| The term "worm" is derived from a 1970s science fiction novel by John Brunner entitled "The Shockwave Rider." The book describes programs known as "tapeworms" which spread through a network for the purpose of deleting data. The term is first used in computer science by researchers in the study of distributed computing. |
Swedish company Ericsson initiates the Bluetooth Technology movement in 1994. Bluetooth is a wireless radio standard designed for low power, short-wave device communication. In February 1998, five major companies found the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). Today, many devices such as cell phones, PDAs, computers, and hands-free devices include integrated BlueTooth technology.
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Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita establish Sony on May 7, 1946. The company begins modestly as a maker of a rice boiler. The Sony name is derived as a mix of the Latin word sonus, the English word "sunny," and from the word "Sonny-boys" which is Japanese slang for "whiz kids."
]]>The "I Love You" computer virus is released in spring of 2000 and affects millions of computers. Users are infected via e-mail, Internet chat systems, and through shared file systems. The virus is a program attached to an e-mail with the subject line, "I LOVE YOU." The destructive virus overwrites several types of files, including .gif and .jpg files, modifies the Internet Explorer start page, and changes registry keys.
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is stripped of his duties by the board of directors and resigns from Apple in May 1985. This event climaxes an internal power struggle between Jobs and CEO John Sculley. Ironically, Sculley joined the company in 1983 at Jobs' urging. Sculley remains the CEO until 1993. In 1997, Steve Jobs is back as Apple CEO, after the board of directors lose confidence in CEO Gil Amelio.
]]>he mobile phone ring tone "Crazy Frog Axel F" tops Britain's singles music charts in May 2005. Jamster's ring tone song, inspired by the 1980s movie theme from "Beverly Hills Cop," is the first song created specifically for mobile phones to crossover onto the mainstream pop music charts. The ring tone single registers 150,000 downloads in just one week.
Robert N. Noyce of Intel Corp receives the National Medal of Technology in 1987. He is credited for his semiconductor inventions and for his leadership in the research and development of the microprocessor, which has led to wider use of more powerful computers. These accomplishments are cited as having profound consequences both in the United States and throughout the world.
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MIT student David Huffman conceptualizes the idea of using a frequency-sorted binary tree algorithm for lossless data compression in 1951. Huffman comes up with the idea in response to his professor's term paper assignment. Today, "Huffman Coding" is used within several notable data compression products such as PKZIP, as well as the JPEG and MP3 file coding formats.
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| Microsoft adds the Solitaire game to Microsoft Windows in 1990. The Klondike Solitaire game is developed by Wes Cherry, an intern for Microsoft, as a means to help users learn Windows. Shipped with millions of Windows installations, the computer game may be the most played in the world. Since Cherry develops the program for free, he never receives any compensation or royalties. |