heritageoftechnology

[heritageoftechnology]

On June 21, 1948, the first electronic stored-program computer, the Small-Scale Experimental Machine, SSEM, nicknamed the Baby, ran its first program at the Victoria University of Manchester (now the University of Manchester). Written by Tom Kilburn, who co-developed the SSEM with Frederic Williams and Geoff Tootill, it took 52 minutes to run. The experimental computer had no keyboard or printer, but successfully tested a memory system, based on a cathode-ray tube, that could store programs. Previous electronic computers had to be rewired to execute each new problem.

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Charles Babbage

On June 14, 1822, Charles Babbage presented a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society proposing a design for a machine he called the Difference Engine, the first significant example of a mechanical computing device.

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Inside were 50 spinning disks, each 24 inches wide, and it could store just enough data for one average-quality MP3 today. Yet this machine was revolutionary—introducing random access memory and forever changing how data was retrieved and stored. It laid the foundation for everything from cloud servers to USB sticks.

What cost $3,200 per month in 1956 (about $38,000 today) is now outperformed by a $5 SD card—a reminder of just how fast technology evolves.

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In 1956, IBM unveiled the world’s first commercial hard disk drive: the IBM 305 RAMAC. It weighed over a ton and could store just 5 megabytes of data—less than a single high-resolution photo today! Its storage unit used 50 massive 24-inch platters to read and write data using magnetic heads.

Fast forward to today, and we now carry terabytes of data in drives smaller than a deck of cards. What once required a forklift now fits in your pocket. This leap in data storage shows just how far computing has come—and how fast innovation can change the game.

#TechHistory #DataStorage #HardDriveEvolution #EngineeringMilestones #From5MBto5TB

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As a professor of education at the University of Washington, Dvorak knew there had to be a better way than the clumsy QWERTY layout—a design created in the 1870s to prevent typewriter keys from jamming rather than for typing efficiency.

Dvorak spent years analyzing typing patterns, finger movements, and letter frequencies in English. His research revealed that with the standard QWERTY keyboard, most typing was done on the top row, while the home row—where fingers naturally rest��was underutilized.

In 1936, after more than a decade of research, Dvorak introduced the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard. His revolutionary design placed the most commonly used letters on the home row, reducing finger travel by up to 95% compared to QWERTY.

Typists who mastered the Dvorak layout reported reduced fatigue, fewer errors, and faster typing speeds. In fact, many of the world's speed typing records were set by people using Dvorak keyboards.

Despite its proven advantages, the Dvorak layout faced an uphill battle against the deeply entrenched QWERTY standard. Businesses were reluctant to retrain typists or replace existing equipment, leading to what economists call "path dependency"—when inferior standards persist due to switching costs.

The U.S. Navy conducted tests during World War II confirming the Dvorak layout's superiority, finding that the investment in retraining typists would pay for itself in increased productivity. However, after the war, bureaucratic resistance prevented its widespread adoption.

Today, the Dvorak layout remains available as an option on most operating systems, but QWERTY's dominance continues—a peculiar case where an intentionally inefficient design from the mechanical age persists in our digital world.

August Dvorak died in 1975, having spent his career trying to make typing more efficient. His simplified keyboard stands as a testament to good design thwarted by the powerful forces of standardization and inertia.

Sources: University of Washington Archives, U.S. Navy Studies, American Standards Association

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June 8, 1955 -- Timothy John Berners-Lee, originator of the term World Wide Web (W.W.W), is born.

Between June and December 1980 he collaborates with CERN, where he proposes a project based on the concept of hypertext aimed at facilitating the updating and sharing of information among researchers: for this purpose he creates the ENQUIRE prototype, never published, which will form the conceptual basis for the future development of the World Wide Web.

#retrocomputing #retrocomputer #retroinformatics.

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May 27, 1988 #today.

Microsoft begins distribution of Windows/286.

The new operating systems introduced support for 32-bit technology and offered the ability to run several DOS applications simultaneously in extended memory thanks to support for protected mode, which was a decisive step in the development of multitasking in the first "modern" CPUs (Windows/386).

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Fifty Years of BASIC, the Programming Language That Made Computers Personal

From TIME magazine