UNIVAC Unveiled
March 30, 1951
The first commercial computer, UNIVAC, is received by the US Census Bureau. Short for UNIVersal Automatic Computer, UNIVAC used over 5,000 vacuum tubes, weighed 16,686 pounds, consumed 125 kW of electricity, and could perform about 1,905 operations per second running on a 2.25 MHz clock. It was 14 feet long, 7 feet wide, and 8 feet tall.
Developed by J. Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly, who had designed the first fully electronic computer ENIAC during World War II, the duo had formed a company in 1946 to develop a computer for the Census Bureau. Originally expected to take 6 months to begin development, it took 2 years to complete the study to design the computer. In 1950 Eckert and Mauchly sold their company to typewriter manufacturer Remington Rand and continued their work within the corporation’s calculating machine division. In 1952 the UNIVAC became famous for correctly predicting the results of the presidential election, contradicting the expected Gallup Poll results, and made the general public aware of the advancement of electronic computers.
Interestingly enough, the Census Bureau had driven the development of devices that eventually led to computers since the 1890’s and Herman Hollerith’s Punch Card Calculator.
Invention of the Phototransistor
March 30, 1950
Bell Telephone Labs announces the phototransistor, invented by Dr. John Northrup Shive. Often called an “electric eye”, a phototransistor is activated by light rather than electricity. It found early use in telephone switching systems for long distance service, allowing operators to quickly direct dial phones in distant cities. Today phototransistors find many uses in a variety of technologies such as computers, robotics, and industry.
TRS-80 Model 100 Introduced
March 29, 1983
Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80 Model 100, one of the first portable computers in a notebook-style form factor. The portability, simplicity, and built-in modem of the Model 100 made it very popular with journalists who could write stories in the field and transmit them back to their offices. Incidentally, in the early 90’s I acquired a Model 100 that had been used by a newspaper. I was able to use it to code simple programs, write papers, and use the modem to connect to bulletin board systems of the time. I currently have 2 of these models – still in good working order! Good times, good times.
First Flyby of Mercury
March 29, 1974
Mariner 10 becomes the first spacecraft to flyby the planet Mercury. At a range of 437 miles, Mariner 10 was able to send back the first close up images of Mercury indicating a Moon-like surface of craters and ridges. Until Mariner ran out of fuel and contact terminated about one year later, it made two more flybys of Mercury returning over 2,700 pictures of the innermost planet in our solar system.
Mariner 10 also was famous for many other firsts:
- The first spacecraft to use the gravity of one planet (Venus) to reach another (Mercury)
- The first spacecraft to return data on a long-period comet (Kohoutek)
- The first mission to explore two planets (Mercury and Venus) during a single mission
- The first spacecraft to use a gravity assist to change its flight path
- The first spacecraft to return to its target after an initial encounter
- The first probe to use the solar wind as a major means of spacecraft orientation during flight
Kodak Releases DC40
March 28, 1995
Kodak releases the DC40 camera, which is only the second digital camera for the consumer market. While introduced over a year after Apple’s QuickTake 100 camera, it was Kodak’s marketing that was largely responsible for popularizing digital photography in the mid to late 1990’s.
First Gyroscope Controlled Rocket Launch
March 28, 1935
Robert Goddard, considered the father of modern rocketry, successfully launches the first gyroscope controlled rocket. His A-5 rocket flew to an altitude of 4,800 feet, flew horizontally for 13,000 feet and reached a speed of 550 miles per hour. Gyroscopic technology is critical for the stabilization of modern flight systems in airplanes and spacecraft.
20-Year Old Bill Gates Gives Address
March 27, 1976
Bill Gates gives the opening address at the First Annual World Altair Computer Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, giving a talk about software piracy.
In early 1975 Gates had been a student at Harvard but along with Paul Allen developed a version of the BASIC language for the MITS Altair computer. They demoed it to MITS in March of that year and MITS agreed to distribute it then hired Gates and Allen to continue development. Gates and Allen soon moved to Albuquerque to form Microsoft (originally “Micro-Soft”) since MITS’s headquarters was also located in Albuquerque.
First Long Distance Phone Call
March 27, 1884
The first truly long distance telephone call was made by Alexander Graham Bell to his assistant Mr. Watson from Boston to New York City. The call lasted 90 minutes before the line failed. However this call was done as an experiment using copper wire instead of galvanized iron. Spanning a distance of 235 miles for the experimental call, its success proved the feasibility of using copper wiring and opened the possibility of long distance telephone service which eventually spread around the country and the world.
Bill Gates Announces First Tablet PCs
March 26, 2001
A little over 4 months after announcing that Tablet PCs would be the future, in his keynote at the 2001 Windows Hardware and Engineering Conference (WinHEC) Bill Gates announces Tablet PC support from Acer, Compaq, Fujitsu, Sony and Toshiba. Microsoft’s Tablet PC initiative made a lot of noise and had hardware manufacturers salivating at the thought of a new category of computers to sell after the post Y2k downturn in sales, but for a variety of factors never gained mainstream acceptance. It was not until Apple introduced the iPad in 2010 that mainstream tablet computing actually became a reality.
Melissa Unleashes
March 26, 1999
The first e-mail virus to cause widespread damage and one of the fastest spreading viruses in history, Melissa was released into the wild on an early Friday morning and within three days would infect between 100,000 and 250,000 computers around the world. Targeting Microsoft Word and Outlook, the virus did not directly cause any damage, but the sheer volume of e-mail that it generated crashed many corporate *cough* Microsoft *cough* e-mail servers.
The malware first showed up on the alt.sex usenet group and was apparently named by its creator, David L. Smith, after an exotic dancer. He was arrested a few days later on April 1st, 1999 and accused of causing $80 million worth of damages. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.