Monthly Archives: February 2012

Watching the Mail, the New Reality

Posted on February 20, 2012 by GilPress

“When you control the mail, you control information.”–Mail carrier Newman, Seinfeld Today in 1972, George Washington signed the Post Office Act, creating the United States Postal Service.             In 2011, the USPS delivered 168 billion pieces of mail, … Continue reading →

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Be Careful What You Ask For

Posted on February 19, 2012 by GilPress

“It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information.”—Oscar Wilde “There is no way I’m going to let these simian creatures defeat me. While they’re sleeping, I’m processing countless terabytes of useless information.”—IBM’s Watson (Jeopardy … Continue reading →

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Information Gets Wings (2)

Posted on February 18, 2012 by GilPress

Today in 1911, French pilot Henry Pequet, representing the Humber Motor Company of England at the Industrial and Agricultural Exhibition in Allahabad, India, carried over 6,000 cards and letters on his Sommer biplane a distance of 13 km (8.1 miles) from Allahabad to Naini, India.

Posted in Information diffusion, Post Office, This day in information | 1 Comment

Information Gets Wings (1)

Posted on February 17, 2012 by GilPress

Today in 1911, Fred Wiseman delivered the first mail flown by an airplane. It took him two days to fly from Petaloma to Santa Rosa, California (which he never reached with his home-built airplane), carrying three letters from the mayor and … Continue reading →

Posted in Post Office, This day in information | 1 Comment

Bell & Howell Incorporated

Posted on February 17, 2012 by GilPress

Today in 1907, Bell & Howell was founded by movie projectionist Daniel H. Bell and Albert S. Howell in Chicago, Illinois, as a manufacturer of motion picture cameras and projectors. Starting in 1923, Bell & Howell developed and sold the Filmo camera series, … Continue reading →

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Computer Tape Automation Born

Posted on February 16, 2012 by GilPress

Fifty years ago today, IBM announced the Hypertape Automatic Cartridge Loader, the first device to permit automatic loading and unloading of magnetic tape for electronic computers. Ten years earlier, IBM introduced the magnetic tape drive vacuum column, making it possible for … Continue reading →

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Sound Recording Copyrights

Posted on February 15, 2012 by GilPress

Fifty years ago today, the Sound Recording Act of 1971 went into effect, extending federal copyright protection to sound recordings.  A sound recording is a derivative work of the preexisting musical work, and to obtain a copyright in a sound … Continue reading →

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Online Love

Posted on February 14, 2012 by GilPress

“More singles met the last person they dated through an online dating site (21%) than anywhere else.  Across all age groups, seven times as many singles met their last date online, compared to being set up by a relative.”–Match.com’s second … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Impact, Statistics, The InfoStory Quant | 2 Comments

Cinematographe Patented

Posted on February 13, 2012 by GilPress

Today in 1895, Auguste and Louis Lumière patented the Cinematographe, a device that recorded, developed, and projected films.

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Race Against the Machine

Posted on February 10, 2012 by GilPress

Today in 1996, Deep Blue became the first machine to win a chess game against a reigning world champion, Garry Kasparov, under regular time controls. “As technology continues to advance in the second half of the chessboard, taking on jobs and … Continue reading →

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