Author Archives: GilPress
From Social Security to Social Anxiety
Two of this week’s milestones in the history of technology highlight the evolution in the use of computing machines from supporting social security to boosting social cohesion and social anxiety. On January 31, 1940, Ida M. Fuller became the first … Continue reading
Posted in Facebook, IBM
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How Steve Jobs and Thomas Watson Sr. Sold AI to the Public
A number of this week’s milestones in the history of technology showcase two prominent computer industry showmen, Steve Jobs and Thomas Watson Sr., their respective companies, Apple and IBM, and how they sold smart machines to the general public. On … Continue reading
Posted in Apple, Computer history, IBM
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Inventing and Fumbling the Future
Thirty-five years ago this week, Apple introduced a computer that changed the way people communicated with their electronic devices, using graphical icons and visual indicators rather than punched cards or text-based commands. On January 19, 1983, Apple introduced Lisa, a … Continue reading
Posted in Apple, Futures, IBM, Xerox, Yesterday's Futures
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From Tabulating Machines to Machine Learning to Deep Learning
This week’s milestone in the history of technology is the patent that launched the ongoing quest to get machines to help us and them know more about our world, from tabulating machines to machine learning to deep learning (or today’s … Continue reading
Posted in Machine Learning
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Smart Machines Rising
A number of this week’s milestones in the history of technology highlight the role of mechanical devices in automating work, augmenting human activities, and allowing many people to participate in previously highly-specialized endeavors—a process technology vendors like to call “democratization” … Continue reading
Posted in Artificial Intelligence, Photography, Robots
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The Analog-to-Digital Journey of Film
Two of this week’s milestones in the history of technology reflect the analog-to-digital transformation of film making and distribution. On December 28, 1895, the first public screening of films at which admission was charged was held by the Lumière brothers … Continue reading
Posted in Digitization, Film
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The Knowledge Navigator
Two of this week’s milestones in the history of technology—the development of the first transistor at Bell Labs and the development of the Alto PC at Xerox PARC—connect to this year’s 30th anniversary of the Knowledge Navigator, a concept video … Continue reading
Posted in Apple, Computer history
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Computer Networking: The Technology Trend Driving the Success of Apple, Microsoft and Google
This week’s milestones in the history of technology reveal the most important—and quite neglected—technology trend contributing to the success of Apple, Google, and Microsoft, ultimately making them today’s three most valuable US companies. Apple and Microsoft are considered the premier—and … Continue reading
Posted in Computer history, Computer Networks
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The Origins of the Open Internet and Net Neutrality
Two of this week’s milestones in the history of technology highlight the foundations laid 50 years ago that are at the core of today’s debates over net neutrality and the open Internet. On December 6, 1967, the Advanced Research Projects … Continue reading
Posted in Internet, Internet access
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The Turing Test and the Turing Machine
This week’s milestones in the history of technology include Microsoft unleashing MS-DOS and Windows, the first Turing Test and the introduction of the Turing Machine, and IBM launching a breakthrough in computer storage technology. Read the article on Forbes.com
Posted in Computer history
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The Story of Information 