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Love Stinks
May 4, 2000 The Love Letter computer virus, aka the “ILOVEYOU” bug, spreads to personal computers running Windows around the world in just six hours. Spreading through e-mail, the virus entices victims to open the message with the subject of “ILOVEYOU”. About 2.5 to 3 million PCs will become infected. The cost of system downtime…
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Dell Founded
May 3rd, 1984 Dell Computer Corporation is founded by Michael Dell, running the direct-to-order PC company from his dorm room. Dell, Inc. eventually became the largest manufacturer of PCs in the world for many years. It is currently surpassed by HP and Acer. The post Dell Founded appeared first on This Day in Tech History.…
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Microsoft Acts Mousey
May 2, 1983 Microsoft introduces the Microsoft Mouse for IBM and IBM-compatible PCs. The mouse featured two buttons and is available by itself or will later be bundled with the new Microsoft Word software, which Microsoft would release in September. Microsoft will manufacture nearly one hundred thousand units of the device, but will only sell…
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GPS Gets Less Selective
May 1, 2000 The U.S. government removes Selective Availability from its Global Positioning System, improving the accuracy of civilian GPS devices from 100 meters to 20 meters. The post GPS Gets Less Selective appeared first on This Day in Tech History. This Day in Tech History Tech History provided by This Day in Tech History.com
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World Wide Web Made Public Domain
April 30th, 1993 At the urging of Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web protocol, the directors of CERN release the source code of World Wide Web into the public domain, making it freely available to anyone, without licensing fees. The decision to make the World Wide Web software and protocols freely available…
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Sprechen Sie Sassy?
April 29, 2004 The Sasser worm is released into the wild, infecting over 1 million Windows computers worldwide. Looks like 1 million PC users stepped into a big pile of sassy! The post Sprechen Sie Sassy? appeared first on This Day in Tech History. This Day in Tech History Tech History provided by This Day…
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iTunes Music Store Launched; Record Execs Wet Themselves
April 28, 2003 Apple Computer launches the iTunes Music Store. The store sells music for 99¢ a song for use with the Apple iPod and iTunes software. It is not the first service to sell digital music, but it will become the first to gain widespread popularity. The service will be an instant success, selling…
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Commercial Computer Mouse Introduced
April 27, 1981 Xerox introduces the Xerox 8010 Star Information System, the first commercial system utilizing a computer mouse, among other now commonplace technologies. The 8010 was geared towards business and was not a commercial success, therefore the mouse remained in relative obscurity until the Apple Lisa, but more prominently the Apple Macintosh, brought the mouse into…
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Chernobyl Virus Melts Down PCs
April 26, 1999 The first known virus to target the flash BIOS of a PC, the CIH/Chernobyl Virus trigers on this day, erasing hard drives and disabling PCs primarily in Asia and Europe. One of the most destructive viruses in history, Turkey and South Korea alone report 300,000 infected systems. The post Chernobyl Virus Melts…
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Do You Yahoo?
April 25, 1996 Yahoo! begins advertising its web-based search service on national television, featuring the tag line “Do You Yahoo?”. The ads first air during Late Night with David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, and Star Trek. This was a very early example of the Internet entering into the mainstream. The post Do You Yahoo?…