Our Heritage of Technology

History, Folklore and Stories of Technology and the Sometimes Coherent Ramblings of an Old Technician

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AI Can Mention the Oppressed and Still Strip Them of Agency | HackerNoon

Focusing on Palestine, Zionism, anti-Zionism, Iran, United States foreign-policy discourse, and platform moderation, it argues that visibili

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Tech Trivia

On May 21, 1952, IBM announced its first electronic computer, the Model 701, at a time when the company was better known as the world's largest supplier of punched card equipment, with chairman Thomas Watson Sr. so resistant to the idea that engineers had to rebrand it a "Defense Calculator" just to get it built.

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Both Fedora and Ubuntu will get AI support – soon

Furores are fermenting in the forums

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Tech Trivia

On this date in 1961 – Project Mercury: Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, on a sub-orbital flight.

Mercury-Redstone 3, or Freedom 7, was the first United States human spaceflight, on May 5, 1961, piloted by astronaut Alan Shepard. It was the first crewed flight of Project Mercury. The project had the ultimate objective of putting an astronaut into orbit around the Earth and returning him safely. Shepard's mission was a 15-minute suborbital flight with the primary objective of demonstrating his ability to withstand the high g-forces of launch and atmospheric re-entry.

Shepard named his space capsule Freedom 7, setting a precedent for the remaining six Mercury astronauts naming their spacecraft and the format of their names. They selected names ending with a "7" in all the crewed Mercury spacecraft to commemorate the NASA's first group of seven astronauts. the number 7 also was the model number for the McDonnell Model #7 space capsule used in the Mercury Program. His spacecraft reached an altitude of 101.2 nautical miles (116.5 statute miles, 187.5 km) and traveled a downrange distance of 263.1 nautical miles (302.8 statute miles, 487.3 km). It was the fourth Mercury flight launched with the Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, close to the Atlantic Ocean.

During the flight, Shepard observed the Earth and tested the capsule's attitude control system, turning the capsule around to face its blunt heat shield forward for atmospheric re-entry. He also tested the retrorockets which would return later missions from orbit, though the capsule did not have enough energy to remain in orbit. After re-entry, the capsule landed by parachute on the North Atlantic Ocean off the Bahamas. Shepard and the capsule were picked up by helicopter and brought to U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain.

The mission was a technical success, though American pride in the accomplishment was dampened by the fact that just three weeks before, the Soviet Union had launched the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, who completed one orbit on Vostok 1. In 2017 the first National Astronaut Day was held on May 5 to pay tribute to this first U.S. flight.

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Tech Trivia

On April 30, 1993, CERN issued an official document that put the World Wide Web software and protocols into the public domain.

This was a pivotal moment in technology history, as it ensured that the Web would be an open standard that anyone could use, build upon, and distribute without paying licensing fees or royalties.

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Tech Trivia

On April 8, 1991, a small team at Sun Microsystems quietly relocated to work in secret on a project codenamed "Oak", a programming language that would eventually be renamed Java and go on to become one of the most widely used languages in the world, powering everything from Android apps to enterprise software.

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Following Artemis II’s Journey Around The Moon

Following Artemis II’s Journey Around The Moon

NASA is going back to the Moon! We’ll follow the crew of Artemis II every step of the way.

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NASA's Artemis II Crew Launches To The Moon (Official Broadcast)

We're sending astronauts around the Moon for the first time in 50 years. Come watch with us.NASA's Artemis II mission is scheduled to lift o

NASA's Artemis II Crew Launches To The Moon (Official Broadcast)

We're sending astronauts around the Moon for the first time in 50 years. Come watch with us. NASA's Artemis II mission is scheduled to lift off from Kennedy Space Center on April 1. The two-hour launch window starts at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 UTC). Four astronauts — three from NASA and one from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) — make up the Artemis II crew:

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander

NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot

NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist

After launching into space atop NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the crew will journey around the Moon and back in their Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, on an approximately 10-day mission. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test of SLS and Orion, testing the technologies we'll need for long-term lunar exploration and human missions to Mars. 24/7 streaming coverage of Artemis II operations and mission updates will be available on our YouTube channel. We're also streaming Artemis II events on NASA+, Amazon, X, Facebook, and Twitch. See the full schedule: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis... Read the latest Artemis II mission updates: https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/artemis/ Learn more about the mission and why we're going: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/ Credit: NASA

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NASA's Artemis II Live Mission Coverage (Official Broadcast)

This feed will provide continuous coverage of Artemis II mission activities with live commentary, beginning with tanking of the SLS (Space L

This feed will provide continuous coverage of Artemis II mission activities with live commentary, beginning with tanking of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and concluding with the recovery of the Orion Integrity spacecraft after splashdown. Live coverage of Artemis II's launch and lunar flyby, as well as daily mission briefings, will also stream on this feed. These events will additionally be carried as standalone streams on NASA's YouTube channel and elsewhere. Four astronauts — three from NASA and one from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) — make up the Artemis II crew: - NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Artemis II commander - NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot - NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist - Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Artemis II mission specialist After launching into space atop SLS, the crew will journey around the Moon and back in their Orion spacecraft on an approximately 10-day mission. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test of SLS and Orion, testing the technologies we'll need for long-term lunar exploration and human missions to Mars. Read the latest Artemis II mission updates: https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/artemis/ Follow our Artemis II live coverage schedule: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis... Credit: NASA

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See The Computers That Powered The Voyager Space Program

Have you ever wanted to see the computers behind the first (and for now only) man-made objects to leave the heliosphere? [Gary Friedman] sho

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PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations) was a groundbreaking computer-based education system that began in 1960 on the ILLIAC I mainframe. Its true strength was not a single machine, but a network of interconnected mainframes and terminals. By the late 1970s, PLATO supported thousands of graphical terminals worldwide, with multi-user capabilities far ahead of its time.

The most notable hardware was the PLATO IV terminal. It featured a 512×512 plasma display capable of showing both text and vector graphics at high speed (about 60 lines or 180 characters per second at 1260 baud). The display had built-in memory and was paired with a 16×16 infrared touchscreen, allowing users to interact directly—an early precursor to modern touch interfaces.

The terminal also included advanced multimedia features. An audio unit could store up to 4096 sound clips (around 17–22 minutes total) and retrieve them within 0.4 seconds. It also supported a Votrax speech synthesizer and the Gooch Synthetic Woodwind, a 4-voice (later 16-voice) music synthesizer. For color images, a microfiche projection system displayed images behind the screen.

The terminals themselves had minimal processing power; all computation was handled by central mainframes. Through networking, hundreds to thousands of users could work simultaneously.

In short, PLATO combined relatively simple terminals with powerful centralized computing—an early form of cloud computing, but with orange screens and a distinctly science fiction feel.

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On March 23 1896, A. S. Popov made the first radio transmission in human history. Popov is said to have transmitted the words “Heinrich Hertz” from one building to another on the campus of St. Petersburg University.

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Dial-Up Is Still, Just Barely, A Thing

In an era dominated by broadband and wireless cellular networks, it might come as a surprise to many that dial-up internet services still ex

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The Rise And Fall Of Free Dial Up Internet

In the early days of the Internet, having a high-speed IP connection in your home or even a small business was, if not impossible, certainly

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Hypertext: Living in a Non-Linear World | HackerNoon

Before platforms, feeds, and algorithms, hypertext quietly rewired culture. We no longer experience the world as a tidy sequence of causes a

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On February 4, 2004, a website originally designed for Harvard University students quietly launched under the name TheFacebook. Created by Mark Zuckerberg and a small group of collaborators, the platform would soon evolve into Facebook, fundamentally transforming communication and social interaction worldwide.

Initially limited to college campuses, Facebook allowed users to create personal profiles, connect with friends, and share updates online. Its real-name policy and clean design distinguished it from earlier social networking sites, fostering a sense of authenticity and trust among users.

As access expanded beyond universities, Facebook’s user base grew exponentially. The platform became a central hub for social interaction, news sharing, event organization, and digital advertising. Businesses, political campaigns, and media outlets quickly recognized its influence, using it to reach targeted audiences on an unprecedented scale.

Facebook’s growth also sparked complex debates about privacy, data usage, and the role of social media in shaping public opinion. The platform has been linked to both positive movements, such as grassroots activism, and negative consequences, including misinformation and online polarization.

Despite ongoing scrutiny and competition from newer platforms, Facebook remains one of the most influential digital entities in history. Its launch on February 4 represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of the internet, signaling the beginning of the social media era.

More than two decades later, the impact of that single website continues to shape how people connect, communicate, and engage with the world around them.

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Time Designs : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Time Designs Magazine

The Rise and Fall of the Timex Computer Corporation, Part 1: What Happened?

The Rise and Fall of the Timex Computer Corporation, Part 2: On the Drawing Board