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    On This Day in Tech History

    Stories Published June 17 Throughout History

    2024

    Historic Tech Events

    Ted Nelson Was Born

    Ted Nelson Was Born
    1937

    Ted Nelson, an American philosopher and computer pioneer, is known for coining the terms "hypertext" and "hypermedia" in 1963 and publishing them in 1965. Hypertext is a type of text that includes links to other pages or information, usually displayed on a computer screen in a highlighted format, which can be clicked to access further details about a keyword or phrase. Nelson's work also included the development of Project Xanadu, which aimed to create a computer network with a user-friendly interface and the ability to create and store linked text and multimedia documents. Although the project faced technical challenges and was never fully realized, it influenced the development of the World Wide Web and popularized the concept of hypertext.

    China Conducted Its First Successful Test of a Hydrogen Bomb

    China Conducted Its First Successful Test of a Hydrogen Bomb
    1967

    On June 17, 1967, China conducted its first successful test of a hydrogen bomb, making it the fourth country in the world to possess this powerful nuclear weapon after the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. The test was conducted at Lop Nur, a nuclear testing site in the northwestern region of China. The hydrogen bomb, also known as a thermonuclear bomb, uses fusion to release a much larger amount of energy than the atomic bombs that were used in World War II. The successful test made China a major player in the Cold War nuclear arms race.

    Chinese Supercomputer Was Named the Fastest in the World

    Chinese Supercomputer Was Named the Fastest in the World
    2013

    On June 17, 2013, China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer was named the world's most powerful and fastest computer, reclaiming its title from the US Titan supercomputer. The Tianhe-2 was developed by the National University of Defense Technology in China and has a performance power almost double that of the second-ranked supercomputer on the list. The computer uses a combination of Chinese-developed and Intel-made chips, and has a processing power of 33.86 petaflops, meaning it can perform over 33 quadrillion calculations per second. The Tianhe-2 is primarily used for scientific research and modeling, and has been credited with advances in fields such as climate science, pharmaceutical research, and aerospace engineering.

    Hackers Deciphered the Data Encryption Standard

    Hackers Deciphered the Data Encryption Standard
    1997

    In 1998, a group of hackers organized over the Internet successfully cracked the Data Encryption Standard (DES), which was designed to be an impenetrable encryption software. The DES was the strongest legally exportable encryption software in the United States at that time. The hackers were able to decipher the code after five months of work, which raised concerns about the effectiveness of the encryption software. The United States had banned stronger encryption software out of fear that it would be used by terrorists, but this event raised questions about the reliability of such restrictions.

    Asteroids” and “Lunar Lander” Were Copyrighted

    Asteroids” and “Lunar Lander” Were Copyrighted
    1980

    On June 17th, 1980, two video games from Atari, "Asteroids" and "Lunar Lander," were the first two video games to be copyright registered. This marked an important moment in video game history as it recognized video games as a form of creative expression that could be protected under copyright law. This move helped pave the way for the development of the video game industry and the protection of intellectual property rights in the digital world.

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