In 1996 , the first known Excel macro virus, Laroux, was discovered in Africa and Alaska. Written in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Laroux was able to operate under Excel 5.x and 7.x under Windows 3.x, Windows 95 and Windows NT. It was the first macro […]
Geek Fact for July 5th Read More »
In 1956 , the Whirlwind at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology became the first computer to use a keyboard to allow direct user input. Other computers accepted instructions issued using dial, punch cards, and switches. The Whirlwind was also the first computer to display real time
Geek Fact for July 4th – The Keyboard and Hotmail Read More »
It’s a question I’ve often pondered myself, and while I have no illusions over the almost impossible nature of ascertaining entirely definitive conclusions, a market share analysis report from OPSWAT has at least shed some light on the subject: “This report shows usage data for
Which Anti-Virus software is most popular? Read More »
Google’s Android operating system is the most popular smartphone OS in the world. That is, there are more Android devices than iOS devices, WinMo devices, and Blackberries. This was always the nature of Android: to allow for the spread of the OS to many devices
Will Jellybean (Android 4.1) fix Google’s fragmentation problem? Read More »
In 2001, Apple Computer stopped producing and marketing its Power Mac G4 Cube due to disappointing sales. One gripe many people had with the Cube was its lack of conventional Audio input and output. Instead, it came with an external USB amplifier and a set
Geek Fact for July 3rd – G4 Cube, Windows and Comets Read More »
Much has been written about the implementation of tracking cookies, and 3rd party tracking cookies in particular… which are primarily utilized to gather data for targeted advertizing. Some time back I mentioned the “Do Not Track” type feature which, when enabled, is supposed to prevent
More On: Tracking Cookies & ‘Do Not Track’ Read More »
This is the third and last part in a three part series. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here. In Part 1 (and 2), I detailed the definition of “rogue” that we were going to use (perhaps more appropriately termed “scareware”, nevertheless
In 1953, IBM announced the IBM 650, the world’s first mass-produced computer. Over 2,000 systems were produced between the first shipment in 1954 and its final manufacture in 1962. The IBM 650 ran programs from punch cards and stored numbers up to ten digits long
Geek Fact for July 2nd Read More »
In 1977, FORTRAN-80, Microsoft’s second language product, was released at a cost of $500 for an individual license. The name FORTRAN is an acronym for FORmula TRANslation, because it was designed to allow easy translation of math formulas into code. Learn more at http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Cassini-Huygens/SEMVOZ1VQUD_0.html In
Geek Fact for July 1st – FORTRAN, MSN and Rings Read More »
In 1948, three scientists from Bell Telephone Laboratories demonstrated the transistor. Besides explaining that the transistor could probably replace the vacuum tube, little was said of the transistor’s future applications. The scientists, John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley, were awarded a Nobel Prize
Geek Fact for June 30th Read More »
First, some housekeeping is in order. The previously published feature of this series, “Rogues, Part 1”, appeared on May 6th. That’s well over a month ago. Normally, most authors like to follow up with the next part of the series published within a week, or
[message type=”info”] THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW EXPIRED. The winning names have now been drawn – and the winners are: Michaeleen Muhovich Rob Ken Wolf Mike M Robert Willey Cindy Shultz John Guerin Patricia I Kainu Karl Marx alex19100 Congratulations to the winners, emails have been
DCT Giveaway: Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 5 Read More »
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Atari’s Greatest Hits iOS App is free in the App Store today only. Included are classics such as Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command and Pong. All games remain free to play unless you remove or reinstall the app. You will need
Today Only – Atari’s Greatest Hits iOS App is Free Read More »
In 2007, the original iPhone was released. The iPhone featured a touchscreen, virtual keyboard, 2-megapixel camera and 8 GB of storage and sold for $599 with a 2-year contract with Cingular (now AT&T). Apple sold a mind-boggling 700,000 iPhones on its release weekend. Learn more
Geek Fact for June 29th Read More »
