This article also travels in time through various storage media, diving into how data has been stored throughout history. By no means does this include every single storage medium ever manufactured, sold, or distributed. This article is meant to be fun and informative but not encyclopedic. It wraps up with a look at the current and future technologies for storage.
The Life of a Data Byte Read More
Encyclopaedia Britannica finally threw in the towel. In March 2012, after 244 years, the staple reference source of libraries and households ceased publishing its 32 dusty volumes. (It survives in digital form.) Who humbled the mighty Britannica? Jimmy Wales and his crowdsourced compendium of all the world’s knowledge.
How Jimmy Wales’ Wikipedia Harnessed the Web as a Force for Good Read More
“SILICON VALLEY tells the story of the pioneering scientists who transformed rural Santa Clara County into the hub of technological ingenuity we now know as Silicon Valley. The film spotlights the creativity of the young men who founded Fairchild Semiconductor and in particular the brilliant, charismatic young physicist Robert Noyce.”
Silicon Valley: Where the Future was Born Read More
Presentation by Steve Blank, Dec. 2007 & Nov. 2008
Premise of “The Secret History of Silicon Valley” is that WWII was the First Electronic War and it was the wartime urgency combined with required secrecy to create systems to counter the threat of Nazi Germany that primarily lead to the development of what is known today as Silicon Valley. The point being that popular culture and history does not include this aspect in the history of Silicon Valley, but it is nonetheless important to know this history. Further, the projects that Mr. Blank outlines were conducted in plain sight.
Hiding In Plain Sight – The Secret History of Silicon Valley Read More
Explore the many aspects of Fiber Optic Cable & Submarine Cable Systems. Global networks of hair-thin strands of highly refined silicone over which most all our data travels. Go ahead, geek out a bit. You might learn something.
The Amazing World of Fiber Optic Communications Read More
Wired.com, December 1, 1996
By Neal Stephenson
“The hacker tourist ventures forth across the wide and wondrous meatspace of three continents, chronicling the laying of the longest wire on Earth.”
Mother Earth Mother Board (Further Adventures of the Hacker Tourist) Read More
The New York Times, Dec. 5, 2018
Opinion by Margaret O’Mara
“In the fall of 1965, President Lyndon Johnson’s administration announced a plan to consolidate hundreds of federal databases into one centralized National Data Bank. It was meant as an efficiency move to make the Great Society even greater.”
The End of Privacy Began in the 1960s Read More
“Software has been around since the 1940s. Which means that people have been faking their way through meetings about software, and the code that builds it, for generations. Now that software lives in our pockets, runs our cars and homes, and dominates our waking lives, ignorance is no longer acceptable. The world belongs to people who code. Those who don’t understand will be left behind.”
“This issue comprises a single story devoted to demystifying code and the culture of the people who make it. There’s some technical language along with a few pretty basic mathematical concepts. There are also lots of solid jokes and lasting insights. It may take a few hours to read, but that’s a small price to pay for adding decades to your career.”
What Is Code? Read More