Technology Facts about the world of Technology. Scientific Facts from the Science World!

Spacewar

2006-11-06T22:13:00.000+05:30

The first Sci-fi video game was Spacewar!, it was created in 1961 by a group of students at MIT. The game pitted two human players against each other, each controlling a space ship capable of firing missiles. A black hole in the center created a large gravitational field and another source of hazard.

NCSA Mosaic

2006-11-04T13:12:00.000+05:30

The first graphical Web browser to become truly popular was Marc Andreessen and Jamie Zawinski's NCSA Mosaic. It was the first browser made available for Windows, Mac and Unix X Windows System with the first version appearing in March 1993. In fact, Netscape was code-named Mozilla (from Mosaic Killer), referring to the hope that the project would unseat the more popular Mosaic.

LASER

2006-11-02T18:50:00.000+05:30

Contrary to the potrayal of lasers in many science fiction movies, a laser beam would not be visible (at least to the naked eye) in the near vacuum of space as there would be insufficient matter in the environment to make it visible. In case you didn't know: LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

Liver

2006-11-01T16:18:00.000+05:30

The liver is the only organ in our body, which can be partially removed and still function at a level to keep a human healthy. In fact, the liver re-grows itself over several months. It is now even possible for relatives to donate portions of their liver to a close relative, after which their own liver will re-grow.

Cornelius Jacobszoon Drebbel

2006-10-31T10:42:00.000+05:30

The first submersible with reliable information on its construction was built in 1620 by Cornelius Jacobszoon Drebbel, a Dutchman in the service of James 1, while working for the british Royal Navy. It was propelled by means of oars. Between 1620 and 1624 Drebbel successfully built and tested two more submarines, each one bigger than the last.

Honey bee

2006-10-31T10:36:00.000+05:30

An average worker Honey bee makes about 1.5 teaspoons of honey in its lifetime and it would have to visit two million flowers to make just 500 gms of honey. A bee usually visits any where between 50 to 100 flowers during just one collection trip.

Vikram Sarabhai

2006-10-29T14:57:00.000+05:30

Indian physicist, Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971) is considered to be the Father of the Indian space program. It was he who convinced the Indian government of the importance of a space programme for a developing country like India. The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was the result of his efforts.

Pompeii

2006-10-28T12:00:00.000+05:30

Pompeii is a ruined Roman city in Italy. It was destroyed during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, which buried the city under many feet of ash. Lost for 1,600 years, the town was rediscovered in 1559, but it was only in 1748 that excavation at the site began- a labour that revealed many complete buildings and wall paintings.

FIFA

2006-10-27T12:06:00.000+05:30

FIFA has licensed World Cup video games since 1986. The license was originally handed to developer US Gold but was later acquired, in 1997, by Electronic Arts. The first game based on FIFA was actually an older game called World Cup Football, which US Gold re-packaged with the proper licensed items before selling it again.

Firefox

2006-10-26T12:49:00.000+05:30

Firefox (version 1.0) reached 25 million downloads in just 99 days after its November 9, 2004 release. It then went on to clock its 100 millionth download in less than one year (344 days to be exact). And as of July 31, 2006, Firefox has been downloaded 200 million times.

Earth

2006-10-25T12:42:00.000+05:30

Earth has approximately 6.5 billion human inhabitants. Projections indicate that human population will reach 7 billion in 2013 and 9.1 billion in 2050. It is estimated that only one eighth of the surface of the Earth is suitable for humans to live on- three-quarters is covered by oceans, and half of the land area is desert, high mountains or other unsuitable terrain.

Toshihiro Nishikado

2006-10-23T10:10:00.000+05:30

Toshihiro Nishikado who designed Space Invaders, based on the look of the aliens on the description of the alien invaders in H G Wells' classic science fiction story, The War of the Worlds:In the story, the alien looked like an octopus. Nishikado also created several other aliens to look like other sea creatures such as squid or crab.

Cornea

2006-10-22T12:21:00.000+05:30

The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil and anterior chamber, providing most of an eye's optical power. Although the cornea seems to lack substance, it is actually a highly organized group of cells and proteins. The cornea is one of the most sensitive tissues of the body as it is densely innervated with sensory nerve fibres.

Ants

2006-10-21T12:05:00.000+05:30

Ants are one of the most successful groups of social insects and form highly organised colonies, which sometimes consist of millions of individuals. Colonies of invasive ant species will sometimes work together and form super-colonies, spanning a very wide area of land. As of 2006, there are over 11,800 known ant species, most of which reside in hot climates.

The Time Machine

2006-10-18T19:08:00.000+05:30

H G Wells' The Time Machine is generally credited for the popularisation of the concept of time-travel using a vehicle that allows an operator to travel purposefully and selectively. The idea was also the basis for the Back to the Future trilogy of movies. The latest movi version of The Time Machine (2002) was directed by H G Wells' great grandson Simon Wells.

Chip Art

2006-10-16T10:52:00.000+05:30

Prior to 1984, Chip art or silicon doodles served a practical purpose. If a competitor produced a similar chip, and examination showed it contained the same doodles, this was used as evidence that the design was copied and not independently derived. However, after a 1984, there was a revision of the US copyright law, which made all chip automatically copyrighted, making chip art useless.

The Lotus

2006-10-15T12:17:00.000+05:30

Hindus associate the lotus blossom with creation mythology, and with the gods Vishnu, Brahma and Lakshmi. It is often used as an example of divine beauty, for example, Lord Krishna is often described as the 'Lotus-Eyed One'. The lotus flower is quoted extensively within Puranic and Vedic literature.

Prickly Lettuce

2006-10-13T11:03:00.000+05:30

The wild predecessor, 'Prickly Lettuce' (Lactuca serriola), of modern-day lettuce contained something called 'lactucarium', a narcotic similar to opium. The Romans and ancient Egyptians took advantage of this property, consuming it to induce sleep.

Elk Cloner

2006-10-11T10:47:00.000+05:30

A program called Elk Cloner is credited with being the first computer virus to appear "in the wild" - that is, outside the lab where it was created. It was written in 1982 by Rich Skrenta and was originally meant to be a joke. The virus embedded in a game would release on the 50th time of starting the game where it would show a blank screen that read a poem about the virus and then infect the PC.

Baldness

2006-10-10T11:06:00.000+05:30

Baldness is not only a human trait. Other primates, such as chimpanzees, stump-tailed macaques, and South American nakari show progressive thinning of the hair on the scalp after adolescence. In fact, Adult stump-tailed macaques, are commonly used in laboratories for the testing of hair-regrowth treatments.

Nintendo DS

2006-10-09T11:44:00.000+05:30

The Nintendo DS released in 2004, was code-named Project Nitro during its development. The 'DS' in the name are meant to stand for both Dual Screen and Developer's System, the latter of which refers to the features of the handheld designed to encourage innovative gameplay ideas among developers.

$100 Laptop

2006-10-08T11:28:00.000+05:30

The $100 laptop will come complete with a free Linux OS, a 66 Mhz processor with integrated graphics controller, a 7.5-inch (800x600) LCD screen, 512Mb-1Gb flash memory, external SD card slot, wireless networking (802.11b/g), standard keyboard, touchpad, built-in stereo speakers and microphone and external USB ports.

Cerberus

2006-09-18T09:20:00.000+05:30

In Greek mythology, Cerberus or Kerberos meaning 'demon of the pit', was a monstrous three-headed dog with a snake for a tail and serpentine mane. He guarded the gate to Hades (the Greek underworld) and ensured that the dead could not leave and the living could not enter.

Google Earth

2006-09-15T12:28:00.000+05:30

Google Earth was formerly known as Earth Viewer and was developed by Keyhole, a company Google acquired in 2004. The product was renamed in 2005. Interestingly, Google prides itself on its eye for detail: the stars in the background are not random. Google Earth actually uses a real star map to render the heavens.

Bible Adventures

2006-09-13T16:30:00.000+05:30

The first Christian video game was Bible Adventures. Released way back in 1991, it was developed by Wisdom Tree for the NES console. The game contained three different games: Noah's Ark, Baby Moses and David and Goliath. These games were sidescrollers, similar to Super Mario Bros 2.

HP

2006-09-12T15:30:00.000+05:30

HP was founded in 1939 as a manufacturer of test and measurement instruments with a $538 (Rs 24,700 approx) investment in a Palo Alto, California garage in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. In 2006, after 67 years, the company posted revenues close to $88 billion. Not at all bad for a garage company that started off modestly.

Chinese Space Program

2006-09-11T15:12:00.000+05:30

The Chinese Space Program began in 1956 with the cooperation of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). China's first satelite, Dong Fang Hong 1 (The East Is Red 1), was launched in 1970, making China the fifth space-faring nation. Their manned space program began in 1968, and in 2003 made them the third country to put a human in space.

Microbes

2006-09-09T14:42:00.000+05:30

Microbes are found in every habitat present in nature including hostile environments such as the poles, deserts, geysers, rocks and the deep sea. Those organisms that have adapted to the extreme conditions are known as extremophiles-and some of these have been known to survive for a prolonged time in a vacuum, while yet a few others are even unusually resistant to radiation.

Barnacle

2006-09-08T21:33:00.000+05:30

A barnacle is a type of arthropod that is distantly related to crabs and lobsters. When in larva stage, barnacles cement themselves headfirst to a safe surface. For the rest of their lives they are cemented like that, using their feathery legs to capture plankton and gamestes when spawning. The creatures alternate male and female roles over time. Around 1,220 barnacle species are currently known.

Nikola Tesla

2006-09-07T12:13:00.000+05:30

Nikola Tesla was the first to record cosmic waves emitting from interstellar clouds and red giant stars. Tesla at the time stated that he received signals from planets in some of the scientific journals. The scientific community on the other hand did not believe him because research of cosmic signals did not exist (known today as radio astronomy). Tesla spent dejected spent the latter part of his life trying to signal Mars.

Organ Transplant

2006-09-06T12:16:00.000+05:30

One of the first accounts of an organ transplant dates back to second century BC in India. Surgeon Sushruta used auto-grafted skin transplantation in nose reconstruction rhinoplasty. Sushruta compiled all his knowledge of surgery and medicine in the Sushruta Samhita (Sushruta's compendium).

Wassily Kandinsky

2006-09-05T10:54:00.000+05:30

Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. One of the most famous 20th-century artists, he is credited with painting the first modern abstract works. Kandinsky studied law and economics at the University of Moscow. Although quite successful in his profession, he started painting, sketching and anatomy at the age of 30.

Wiki

2006-09-03T10:41:00.000+05:30

'Wiki' is a type of Web site that allows visitors to easily add, remove, or otherwise edit and change some available content, sometimes without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for quick, collaborative authoring. The first wiki, WikiWikiWeb, is named after the "Wiki Wiki" line of buses in Hawaii. "Wiki wiki" means "quick" or "hurry" in Hawai'ian.

European Space Agency

2006-08-31T15:06:00.000+05:30

The European Space Agency (ESA), established in 1975, is a European organisation dedicated to space exploration, currently with 17 member states. ESA's spaceport, however, is located in South America in Kourou, French Guiana- a site chosen because it is close to the equator from which commercially important orbits are easier to access.

Gondwana

2006-08-30T12:50:00.000+05:30

Gondwana, sometimes called Gondaranya, is a region of central India, and is named after the Gondi people who live there (though they can also be found in other parts of India). The name of the ancient continent of Gondwanaland was derived from Gondwana, because some of the earliest rock formations of this continent were first investigated in part of the region, in modern Orissa.

Crawler-Transporter

2006-08-29T10:48:00.000+05:30

The Crawler-Transporter, with a loaded max speed of one mile per hour, is a tracked vehicle used to transport Space Shuttles from NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch site. In their lifetime, the two transporters called "Hans" and "Franz" have travelled some 2,500 miles. NASA will continue to use the crawlers when the Space Shuttle is retired in 2010.

Human settlement

2006-08-28T19:13:00.000+05:30

Human settlement in Judea streches back to the Stone Age and is believed to have been one of the routes through which humans travelled out of Africa to colonise the rest of the world around 1,00000 years ago. Archaeological evidence of human settlement dates back 11,000 years in the case of the city of Jericho, believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world.

Aztecs

2006-08-28T19:04:00.000+05:30

The ancient Aztecs made a fermented beverage from the Century Plant or Maguey plant called Pulque. The alcoholic content was equivalent to modern-day beer. But the Pulque drink was forbidden for anyone below the age of 60. First offenses drew relatively light punishment, but repeat offenses could be punished by death. The Aztecs also made a frothy and bitter beverage from Cocoa beans called Xocolatl.

Namco

2006-08-28T18:54:00.000+05:30

Namco was founded in 1955, by Masaya Nakamura under the name Manakura Manufacturing, the company manufactured mechanical rocking-horses. They changed their brand name to Namco in 1971 and released their first arcade game Gee Bee in 1978. Some of Namco's more famous games include Galaxian, Pac-Man Tekken, Bosconian, Dig Dug, Pole Position, Xevious and Mappy.

Pygmy

2006-08-28T18:43:00.000+05:30

The word pygmy traces its roots to the Greek word 'Pygmaioi', which in turn is derived from the word "pygme" meaning "the length of the forearm". In Greek mythology, the Pygmies were said to be involved in an eternal fierce battle against cranes.

Ceres

2006-08-28T18:32:00.000+05:30

At 930 km in diameter, Ceres is the largest known asteroid in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It was originally classified as a planet when discovered in 1801, but has since been classified as an asteroid. It may, however, soon be reclassified as a planet and known informally as a 'dwarf planet' of the proposal under consideration by the International Astronomical Union is passed on Aug 24.

NASA’s Atlantis

2006-08-28T18:30:00.000+05:30

NASA’s Atlantis is one of only three (along with Discovery and Endeavour) shuttles remaining in the fleet, following the destructions of Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003). She made her first flight in October 1985 and has since flown 26 flights, spent 220.40-days in space, completed 3,468 orbits, and flown 89,908,732 miles in total, as of February 2003. She last flew in October 2002.

International Space Station

2006-08-28T18:11:00.000+05:30

The International Space Station has a lot of interesting innovations, for example, all its electrical power is derived from solar panels. Even more amazing is the life support system that collects, processes and stores water and waste used and produced by the crew. This includes recycling fluid from the sink, shower, urine and even condensation.

Geckos

2006-07-28T21:53:00.000+05:30

Some species of geckos are known to be parthenogenic (from the Greek parthenos, 'virgin',+ genesis, 'birth') meaning the females are capable of reproducing without copulating. This improves the geckos' ability to spread to new places.

Alchemy

2006-07-16T13:44:00.000+05:30

Ancient alchemists believed that the substance known as the philosopher's stone could supposedly turn inexpensive metals into gold and/or create an elixir that would make humans younger. In fact, up to the 18th century, alchemy was considered a serious science with even Isaac Newton devoting his time to it. The decline of alchemy began in the 18th century with the birth of modern chemistry.

Insects

2006-07-16T13:33:00.000+05:30

Insects are the most diverse group of animals on the earth, with around 9,25,000 species described- more than all other animal groups combined. Estimates of the total number of current species, including those not yet known to science, range from two to thirty million, with most authorities favouring a figure midway between these extremes.

Kangaroo

2006-07-13T10:34:00.000+05:30

The word kangaroo derives from the word 'gangurru' which refers to the grey kangaroo in Guugu Yimidhirr (an Australian Aboriginal language). The name was first recorded on 4 August 1770 by British explorer Captain James Cook who is also credited with the British discovery of Australia. The collective noun for kangaroos is a mob, troop or court.

YouTube

2006-07-12T15:47:00.000+05:30

YouTube was founded in February, 2005 by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim all ex-employees of PayPal. The site was launched later in November, 2005. As of July 2006, there are 50,000 new videos uploaded everyday with about 70 million clips watched daily.

Escribitionist

2006-07-12T15:14:00.000+05:30

An escribitionist is a person who keeps a diary or journal via electronic means, and in particular, publishes their entries on the World Wide Web. The word was coined in June 1999 by Erin Venema, an online diarist. The word comes form a combination of the English word 'exhibitionist' and the Spanish word 'escribir', meaning 'to write'.

Heroes of Might & Magic

2006-07-10T09:34:00.000+05:30

The first Heroes of Might and Magic game was created by Jon Van Caneghem. The game was developed and published by New World Computing in 1995 for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows-based personal computers. In 2000, it was also ported to the Nintendo Game Boy Colour handheld game console.

Al Lowe

2006-07-10T09:29:00.000+05:30

Al Lowe, the game designer of the Leisure Suit Larry series, started his career as a music teacher in a public school. Then, in 1982, he taught himself programming and created three games for the Apple 2, which he sold to game publishers, Sierra On-Line. Sierra eventually hired him in 1983. Al worked for them as a programmer and game designer for 16 years. Al is also a profesional saxaphone player.

Vision of insects

2006-07-08T23:56:00.000+05:30

Insects have compound eyes. Instead of one lens they see through two spheres with many lenses. But apart from that they also often have extra single lens eye on the front of the head. Each lens of the compound eye catches it's own image. The final image an insect sees is like a mosaic. The two large spherical eyes of a fly give an almost complete 360 degree vision.

7.2 kg Mac

2006-07-08T23:44:00.000+05:30

The 7.2 kg Macintosh Portable was Apple's first attempt at making a portable Mac. Released in 1989, it was received with very poor sales. This 16MHz Mac featured a B/W LCD screen, 1MB RAM expandable to 9 MB, a full-sized keyboard and a built-in trackball. The machine was powered by a battery that provided a up to 10 hours of battery life.

Roblog

2006-07-06T13:42:00.000+05:30

The newest version of the Sony AIBO is equipped with a camera and Wi-Fi connection that allows the robot to send the pictures it takes via email. This has spawned what is known as the 'Roblog'. Roblog is short for robot's blog wherein the robots can automatically upload the images it has taken with absolutely no human intervention.

Catfish

2006-07-05T12:37:00.000+05:30

The Catfish gets its name because of its cat-like whiskers and is found in freshwater all around the world, except in Antarctica. These species of fish do not possess scales and almost all members of its family produce a stinging protein if it is irritated. In some, the protein is so strong that the person stung may require hospitalisation.

Space Transportation System (STS)

2006-07-04T11:31:00.000+05:30

NASA's Space Shuttle, aka Space Transportation System (STS), is a winged orbiter that is launched vertically and usually carrying five to seven astronauts and up to 22,700 kg of playload into low earth orbit. When its mission is complete, it re-enters earth to make an unpowered horizontal landing. Each Shuttle designed for a projected lifespan of 100 launches or 10 year's operational life.

Pole Position

2006-07-03T10:01:00.000+05:30

Pole Position was a racing game released in 1982 by Namco, the creators of Pac-Man. In Pole Position, the player has to complete a lap in a certain amount of time in order to qualify for an F1 race at the Fuji Racetrack. After qualifying, the player has to face other cars in a championship race. The game was the first true racing video game.

Ares

2006-07-02T22:47:00.000+05:30

In Greek mythology, Ares is the Olympian god of war and son of Zeus (king of the gods) and Hera. The Roman equivalent of Ares, however, was called Mars. Ares is totally different from Aries, which represents a ram and has nothin to do with mythological gods.

Ice Age

2006-07-01T13:13:00.000+05:30

The idea of an Ice Age was folk knowledge in the alpine regions of Europe. But between 1825 and 1833, German-Swiss geologist, Jean de Charpentier, collected evidence to support the concept and convinced American scientist, Louis Agassiz of the theory. Agassiz published it in his book Etude sur les glaciers (Study of Glaciers) of 1840 which proposed that the Earth was subjected to an Ice Age in the past.

Spam

2006-06-30T10:14:00.000+05:30

The term spam is derived from a British comedy, Monty Python, sketch, set in a cafe where every menu item is made of SPAM luncheon meat. As the waiter recites the SPAM-filled menu, a chorus drowns it out with a song repeating the word "SPAM" thus "SPAMming" the dialogue. The excessive amount of SPAM mentioned is a reference to SPAM being widely available in Britain during World War 2.

Video Games

2006-06-29T10:35:00.000+05:30

The first video games were developed in the 1950s and 60s and ran on platforms such as oscilloscopes, university mainframes and EDSAC computers. The earliest computer game, a missile simulation, was created in 1947 by Thomas T Goldsmith Jr and Estle Ray Mann for which they received a patent on Dec 14th, 1948.

Chameleons

2006-06-28T11:41:00.000+05:30

Chameleons have specialised cells- called chromatophores- that lie in layers under their transparent outer skin. These cells have different pigments on seperate layers. For example, the upper layer, contains yellow and red pigments while the layer immediately below contains a crystalline substance. There are several such layers that can rapidly relocate their pigments, thereby allowing change in colour.

Asteroids

2006-06-27T12:21:00.000+05:30

The first few asteroids were named after figures from Greco-Roman mythology, but as such names started to run out, others were used: Famous people, the names of the discoverer's wives, children, and even television characters. Discoverers also began to give them increasingly eccentric names, such as 6042 Cheshirecat and 9007 James Bond.

Solar Energy

2006-06-26T23:38:00.000+05:30

On a bright, sunny day, the sun shines approximately 1,000 watts of energy per square meter (10.7 square feet approximately) of the planet's surface, and if we actually manage to collect all of that energy we could easily power our power everythin for free.

Philips G7000

2006-06-25T18:14:00.000+05:30

In 1978, light bulbs and electronics manufacturer, Philips, also launched a videogame console, the Philips G7000. The device used a black controller, held in one hand, with an eight-direction stick that was manipulated with the other hand. In the upper corner of the joystick was a single 'Action' button. The strongest point of the system was its speech synthesis unit, which was released as an add-on for speech and sound-effects enhancement.

Bottlenose Dolphins

2006-06-24T13:15:00.001+05:30

Bottlenose Dolphins have to rise to the surface every 5-8 minutes to breathe. This makes sleeping difficult. Some scientists believe that the two halves of their brains take turns in sleeping and walking. It has also been suggested that they have tiny periods of microsleep (sleep lasting no more than a few seconds)

Pluto

2006-06-23T10:27:00.000+05:30

Pluto was discovered after an extensive search by the astronomer Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona on February 18, 1930. The planet was named after the Roman god of the underworld and it was suggested by an 11 year old girl Venetia Phair whose grandfather worked at the Oxford University's Bodleian Library.

Orchids

2006-06-22T10:21:00.000+05:30

Orchids are among the biggest and most diverse of the flowering plants, with over 800 described genera and 25,000 species. Orchids get their name from the Greek orchis, meaning testicle. The word orchis was first used by Theophrastos, a student of Aristotle considered to be the father of botany and ecology. He mentioned the flower in his book De historia plantarum.(The history of plants).

Atlantic swim

2006-06-21T23:12:00.000+05:30

On Thursday, April 21, 2005, Jon von Tetzchner, the CEO of Opera Software proclaimed that if the download numbers of Opera 8 browser reached a million within four days of launch, he would swim across the Atlantic Ocean. The million was reached. On April 25 and April 26, the official Opera site described the non-serious Atlantic swim 'attempt' and its quick and comical 'failure'.

Plant seeds

2006-06-20T17:00:00.000+05:30

There are about 6 million plant species stored as seeds in about 1,300 gene-banks throughout the world as of 2006. This amount represents a small fraction of the world's biodiversity, and many regions of the world have not been bio-prospected fully. The oldest seed that actually germinated into a viable plant was a 2,000 year old date palm seed, recovered from excavations at Herod the Great's palace in Israel.

Hitman

2006-06-19T16:01:00.000+05:30

Hitman is stealth-action game series. Till date four Hitman games have been introduced, the first was Hitman: Codename 47 released in 2000, while the latest is Hitman: Blood Money, released this year. The game has also inspired a film, where Vin Diesel has been signed on as the lead, Agent 47. The film is expected to be released in 2007.

Percy Spencer

2006-06-18T10:59:00.000+05:30

The fact that microwaves could be used for cooking was discovered by Percy Spencer-a scientist with US-based Radar manufacturers, Raytheon- in 1945. He was working on an active radar set when he noticed that a candy bar he had in his pocket started to melt. The first food to be deliberately cooked with microwaves was popcorn, and the second was an egg (which exploded in the face of one of the experimenters)

Philips Electronics

2006-06-17T11:14:00.000+05:30

Philips Electronics was founded in 1891 by Gerard Philips in the Netherlands to manufacture light bulbs and other electro-technical equipment. However, during World War 2 the company's directors fled to the US and operated from there. They returned only when the war ended. The first Philips factory still remains in the Netherlands as a museum.

Netscape Communications Corp

2006-06-16T22:06:00.000+05:30

'Netscape Communications Corp' was founded as 'Mosaic Communications Corp' in April, 1994 by Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark, and was the first company to capitalise on the birth World Wide Web. It released a Web browser called Mosaic Netscape 0.9 in October, 1994. This browser was subsequently renamed Netscape Navigator, and the company took on 'Netscape' as its name in November, 1994.

Dog food

2006-06-15T19:28:00.000+05:30

The expression "eating our own dog food" is used by Microsoft to describe the policy of using their latest products inside the company in an effort to test them in "real-world" situations. Only pre-release and beta versions of products are considered dog food.

Stephen Hawking

2006-06-14T10:45:00.000+05:30

Since he is severely disabled, thoeretical physicist Stephen Hawking uses a voice synthesiser to communicate. Also, the computer system attached to his wheel-chair is operated by him via an infra-red 'blink switch' clipped onto his glasses. By scrunching his right cheek up, he is able to talk, research papers, browse the Internet and write e-mail. The system also uses radio transmission to provide control over doors in his home and office.

Citizen Watch Co

2006-06-13T10:52:00.000+05:30

Shokosha Watch Research Institute was founded in 1918 and was later in 1930- renamed to Citizen Watch Co to reflect their company mission statement, which is "to provide the best products and services to all 'citizens' of the world." Citizen is also credited with creating Eco-Drive watches that run on solar power and kinetic (movement) energy of its wearers.

Giant pandas

2006-06-12T10:12:00.000+05:30

The low numbers of Giant pandas in the wild is fuelled by the destruction of their habitat and by their two year interval between births. In addition, the female Giant panda abandons one of her cubs soon after birth. The cubs are extremely fragile at birth and she can give her undivided attention to only one cub at a time, the other cub usually dies.

Phishing

2006-06-11T10:47:00.000+05:30

The Oxford English dictionary defines 'phishing' as the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers, online.

Anthony Fadell

2006-06-10T11:28:00.000+05:30

Anthony Fadell is considered by many to be the father of the iPod. During the 1990s, Fadell envisioned a small hard disk-based music player. However, he failed to find funding and, therefore, approached RealNetworks in 2000. The second company he approached was Apple... The rest -as they say-is history.

Dell Computers

2006-06-08T10:38:00.000+05:30

In 1984, when Michael Dell was just 19 and still a student at the University of Texas, he founded "PC's Limited" with just $1000 to sell computers built from stock components. The venture was so successful that today, the company, which was renamed to Dell Computers in 1987 is by far the largest PC manufacturer in the world.

Space travellers

2006-06-07T10:29:00.000+05:30

Space travellers are known by various names. Americans prefer 'astronaut', while the Russians prefer 'cosmonaut'. An 'afronaut' refers to African space travellers while the French use the term 'spationaut'. As for the Chinese, they settle for 'taikonaut'. As on date, more than 440 'humans' from at least 35 countries have gone into space.

Walkman

2006-06-06T10:25:00.000+05:30

The first Sony Walkman, called the Soundabout, was sold in 1979. The name Walkman however, was the brainchild of Sony co-founder Akio Morita, who until recently was also credited with the device's invention. Sony has now recently acknowledged the claims of German, Andreas Pavel, who created and patented a similar device, the stereobelt, in 1977.

Leonardo Da Vinci

2006-06-05T11:53:00.000+05:30

One of the first recorded designs of a robot was made by Leonardo da vinci in around 1495. Da Vinci's notebooks contain detailed drawings of a mechanical knight able to sit up, wave its arms and move its head and jaw. The design is said to be based on his anatomical research recorded in the Vitruvian Man.

Gray's Anatomy

2006-06-04T11:17:00.000+05:30

Way back in the 1850s, an English anatomist Henry Gray (1825 or 1827-1961) produced the first edition of the de-facto book on anatomy under the name 'Anatomy Descriptive and Surgical.' Generations of medical students have since called it "Gray's Anatomy." Today, the latest edition of Gray's Anatomy is the 39th edition.

Radiocarbon dating

2006-06-03T12:20:00.000+05:30

Radiocarbon dating that uses the naturally occurring isotope carbon-14 to determine the age of carbonaceous materials up to 60,000 years old is considered within archaeology to be an absolute dating technique. The technique was discovered by Willard Frank Libby and his colleagues in 1949 for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1960.

Ask.com

2006-06-02T11:02:00.000+05:30

Search engine, Ask.com was originally known as Ask Jeeves, where Jeeves, a valet, was supposed to be the person who fetches the answers of any query you ask. The character was based on Jeeves, Bertie Wooster's fictional valet from the works of P G Wodehouse. On 23 September 2005 the company announced plans to phase out the character and finally did so on 27 February 2006.

Mona Lisa

2006-06-01T11:47:00.000+05:30

Dr Lillian Schwartz of Bell Labs suggests that the Mona Lisa is actually a self-portrait by Da Vinci. She supports this theory with the results of a digital analysis of the facial features of the artist's face and that of the painting. When flipping a self-portrait drawing by Leonardo and then merging that with an image of the Mona Lisa using a computer, the features of the faces align perfectly.

Windows 98

2006-05-31T10:13:00.000+05:30

During a press conference in April 98, when a Microsoft employee attempted to install a scanner on Windows 98, the OS crashed. Bill Gates at the time joked "this must be why we're not shipping Windows 98 yet. " The product, codenamed Memphis, was finally released on June 25, that year.

Cockroaches

2006-05-30T10:08:00.000+05:30

Cockroaches exist worldwide, with the exception of the Polar Regions and in elevations above 6,500 feet. The largest cockroach by wingspan is a Megaloblatta longipennis, measuring 18cms. The largest cockroach by weight is the 50gms Macropanesthia rhinoceros. The smallest species is Attaphila fungicola, reaching only 4 mm.

Clans

2006-05-29T10:13:00.000+05:30

The first clans appeared with turn-based or Role Playing Games. Clans were the player guilds in the first graphical MMORPG- Neverwinter Nights- which ran from 1991 through 1997. The first real-time game clans, as we recognise them today, were formed in 1996 around games such as Quake, Descent and the Netmech multiplayer expansion pack for the PC game MechWarrior 2.

Blaupunkt

2006-05-28T11:47:00.000+05:30

Electronic equipment manufacturer, Blaupunkt was founded in 1923 in Berlin as 'Ideal'. The company changed its name in 1938 to Blaupunkt, which means "blue dot"- also the company's symbol of quality. Blaupunkt is considered the first manufacturer of a Global Positioning System for cars (the Berlin RC303), which has become one of the company's best selling products.

Super Mario Bros

2006-05-27T10:33:00.000+05:30

Super Mario Bros. is considered by The Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling video game of all time. The game starred Mario, a plumber by profession. Mario was at one time more recognisable amongst American kids than Mickey Mouse. To this day, Mario is one of the world's most famous fictional characters.

Flash Memory Cells

2006-05-26T10:18:00.000+05:30

A Solid State Disk uses flash memory to store data. The problem with flash memory cells is that it tends to fall after around a million writes. To address this problem, SSDs have a tracker that can check usage and transparently relocate the data from highly used sectors to others that have been utilised less.

Nike

2006-05-25T13:53:00.000+05:30

Major sports good manufacturer Nike takes its name from the Greek goddess of victory, who goes by the same name. In Greek mythology, Nike was a goddess who personified triumph and victory. She was capable of running and flying at great speeds- other than which, she had no special powers of her own.

Intel

2006-05-24T15:21:00.000+05:30

Intel's founders, Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce wanted to name their company 'Moore Noyce', but since this name sounded similar to "more noise"- which is associated with bad electronic interference- they used the name NM Electronics before deciding to call their company Integrated Electronics or 'Intel' for short.

HP

2006-05-23T21:57:00.000+05:30

HP was founded in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. Their first product was a precision audio oscillator, the Model 200A, that tested the frequency of sound. They innovated by using a small night-light bulb as a temperature dependent resistor, which allowed them to sell the product for one-fourth the price that competitors were selling at

Gynoid

2006-05-21T21:35:00.000+05:30

Robots designed to look like a human female are known as Gynoid, from Greek gyne for woman. The term is not common, however, as android, which is actually the term for ‘male’ robots, is often used to refer to both ‘genders’ of robot. The term gynoid was first used in the writings of British sci-fi author Gwyneth Jones and later by Richard Calder

Koko

2006-05-20T11:33:00.000+05:30

Koko the 'sign language' gorilla was born on July 4, 1971, in San Francisco, California. Her name is short for the name Hanabi-Ko, meaning "Fireworks Child" in Japanese, honouring her Fourth of July birthday (American Independence). Koko was the inspiration for Amy, the 'talking' ape, in the Michael Crichton book 'Congo'.

Piaggio

2006-05-19T11:20:00.000+05:30

Piaggio was- and is today with Piaggio Aero- an aircraft factory. After World War 2, the company built the first ever scooters using aircraft materials and styling. They named these two wheelers 'Vespa', which is Italian for wasp, because of the scooter's shape: thicker rear part connected to the front part by a narrow waist, and the steering rod as the antennae.