NigelPrentice.com » technology

Everyone Remembers Flying Toasters

Nigel Prentice — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:46:57 +0000

…Well, that’s if you’re of the pre-MySpace generation, that is!

Berkeley Systems develops one of the first computer screensaver programs in 1989. The screensaver is designed to prevent image burning on monitors when a computer is left running or unused for long periods. Berkeley’s product includes its most famous screen saver – the Flying Toasters – which features art deco styled chrome toasters with bird-like wings, flying in formation across the screen.

- The “Computer History Daily Quote”
- http://www.printedowl.com/

UNIX is Born

Nigel Prentice — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:26:51 +0000

Bell Labs programmers Dennis Ritchie and Kenneth Thompson develop the UNIX operating system in spring of 1970. UNIX uses many of the time-sharing and file-management features previously developed with the Multics project at Bell. The Bell Labs Patent Department is the first group to use the UNIX operating system.

- The “Computer History Daily Quote”
- http://www.printedowl.com/

Where iPods Come From

Nigel Prentice — Fri, 30 May 2008 03:31:35 +0000

Apple Computer hires Tony Fadell in early 2001 and assigns him a team of designers, programmers and hardware engineers to develop a new music player called the iPod. Fadell’s idea is to take an MP3 player, build a music sale service to complement it, and build a company around it. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is highly involved with the project since its inception and molds the device’s shape, feel and design.

- The “Computer History Daily Quote”
- http://www.printedowl.com/

First Known Computer Programmer

Nigel Prentice — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:51:04 +0000

The modern programming language Ada is named in 1979 to honor the first known computer programmer Augusta Ada Byron. Born in 1815, Augusta Ada Byron developed a computer program to run on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Machine computer. The program was designed to compute the mathematical sequence known as Bernoulli numbers.

- The “Computer History Daily Quote”
- http://www.printedowl.com/

Why am I publishing this?
You might be wondering why I am now publishing these computer history daily quotes. For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with technology. Furthermore, I am a very curious person when it comes to little-known facts. So I was very pleased when I found this little widget that I published to my iGoogle start page. Some of the daily vignettes are not very interesting, but many of them are. So, I will re-publish the ones that I find particularly compelling. I love history, technology, and trivia- so this is fun for me.

You know, when I was in high school I competed on my high school’s “quiz bowl” team. (Wikipedia: quiz bowl)The competition was for Houston area high schools and was called the “Texaco Star Academic Challenge.” When I was younger I would watch these competitions on public television, never knowing that I would be the captain of my high school’s team. Too bad we never made it to the television round! As a team, we didn’t compete very well, but I had a blast because I got a chance to be around other people who find useless trivia interesting. I guess this computer history thing is sort of like that. I guess you can say I’m a sucker for nostalgia!

My memories of the Texaco Star Academic Challenge.