Day in Tech History

The Day in Technology History is a podcast detailing what happened in Tech. This is a daily podcast, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We look at stories of the Information Age, dates of artifacts, creation of Silicon Valley and the history of companies like Microsoft, IBM, Apple, Commodore, Facebook, Twitter and more. It’s a Computer museum in a podcast.
Apple

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January 31, 1984: Apple Reorganizes

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Apple
Apple

1984 – Apple announced they would split up the Cupertino based company into three divisions – Apple II (handling all Apple III computers as well), the Apple 32 division (Lisa, and new Macintosh line of computers) and Accessory Products (Printers, keyboards, etc).

Delbert Yocam led the Apple II group which Steve Jobs would take care of Apple 32. Michael Muller would lead the accessories.

Apple did a lot of reorganizing, including Michael Spindler to VP of the European group and William Campbell to VP of sales in the US.

In 1984, they also introduced the Macintosh, with a groundbreaking Superbowl ad. At this time, Sculley and Jobs were co-working on a better Apple computer, but that would turn sour where Jobs resigned in 1985 to start NeXT Computers.

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eMachines eOne Computer

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January 30, 2004: Gateway Acquires eMachines

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eMachines eOne Computer
eMachines eOne Computer

Gateway computer makes a bold move and purchases rival eMachines for 50 million shares of Gateway common stock and $30 million in cash.

eMachines was a company founded by Lap Shun Hui along with South Korean companies Korea Data Systems, and TriGem. Their strategy was to put a PC in every house starting at $399.

These computers housed lower-end processors, and Windows OS – enough for the average person to get on and get online.

eMachines had previously purchased Free-PC; the company that offered free computers in exchange for pop-up ads while browsing.

Gateway finalized the acquisition in March. Wayne Inouye was placed as CEO, and eMachines stayed a separate company.

Ultimately, Gateway computers was purchased by Acer computers. The eMachines brand was ultimately discontinued on Jan 17, 2013.

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  • Atari starts using the slogan “Innovative Leisure”
  • Samsung acquires the remaining 51 percent of AST
  • Sega announces the Dreamcast will be discontinued
Motorola Mobility

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January 29, 2014: Google Sells Motorola Mobility

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Motorola Mobility
Motorola Mobility

Google owned Motorola Mobility for only 2 years before deciding to sell it off. They chose to sell to Lenovo for $2.91 billion. A major change in the $12.5 billion acquisition they made in 2011. But of course that was after Google striped the company down a little and sold items like their cable modem division to Arris Group.

The deal was completed on October 30, 2014. In return, Motorola developed the Nexus 6 – Google’s six-inch smartphone that debuted in November 2014.

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  • Microsoft releases Word 3.0 for Mac
  • Best Buy announces they will stop selling Macintosh
  • AOL compensates subscribers for their “unlimited internet” issues
Tim McVey Day

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January 28, 1984: Tim McVey Day

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Tim McVey Day
Tim McVey Day

1984 – One billion points on one quarter. That was the reason for Tim McVey Day. At the Twin Galaxies arcade back on January 17th, Tim scored 1,000,042,270 points on one quarter to the game “Nibbler” – a hybrid Pac-Man and Centipede game.

McVey got his name in Computer Games Magazine for it, and so he became the first video gamer to get a civic day in his honor.

His record was broken eight months later by Enrico Zanetti.

Of course, this event gets overshadowed by the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing by Timothy McVeigh.

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  • Yahoo buys Geocities
  • Radio Shack chooses Compaq over IBM
  • Ann Marie Linscott uses Craigslist to hire a hitman
Western Union

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January 27, 2006: Western Union discontinued Telegram and Commercial Messaging services

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Western Union
Western Union

2006– Founded in 1851, Western Union was responsible for getting the important messages from point A to B. Whether through telegram or commercial messaging, Western Union was synonymous with the service. But on January 27, 2006, that all ended. As Western Union wrote:

“Effective 2006-01-27, Western Union will discontinue all Telegram and Commercial Messaging services. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you, and we thank you for your loyal patronage. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a customer service representative.”

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  • MIT vs. David LaMaccia
  • Kevin Mitnik cracks the WELL
  • White House e-mail outage
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

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January 26, 2006: Grand Theft Auto Lawsuit: Hot Coffee

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Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

2006 – Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was a game that changed perception of the industry. The grit and cruelty of the GTA franchise has not only brought controversy, its also brought the fans.

One bit of controversy was the “Hot Coffee” minigame within GTA. Hot Coffee was a euphemism for sex. In the minigame, the main character and the girlfriend initiated in coitus, which got a lot of parents upset.

The Hot Coffee minigame was disabled by Take-Two, but people found ways around the block. This minigame prompted a re-rating to Adult, ultimately getting pulled from many game shelves.

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Alexander Graham Bell

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January 25, 1881: The Oriental Telephone Company

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Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell

1881 –  Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison establish the Oriental Telephone Company of New York and the Angle-Indian Telephone Company Ltd. These companies were licensed to sell telephones in other countries such as Greese, Turkey, India, Japan, China and more.

Countries recieving phones would have 3-digit numbers, which changed to 4, 5, then finally 7. It is unclear when the Oriental Bell Telephone company dissolved, but some of the phone lines they installed are still functional to this day, as according to this article by Indiatimes.com

1915 – 34 years after the company established, the first transcontinental call would be made.

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  • Version 2.2 of Linux
  • Jini Network Architecture
  • Judge reinstates how Microsoft can incorporate Sun Java
the Poppa - SSEC

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January 24, 1948: IBM Dedicated Poppa in New York City

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the Poppa - SSEC
the Poppa – SSEC

1948 – At IBM world headquarters, IBM dedicated the Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator (SSEC). The machine – otherwise known as Poppa – was the first computer to combine electronic computation with stored instruction. The 13,500 vacuum tube computer contained 21,000 relays.

The 1,800 square foot computer room had a large glass window so the public could see the building of Poppa. IBM created a raised floor for this computer so cables could run underneath and would not be tripped on. This was all in promotion to compete with the ENIAC computer.

The first calculations were of the positions of the Moon and planets. This would eventually be used by NASA to plot the course of the 1969 Apollo flight.

The SSEC was decommissioned in 1952.

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  • Walt Disney purchases Pixar
  • Microwave Oven is patented
  • Gary McKinnon won right to judicial review
  • Apple introduces a floppy drive for the Lisa computer
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