launched its main page, intended as a sister-site to the Japanese 2Chan for discussions of manga and anime. They provided the fertile ground for the growth of lolcats, Rickrolling, Anonymous, Pedobear and more.

Tech History Today – Sep. 30

In 1882 – Thomas Edison’s first commercial hydroelectric power plant began operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States.

In 1954 – The USS Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine, was commissioned at Groton, CT.

In 1980 – Xerox published the Version 1.0 specifications for Ethernet in conjunction with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation.

Tech News Today 596: Cook Map-ologizes

Hosts: Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane and Jason Howell

Tim Cook apologizes for maps, Facebook gifting, Pono for audio fidelity, and more.

Guest: MG Siegler

Download or subscribe to this show at twit.tv/tnt.

Submit and vote on story coverage at technewstoday.reddit.com.

Check out the full show notes for today’s episode.

We invite you to read, add to, and amend the wiki entry for this episode at wiki.twit.tv.

Thanks to Cachefly for the bandwidth for this show.

Running time: 55:29

Tech History Today – Sep. 29

In 1920 – The Joseph Horne department store in Pittsburgh ran an advertisement in the Pittsburgh Sun, describing wireless Victrola music being picked up by radio. Amateur Wireless Sets were on sale for $10.

In 1954 – CERN officially came into being. In addition to countless advancements in science, it would go on to foster the invention of the World Wide Web,

In 1994 – Programmers first demonstrated the HotJava prototype browser to executives at Sun Microsystems Inc. It was an attempt to port the Java language to the Web. It worked.

S&L Video – #13 – Author Guide to Cherie Priest!

We sit down with Cherie Priest, the author of ‘Boneshaker’ and all around steampunk extraordinaire, to talk the new direction her writing is taking, why she loves steampunk, and learn a little about a family legend passed down from her “feuding hillbilly” ancestors.

More about our guest, Cherie Priest!

Webpage: http://www.cheriepriest.com/
On Twitter: http://twitter.com/cmpriest
On Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/221253.Cherie_Priest

Tech News Today 595: Like a Real Boy

Hosts: Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar and Jason Howell

Kim Dotcom trolls the US, AMD teams up with Android, the future of TV, and more.

Guest: Paul Spain

Download or subscribe to this show at twit.tv/tnt.

Submit and vote on story coverage at technewstoday.reddit.com.

Check out the full show notes for today’s episode.

We invite you to read, add to, and amend the wiki entry for this episode at wiki.twit.tv.

Thanks to Cachefly for the bandwidth for this show.

Running time: 54:32

Tech History Today – Sep. 28

In 1998 – Microsoft’s Internet Explorer passed Netscape Navigator as the Web browser with the greatest market share, according to a report from the International Data Corporation.

In 2008 – SpaceX launched the Falcon 1, first ever private spacecraft to enter orbit.

In 2011 – Amazon shook up the tablet market, announcing the the Amazon Kindle Fire 7-inch tablet for $199.

East Meets West 295 – Greasy sickness

Roger relates his water heater problems. We talk about the weather but it’s really interesting. Voting with your cups at 7-11. Our love/hate relationship with malls. Roger’s dietary issues.

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Tech News Today 594: Air Pop Printing

Hosts: Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar and Jason Howell

Intel says Win 8 not ready, new Nooks unveiled, 3D printers get more awesome, and more.

Guest: Natania Barron

Download or subscribe to this show at twit.tv/tnt.

Submit and vote on story coverage at technewstoday.reddit.com.

Check out the full show notes for today’s episode.

We invite you to read, add to, and amend the wiki entry for this episode at wiki.twit.tv.

Thanks to Cachefly for the bandwidth for this show.

Running time: 50:45

Tech History Today – Sep. 27

In 1922 – Scientists at the Naval Aircraft Radio Laboratory near Washington, DC, demonstrated radar by showing that if a ship passed through a radio wave broadcast between two stations, that ship could be detected.

In 1983 – Richard Stallman announced the GNU project which aimed at the time to develop a free Unix-like operating system.

In 1996 – Kevin Mitnick was indicted on charges he broke into the systems of major software companies, then transferred stolen material to computers at USC via the Internet. Seems prosaic today, but was unheard of at the time.