This Day in Computer History: October 14

This Day in Computer History: October 14
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This Day in Computer History

1957

The British Computer Society was founded when the London Computer Group (LCG) merged with a loosely organized group of scientists to provide a forum for the exchange of information and the protection of professionals employed in either the communications or information sector. It would go on to become the largest such body in the United Kingdom and expand into over one hundred countries.

1964

IBM released the new IBM 29 card punch and IBM 59 card verifier models.

1976

On the Isle of Skye in northwest Scotland, the last manual telephone exchange to still be employed in the U.K. was officially decommissioned. The total automation of the system comes none too soon. Modem were a swiftly growing trend in the business world.

1988

Chuck Forsberg released the ZMODEM file transfer protocol, which would go on to replace the standard XMODEM protocol and Forsberg’s own earlier work, the YMODEM protocol. ZMODEM was ground-breaking technology, because it was the first telnet protocol to either provide error checking or to allow users to resume an interrupted file transfer. It was a quicker more reliable system that swiftly swept networks, becoming a defacto standard practically overnight.

1992

AT&T Microelectronics introduced its ATT92010 “Hobbit” processor featuring the new CRISP architecture at the Microprocessor Forum. The line of processors were available at clock-speeds ranging from 20 - 30 MHz.

IBM and Motorola announced that production of 50 MHz and 66 MHz PowerPC 601 processors was underway. PowerPC stands for “Power Performance Chip.”

Motorola announced the plans of its next generation processor, the Motorola 68060 at the Microprocessor Forum. The processors would be available at clock-speeds of 50 - 66 MHz.

1998

Advanced Micro Devices announced plans to produce a K-7 processor by 1999 featuring clock speeds of up to 500 MHz that would be licensed exclusively through the Compaq Computer Corporation.

Apple Computer announced that demand of its new iMac computers was far higher than expected and that, having earned profits of $106 million in the prior quarter, the company expected its first profitable year since 1995. More than 278,000 iMacs had been shipped the first six weeks since the line’s release, over forty percent of which were bought by customers new to the Apple brand and only 29.4% of which were bought as first computers, making the line the most successful Windows conversion campaign in the company’s history. Apple also announces that its new operating system, the Mac OS 8.5 will be released on October 17.

Intel announced the specs of its 64-bit processor, “Merced,” scheduled for mid-2000. The processors feature a new instruction set, a three-level cache hierarchy, and a new floating-point unit.

1999

The New Science journal publishes an article detailing the work of Russian chemist James La Clair of the Xenobe Research Institute, who claimed to have developed a molecule called hexacyclinol capable of switching “on” and “off” by the common gases carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The journal speculates that the molecule and those like it may one day lead to computers that operate entirely through light and gas, without hardware.

2002

Guido van Rossum released version 2.2.2 of the Python programming language.

2004

Ártica ST first released the Pandora FMS network monitoring software.

2005

The eBay auction site acquires the Skype voip firm for €1.9 billion in cash and stock.

This post is part of the series: A Chronology of Computer History for the Month of October: This Day in Computer History

This series provides a daily account of what happened on this day in the history of computing and technology. It discusses developments, breaking news, new releases and global implications that occurred as a result of these ground breaking events.

  1. This Day in Computer History: October 4
  2. This Day in Computer History: October 5
  3. This Day in Computer History: October 6
  4. This Day in Computer History: October 7
  5. This Day in Computer History: October 8
  6. This Day in Computer History: October 9
  7. This Day in Computer History: October 10
  8. This Day in Computer History: October 11
  9. This Day in Computer History: October 12
  10. This Day in Computer History: October 13
  11. This Day in Computer History: October 14
  12. This Day in Computer History: October 15
  13. This Day in Computer History: October 16
  14. This Day in Computer History: October 17
  15. This Day in Computer History: October 18
  16. This Day in Computer History: October 19
  17. This Day in Computer History: October 20
  18. This Day in Computer History: October 21
  19. This Day in Computer History: October 22
  20. This Day in Computer History: October 23
  21. This Day in Computer History: October 24
  22. This Day in Computer History: October 25
  23. This Day in Computer History: October 26
  24. This Day in Computer History: October 27
  25. This Day in Computer History: October 28
  26. This Day in Computer History: October 29
  27. This Day in Computer History: October 30
  28. This Day in Computer History: October 31