Author Archives: GilPress

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About GilPress

I launched the Big Data conversation; writing, research, marketing services; http://whatsthebigdata.com/ & https://infostory.com/

Kids of the Past vs Internet Generation (Infographic)

Posted on November 7, 2013 by GilPress
Posted in Infographics, Internet, Social Impact | Leave a comment

First Computer-Based Predictions of Presidential Elections

Posted on November 4, 2013 by GilPress

Today in 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected U.S. President, taking over 55% of the popular vote and winning 39 of the 48 states. It was the first time two of the major television networks used computers to predict the … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer history, Predictions, Social Impact, This day in information | Leave a comment

First Time A Computer Virus Recognized as Virus

Posted on November 3, 2013 by GilPress

Today in 1983, Fred Chen writes, “the first virus was conceived of as an experiment to be presented at a weekly seminar on computer security. The concept was first introduced in this seminar by the author, and the name ‘virus’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Computer history, Security | Leave a comment

Digital Landscape in China (Video)

Posted on November 2, 2013 by GilPress
Posted in China, Internet | Leave a comment

The 1772 Internet and the Commitment to Informed Citizenry

Posted on November 2, 2013 by GilPress

Today in 1772, the town of Boston established a Committee of Correspondence as an agency to organize a public information network in Massachusetts; the Committee drafted a pamphlet and a cover letter which it circulated to 260 Massachusetts towns and … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet, Social Impact, This day in information | Leave a comment

Meteorological Observations, the Telegraph, and Metcalfe’s Law

Posted on November 1, 2013 by GilPress

Today in 1870, the U.S. Weather Bureau made its first meteorological observations using 24 locations that provided reports via telegraph. For the first time, weather observations from distant points could be “rapidly” collected, plotted, and analyzed at one location. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Data, Telegraph, This day in information | Leave a comment

Tipping Point for Online Video

Posted on October 21, 2013 by GilPress

In the third quarter of 2013, Netflix reached 31 million subscribers in the U.S., compared with 28.7 million domestic subscribers for HBO, according to SNL Kagan.

Posted in Digitization, Video | Leave a comment

Should I Check Email? (Infographic)

Posted on October 19, 2013 by GilPress

Source: http://wendymacnaughton.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-19-2012.html

Posted in email, Infographics, Information Overload, Social Impact | Leave a comment

Edison’s First Movie Projector: A Phonograph for Pictures

Posted on October 17, 2013 by GilPress

Today in 1888, Thomas Edison filed a patent for the first movie projector, the “Optical Phonograph,” which projected images just 1/32-inch across.  Steven Lubar in InfoCulture: “Thomas Edison was thinking about the phonograph when he decided to invent a moving picture machine. … Continue reading →

Posted in consumer electronics history, Film, Patents, Recorded sound, This day in information | Leave a comment

Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson Present UNIX

Posted on October 15, 2013 by GilPress

40 years ago today (October 15, 1973), Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson presented their first paper on Unix at the fourth ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles (SOSP) held at Purdue University. The paper will later be published in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bell Labs, Computer history, Programming, Software, This day in information | Leave a comment