Friday, August 15, 2014

The development of the first hard disk

An IBM promotional filmstrip which examines the development of the first hard disk storage unit between 1952 and 1956. ca 1956-1957.


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Help Create an Archive of Video Game History


Below is a description from the Kickstarter site:
Creating an Archive of Video Game History
Today most people's hunt for information begins and ends with a Google search.  I want to create a video game museum that caters to this new information reality by making an online collection that can be freely visited by anyone, at any time, through a simple internet search.
The Vanamo Online Game Museum is an effort to create an archive of video game history with high-quality, high-resolution pictures with detailed descriptions.  The museum's photos will be free for anyone to use in other media, like articles and videos.  They will also be placed on Wikipedia, making them highly visible and readily available, along with vastly improving the quality of their associated articles.
The goal of this Kickstarter is to improve the quality of images and information about video game systems one finds on the internet.  The funds will go toward building a physical archive and collection of hardware that, in turn, becomes an online gallery of high quality pictures - a virtual museum. 
This Kickstarter greatly expands and completes work that I have already begun, which can be seen on my Video Game Wikimedia page.  I'm turning to your for help in expanding the reach and depth of my work, because I believe others can benefit from this work, and share my appreciation for a virtual video game collection of this quality and care.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

From Altair to iPad: 35 years of personal computer market share

Ars Technica published the following article about the evolution from of modern computing, here is except: "Back in 2005, we charted 30 years of personal computer market share to show graphically how the industry had developed, who succeeded and when, and how some iconic names eventually faded away completely. With the rise of whole new classes of "personal computers"—tablets and smartphones—it's worth updating all the numbers once more. And when we do so, we see something surprising: the adoption rates for our beloved mobile devices absolutely blow away the last few decades of desktop computer growth. People are adopting new technology faster than ever before." (Read the rest of the article)

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Big Internet Museum

Today I came across the "The Big Internet Museum", they're generally open 24 x 7, but per the website "We will be closed during the Brazilian Carnival, for obvious reasons.

To be honest I haven't seen a online Internet museum for a little while, and I like how this one is laid out.  The entrance fee is free, and you may find it worth the 3-5 minutes you may spend on the site.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Video: World's Oldest Functioning Electronic Computer



The Harwell computer, later known as the Wolverhampton Instrument for Teaching Computing from Harwell (WITCH), or the Harwell Dekatron Computer, was an early British relay-based computer. From 2009 to 2012, it was restored at the National Museum of Computing, where it is described as "the oldest original functioning electronic stored program computer in the world". The museum hopes to use the computer's visual, dekatron-based memory to teach schoolchildren about computers.[

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Video: Remembering Windows 1.0

Microsoft Windows 1.0 is a 16-bit graphical operating environment, developed by Microsoft Corporation and released on November 20, 1985. It was Microsoft's first attempt to implement a multi-tasking graphical user interface-based operating environment on the PC platform. Windows 1.0 was the first version of Windows launched. It was succeeded by Windows 2.0. Microsoft ended support for Windows 1.0 on December 31, 2001. (from Wikipedia)



Video Description: Windows 1.0 feature demo.



Video Description: A Microsoft slideshow advertising the features of Windows 1.0.



Video Description: Steve Ballmer promoting Microsoft Windows 1.0.



Video Description: This video shows boot screen and desktop of all the versions of Windows 1.0 - 8.0.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

TEDxImperialCollege - John Graham-Cumming - The Greatest Machine That Ne...



Video Description: "The computer was invented in the 30s: not the 1930s, but the 1830s. British mathematician Charles Babbage designed and prototyped a fully functional mechanical computer he called the Analytical Engine, but it was never completed. Now a team in Britain plans to build the machine for display at London's Science Museum before the 2030s come around."

Monday, July 2, 2012

BBC News - Minitel: The rise and fall of the France-wide web

BBC News reports: France is switching off its groundbreaking Minitel service which brought online banking, travel reservations, and porn to millions of users in the 1980s. But then came the worldwide web. Minitel has been slowly dying and the plug will be pulled on Saturday. (read the rest of the article)

Monday, June 25, 2012

Paul Otlet, visioning a web in 1934



Video Description: "Paul Otlet, a Belgian bibliographer, pacifist and entrepreneur imagined a day when users would access the database from great distances by means of an "electric telescope" connected through a telephone line, retrieving a facsimile image to be projected remotely on a flat screen." (More information)



Paul Otlet is one of several people who have been considered the father of information science. (More information)

Saturday, May 19, 2012

eBay: SHARP QT-8D MICRO COMPET VINTAGE DESKTOP ITRON CALCULATOR WORKS PERFECTLY!

Here is an excerpt for a rare item from an eBay Auction: "
*Early 4-banger desktop calculator is in excellentcondition and works perfectly!
*Includes original power cord.
*Unusual Itron display is "Crisp and Bright" with all segments illumined.
*Keys are responsive and all functions perform correctly."  (read more on the auction page)