Category Archives: Uncategorized
A Midnight Modern Conversation by Hogarth
William Hogarth A Midnight Modern Conversation One of Hogarth’s most popular and pirated early engravings. Its publication did much to spread Hogarth’s fame to the continent. The scene is said to be the interior of the St. John’s Coffee House, Temple … Continue reading
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Remembrances of Things Past
When Shannon was a river and Turing was a car When Banyan was a tree and buses travelled far dBase was where you ran to after you hit the ball Often we were ANSI RISC aversive not at all Windows … Continue reading
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ERMA: A milestone in bank automation
Today in 1959, Bank of America received the first ERMA (Electronic Recording Machine, Accounting) system. From Wikipedia: In 1950, Bank of America was the largest bank in California, and led the world in the use of checks. This presented a serious problem … Continue reading
They Saw it as Destiny
Louis H. Sullivan, the father of the modern skyscraper, said this about Chicago in 1875, as it emerged from the Great Fire of 1871 and the Economic Panic of 1873: As everybody said: “Chicago has risen phoenix-like from its ashes.” … Continue reading
The computer software bug makes its first appearance
Today in 1947, operators of the Mark II traced the cause of the computer’s malfunction to a moth caught in a relay and wrote in their logbook “First actual case of bug being found.” See also Debugging the Origin of the … Continue reading
The Disk Drive is Born
Today in 1956, IBM introduced the disk drive. In 1953, Arthur J. Critchlow, a young member of IBM’s advanced technologies research lab in San Jose, California, was assigned the task of finding a better information storage medium than punch-cards. Visiting … Continue reading
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Man Vs. Machine
“Computers will never rob man of his initiative or replace the need for his creative thinking. By freeing man from the more menial or repetitive forms of thinking, computers will actually increase the opportunities for the full use of human … Continue reading
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The Internet of Things is coming – Philip K. Dick, 1969
Originally posted on flycz:
Philip K. Dick, Ubik (1969): Back in the kitchen he fished in his various pockets for a dime, and, with it, started up the coffeepot. Sniffing the — to him — very unusual smell, he again consulted his…
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The Internet of Things is coming — Woody Allen, 1968
Originally posted on flycz:
Woody Allen, “Mechanical Objects”, San Francisco, August 1968: About three years ago I couldn’t stand it anymore. I was home one night. I called a meeting with my posessions. I got everything I owned into the…
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The Telegraph RFP
Today in 1837, The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution requesting the Treasury Secretary, Levi Woodbury, to report to the House at its next session, “upon the propriety of establishing a system of telegraphs for the United States.” Richard … Continue reading
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The Story of Information 