May 1 2008 9:03AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Here's a video that discusses the history of circuit bending. The quick discussion explains how inventors with limited knowledge of electronics can turn electronic products into musical instruments.

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Apr 3 2008 8:48AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Here's a piece of television science history. This 1960 TV program features Ira Gallen discussing heavenly bodies, include comets, astroids, metorites and early satellites.

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Mar 28 2008 9:15AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Here’s a video showcasing electronic gadgets from 1983. Along with cassette players, you’ll also get dazzled by some early robotics. The big feature was small electronics, from little video games to tiny TVs and small cassette players that roar through giant speakers.

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Feb 29 2008 6:49AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Here's a video of the Lloyd's 8V84A Series 90 vintage cassette recorder dating from approximately 1968. Quite a treat for those who love ancient, low-fit audio electronics.

Feb 7 2008 3:35AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

This YouTube video will give you a quick hsitory of the Intel CPU.

Jan 24 2008 8:56AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (2) |

Robert Noyce and Jack Kilby are both credited with inventing the microchip. This video discusses the development of the microchip, looking at the contributions from by Noyce and Kilby. There is also a third inventor who helped with the process of developing the microchip.

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Dec 30 2007 6:02PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

According to the video below, the inventor of the first digital computer was John V. Atanasoff. This video tells the story of Atanasoff's work on creating the Atanasoff-Berry computer. Atanasoff wanted a shortcut to the long calculations needed for theoretical physics. He worked on ideas for a faster calculation system during 1935 and 1937. His idea was to create a chain of mechanical calculators. The idea failed, so in 1937, Atanasoff decided to build a new machine using a binary system, choosing digital over analog.

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Dec 19 2007 10:47AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

At one time, email seemed miraculous. This two-minute documentary from the 1980s covers the early days of email, when it seemed astounding that you could plug your telephone handset into an acoustic coupler and send text messages across the world.

Nov 30 2007 8:19AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

The Computer History Museum celebrates the introduction of Intel's 4004 micriprocessor 36 years ago. There were no customer-programmable microprocessors on the market before the 4004. It was the first and it was the enabling technology that propelled software into the limelight as a key player in the world of digital electronics design. Intel, which had been making memory chips, used the 4004 as a technical and marketing launch pad to develop an expertise in microprocessors that, in quick time, made it a market leader. 

 In celebration of this milestone anniversary and the November opening of Intel Museum's new exhibit entitled, "The Intel 4004 Microprocessor ," Intel 4004 designers Ted Hoff and Federico Faggin take the stage with an historical perspective on the evolution of the 4004, from a special-order from Japanese calculator manufacturer Busicom, to a mass-produced device.

 

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Nov 14 2007 6:28AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (2) |

What was the most important engineering breakthrough in your lifetime? We've used the 60th anniversary of Design News to look at a few consumer and business products that changed the world. The video tape. Pong, the first video game. And the IBM PC. What other innovations -- obscure or well known -- have changed our lives? Let us know and we'll dig up the history.