May 23

This list was created with hours upon hours of research and dedication. Thank you.

1981
Kevin Mitnick, age 17, is arrested for stealing computer manuals from Pacific Bell’s switching center in Los Angeles, California. He will be prosecuted as a juvenile and sentenced to probation.

NASA launches the Intelsat V commercial communications satellite.

Casio unveils the FP-200 handheld microcomputer. The device features a 8-line x 20 character display, 8KB RAM, and 32KB ROM. Read more about the FP-200 at the Home Computer Museum. Price: US$300

1989
NEC Home Electronics announces that it will begin selling a new home video game system in the fall, for about US$200. Visit the official NEC website.

1993
Sun Microsystems first announces the Java programming language and the Hotjava web browser at the SunWorld conference. Netscape announces its intention to license Java for use in the company’s web browser. Java will enable client-side data processing which can be performed using safe, downloadable micro-programs called “Applets.” The concept is to design a programming language whose cross-platform applications will operate with any operating system, eliminating compatibility issues among IBM-compatible computers, Macintoshes, and Unix-based machines.

1995
MySQL is first released internally.

Sun Microsystems releases the Java programming language, created by James Gosling.

1997
Apple Computer spins their Newton division off into a separate company to employees in an effort to salvage the line and focus on the ailing Macintosh. Read more at CNet. Carlos Felipe Salgado, Jr., age 36, known by the handle “Smak”, is charged with gathering one hundred thousand credit card numbers along with the information needed to use them with a packet-sniffer program with which he extracted the information from the databases of a dozen companies stored on an undisclosed ISP’s servers. He was arrested when he sold the numbers on an encrypted CD to undercover FBI agents he believed to be members of the ISP for US$260,000 in cash at the San Francisco Airport on May 21st. He will plead guilty to all charges on August 26, 1997.

Cocktail Soft releases Welcome To Pia Carrot for the NEC PC-FX in Japan.

Informix announces that it has laid off one hundred of its four thousand employees.

US President Bill Clinton vows to support legislation that prevents state and local governments from implementing new taxes on the Internet.

Version 5.0 of the Microsoft Exchange Server collaboration suite is released. This version introduces the new Exchange Administrator console, as well as opening up “integrated” access to SMTP-based networks for the first time. Unlike Microsoft Mail (which requires a standalone SMTP relay), Exchange Server 5.0 can, with the help of an add-in called the Internet Mail Connector, communicate directly with servers using the new mail standard. Version 5.0 also introduces a new Web-based e-mail interface, Exchange Web Access. Visit the official Microsoft Exchange Server website.

2000
The website of Movie World is hacked by “cock”.

The website of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Delaware is hacked by “Pentaguard”.

2001
Microsoft announces plans regarding the upcoming release of Windows for Intel’s 64-bit Itanium processors. Windows XP 64-Bit Edition will debut with 32-bit versions on October 25, but will be first available through an “Early Deployment Program” for developers. The 64-bit Windows Advanced Server Limited Edition will become available upon the release of Itanium systems.

United States law officials announce that a major crackdown on Internet fraud named Operation “Cyber Loss” is underway, targeting pyramid schemes and other web-based scams. The officials claim that fifty-six thousand people have suffered losses from such fraud schemes, with an estimated total loss of more than US$117 million. The operation will eventually result in sixty-two arrests and eighty-eight people being charged amid sixty-one various federal, state, and local investigations.

2005
Electronics Boutique announces an agreement to acquire the Jump chain of consumer electronics retail stores based in Valencia, Spain. Electronics Boutique plans to begin introducing video game hardware and software into Jump’s 141 locations. The acquisition provides Electronics Boutique with an entry into the Spanish marketplace and continues Electronics Boutique’s aggressive international expansion.

2006
Version 2.0 Alpha 3 of the NeoOffice office suite is released for the PowerPC. Visit the official NeoOffice website.

Windows Vista Beta 2 (build number of 5384) is released to Microsoft Developer Network subscribers and Microsoft Connect testers. Visit the official Windows Vista website.

2011
Twitter purchases Tweetdeck for $40 million