Software Arts Incorporated
January 2, 1979
Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston, developers of the world’s first spreadsheet software, incorporate Software Arts to be the parent company for their product, VisiCalc. VisiCalc was introduced and then shipped later in the year and became the first “killer app” for the personal computer. By offering such a powerful business tool that anyone could run on their own computer, Bricklin and Frankston are credited with changing the perception of the personal computer from hobby into a business machine.
Luna 1 Launch
First Moon Photo
January 2, 1839
Louis Daguerre takes the first known photo of the Moon. Unfortunately, his lab burns down on March 8th so the photo does not survive.
Y2K Comes and Goes
January 1, 2000
After years of hysteria regarding the Y2K bug, the world’s computers begin using the date 2000 with no major catastrophes. There is still debate whether the “Year 2000 Problem” was overblown by the technology industry or if the frantic updating done by armies of software developers leading up to Y2K averted disaster. I tend to lean towards the latter.
Domain Name System Created; .com is Born!
January 1, 1985
The Internet’s Domain Name System is created. If only I had the foresight back then to start registering .com names!
NORDU.NET was the first domain created on this day, for purposes of hosting the first domain root server, nic.nordu.net. However, the first domain to actually be registered was symbolics.com a couple of months later on March 15th, 1985.
The Breakup of Ma Bell
January 1, 1984
The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T.
The Dawn of the Internet
January 1, 1983
The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the first component of the modern Internet.
The Beginning of Time?
January 1, 1970
Unix epoch time begins at 00:00:00 UTC/GMT. Basically, UNIX operating systems count time in seconds starting from midnight January 1, 1970 Greenwich Mean Time. Yeah, this is beyond the threshold of geekiness for most of you, but don’t come crying to me when the Y2K38 problem bites you in the butt.
ENIAC Completed
January 1, 1946
ENIAC, the first fully electronic computer, is completed by its designers John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert. It would later be unveiled to the public on February 14th.
Hewlett and Packard Formalize Partnership
January 1, 1939
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard formalize their business partnership. They decide to name the company after themselves, but choose the order of their names by a coin toss. Hewlett-Packard had a 50/50 chance of being named Packard-Hewlett.