On This Day in Tech History

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NY Times Article on Need to Preserve Obsolete Hardware and Software was published

NY Times Article on Need to Preserve Obsolete Hardware and Software was published

1995

The New York Times' George Johnson reminisces about obsolete computer hardware and software in a column titled, "Let's Boot Up the Trash-80 and Play Some Oldies." Written just before the release of Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system, the article bemoaned the lack of a home - virtual or otherwise - for computer antiques. The fate of Windows 3.1 was obvious: "In digital bonfires across the country, millions of copies of the old software will be wiped from hard disks to make way for the new. One by one, all those carefully crafted bits -- the 1's and 0's that form the gears and pulleys of Microsoft's contraption -- will disappear in infinitesimal puffs of heat."

Viking 1 launched

Viking 1 launched

1975

The robotic U.S. spacecraft Viking 1, built to explore the surface of Mars, was launched this day in 1975 and nearly one year later landed on Chryse Planitia, a flat lowland region in the northern hemisphere of the planet.

Google released the Pixel 4a

Google released the Pixel 4a

2020

The Google Pixel 4a came out first on August 20 in the US, and costs $349 / £349 / AU$599. The phone only comes in one configuration (6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage) and one color: Just Black. Sadly, there is no Pixel 4a XL.

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