Excerpt:
The History of Atari, Born in 1972
The History of Atari, Born in 1972
We are all taught Mathematics, but few if any, know from where it came. This is a journey into the world of Mathematics to seek out its roots and heritage. This is a journey of ancient Mathematicians and forgotten theorems. This is a journey of prehistoric philosophers and misdirected mathematicians. This is a journey of failures and successes. This is a treatise upon treatises and a proof upon proofs. Here we will gather the clues and solve the mysteries. Or we may simply leave the mysteries unsolved. Here we will learn of our ancestors and predict our future. All, of course, with roots in Mathematics.
Power. Speed. Capacity. Connectivity.
At the beginning of the 21st century, these are the major areas of focus for most users of computing devices, whether desktop, laptop, or handheld. Does it have the ability to run the applications that I need? Can it run them well? With reliability? With security? With access to my data from multiple locations? And, of course, robust ability to communicate with other computers via the Internet is essential. Sometimes, even the question, "Does it look cool?" is important.
Most of consumer computing today assumes the above requirements are met in one way or another. As far as a particular computing device is concerned, its value is dependant on how well it meets these criteria. The computing "religious wars" of the 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's have for the most part receded, having shifted from a fervent adherence to a particular piece of hardware, over to a preference of operating system (Windows, Linux, MacOS, or others). Furthermore, we are gradually moving to the place where the applications and the documents they produce are becoming the focus, rather than the box or OS that runs on that box. The computer operating system is gradually transforming into a vehicle through which an application or Internet content is presented, much as a local radio or television station broadcasts programs and entertainment. And the future holds the potential for even more exciting advancements.
This national historic site preserves part of the estate of Stephen Vail, owner of the Speedwell Iron Works. Visitors can also walk through exhibits in the Carriage House, Granary, and Vail Factory. A new exhibit on the S.S. Savannah and a new gift shop will be available in the L'Hommedieu House in mid-July. Our permanent exhibits provide information on the S.S. Savannah, and early farm equipment.
The Small-Scale Experimental Machine, known as SSEM, or the "Baby", was designed and built at the University of Manchester, and made its first successful run of a program on June 21st 1948. It was the first machine that had all the components now classically regarded as characteristic of the basic computer. Most importantly it was the first computer that could store not only data but any (short!) user program in electronic memory and process it at electronic speed
From Benjamin Franklin's lightning rod to the Hubble Space Telescope, this timeline covers some of America's technological innovations and inventions.
Epact is an electronic catalogue of medieval and renaissance scientific instruments from four European museums: the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, Florence , the British Museum, London, and the Museum Boerhaave, Leiden. Together, these museums house the finest collections of early scientific instruments in the world.
Epact is an electronic catalogue of medieval and renaissance scientific instruments from four European museums: the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, Florence , the British Museum, London, and the Museum Boerhaave, Leiden. Epact consists of 520 catalogue entries and a variety of supporting material. All European instruments from the four museums by makers who were active before 1600 have been entered in the catalogue. They include astrolabes, armillary spheres, sundials, quadrants, nocturnals, compendia, surveying instruments, and so on. Examples range from ordinary instruments for everyday use to more extravagant and often lavish pieces destined for the cabinets of princes. Each instrument in the catalogue is described with the aid of one or more photographs and two levels of text: an overview text providing a short account of the most notable features of the instrument and a detailed text giving more technical and scholarly information.
Then + Now
A brief overview of this Web site that compares what we knew in 1900 to what we know today
That's My Theory
Meet some of the scientists who made twentieth century history on this made-for-the-Web game show
On the Edge
These comic-book style stories take you back through time and present scientists soon after they made their discoveries
In accordance with the mandate to study the "Transformation of Canada," the collection of the Canada Science and Technology Museum encompasses a broad cross-section of Canadian scientific and technological heritage. National in scope, this unique collection consists of artifacts, photographs, technical drawings, trade literature, and rare books, all of which are complemented and supported by library holdings of monographs and serials.
AT&T brought its former president, Theodore Vail, out of retirement to help it fight off competition erupting from the expiration of Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patents. Vail's solution: transcontinental telephone service.
In 1906, the eccentric American inventor Lee De Forest developed a triode in a vacuum tube. It was a device that could amplify signals, including, it was hoped, signals on telephone lines as they were transferred across the country from one switch box to another. AT&T bought De Forest's patent and vastly improved the tube. It allowed the signal to be amplified regularly along the line, meaning that a telephone conversation could go on across any distance as long as there were amplifiers along the way.
This television-program related site is dedicated to the transistor, an invention described as the most important during the 20th century. The exhibit features articles on the electron, vacuum tubes, transistors and William Shockley, Morgan Sparks. Audio-video clips often compliment the essays. The site can be browsed chronologically or by topic and is searchable. Though tailored to an audience that extends beyond academics, the information may prove useful for filling in gaps in research or for beginning research.