Miscellaneous Technology
Dolly Unveiled
February 22, 1997
In Roslin, Scotland, scientists announce that they have successfully cloned an adult sheep they named Dolly. The cell used in the cloning came from an adult sheep’s mammary gland, hence the name Dolly. As in Parton. No joke. Or I guess it was.
First Presidential Radio Address
February 22, 1924
The first presidential radio address is delivered by Calvin Coolidge. Broadcast from the White House, the talk is carried on five stations with an estimated five million listeners.
First Burglar Alarm Installed
February 21, 1858
The first electrical burglar alarm is installed by inventor Edwin T. Holmes in Boston, Massachusetts. It was a very simple system that rang a bell if a door or window was opened.
Edison Patents Light Switch, Sort Of
February 21, 1893
Thomas Edison receives three US patents on this day, two of which are in essence the first light switches: “Cut Out for Incandescent Electric Lamps” (US Patent 491,992) and “Stop Device.” (US Patent 491,993).
HD DVD Surrenders
February 19, 2008First Cable TV Test
February 18, 1946
Television signals are first successfully transmitted from Washington D.C. to New York City over an AT&T coaxial cable. And you thought cable TV was invented in the 1980s!
QuickTake 100 Launched
February 17, 1994
Apple launches their QuickTake 100 digital camera, one of the very first digital cameras aimed at the consumer market. Unfortunately for Apple, as was endemic for them at the time, they didn’t execute the marketing for this device very well, allowing other companies to take the lead in the digital camera market. Apple was out of the digital camera market by 1997.
Hacker Mitnick Arrested
February 15, 1995
Computer hacker Kevin Mitnick is arrested. At the time, he was the most wanted computer criminal in the United States. Now he is a computer security consultant. At least he knows what he’s doing.
First Modern GPS Satellite Launches
February 14, 1989
The first of 24 Block-II GPS satellites was launched. Block-II were the first modern GPS satellites that form the modern GPS system we know today.
The Birth of IBM
February 14, 1924
The Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation is renamed International Business Machines, aka IBM. Either way, it certainly makes for a boring sounding company.