computer-rip

The article chronicles the history of the Columbia River dams, the Bonneville Power Administration, and the Master Grid. It details the BPA's pioneering work in long-distance power transmission, carrier current communications, and protective relaying systems that shaped the modern US electrical grid.

Traces the history of parimutuel betting, from Josep Oller's invention in 1860s France to George Julius's Automatic Totalisator installed at Ellerslie Racecourse in New Zealand in 1913, the first fully mechanical system integrating real-time calculation with a public tote board.

Western Electric was the manufacturing and supply arm of the Bell System, making everything from telephones to cables. It vertically integrated metal recycling in 1931 by acquiring the Nassau Smelting and Refining Company on Staten Island, which processed scrap telephone equipment and cable to supply copper, lead, and solder back to AT&T.

The article traces the history of submarine communications, from early VLF experiments in the 1910s through Cold War ELF systems. It details how the Navy built massive transmitters like Cutler, Maine, to send one-way messages to submerged submarines, and covers the ambitious Project Sanguine ELF proposal that would have covered thousands of square miles in Wisconsin.

The article traces how the Hayes Smartmodem's architecture—a standalone device controlled over serial—persists in modern cellular modems. It focuses on voice modems that emerged in the 1990s, enabled by Rockwell chipsets, allowing PCs to handle telephone audio via serial connections for voicemail and IVR systems, though consumer marketing emphasized answering machine features.

RuBee is a low-frequency wireless protocol using magnetic coupling at 131 kHz, developed by Visible Assets Inc. It operates in the near-field with ranges up to 30 meters and is resistant to shielding by metal or water. The technology is used for asset tracking in secure facilities, including firearms in military and nuclear security applications.

Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics, launched in the 1950s, popularized speed reading despite scientific evidence questioning its claims of high-speed reading with full comprehension. The movement gained credibility through presidential endorsements but research shows it's essentially skimming with poor retention.

The article examines the expansion of automated license plate reader surveillance in US cities, focusing on vendor Flock Safety. It details how Albuquerque's ALPR program evolved from 14-day data retention to a full year, with some data shared nationally. The piece discusses how law enforcement advances surveillance with minimal public scrutiny.

The IBM 9020 was a fault-tolerant computer system developed for the FAA's National Airspace System in the late 1960s. It consisted of multiple IBM System/360 computers operating together as a single multisystem to meet air traffic control's high reliability requirements. The system featured redundant compute and I/O control elements with shared memory and sophisticated error recovery capabilities.

Dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) was commercialized in 1925 and became important for refrigerated transportation, reducing shipping costs by 50%. Northeastern New Mexico's Bueyeros field became a major source of pure CO2 for dry ice production. Today, much of the extracted CO2 is used for enhanced oil recovery, creating complex climate implications.

Gas station forecourt technology has evolved from simple mechanical pumps to complex digital systems. Modern forecourts use various communication protocols for dispenser control, payment processing, and monitoring accessories. The integration of CRIND terminals, EMV payments, and advertising systems has created a legacy infrastructure with multiple networking technologies.

The article traces the evolution of cash automation through IBM's role in ATM development. It explains how early token-based cash machines evolved into modern ATMs with IBM's 2984 Cash Issuing Terminal, which introduced real-time account verification and encryption technology that influenced the Data Encryption Standard (DES).

The article traces Lotus Notes' origins to the PLATO educational computing system developed at the University of Illinois. PLATO's collaborative "notes" feature inspired Ray Ozzie and other PLATO alumni to create Lotus Notes as a groupware application. Lotus Notes became a flexible database-driven platform for email, collaboration, and business applications.

TeleCheck was a pioneering check guarantee service founded in 1964 that allowed retailers to verify personal checks via phone calls to a computer system. The company maintained a database of bad check writers and guaranteed reimbursement for bounced checks, while also acting as a debt collector.

The article explores the history of infrared data communication, from HP's early calculator-printer infrared protocol to the industry-standard IrDA in the 1990s. IrDA became ubiquitous in phones, printers, and computers, providing short-range optical communication with a standardized protocol stack.