You’ve probably heard of and even used VHS. How about Betamax or Video High Density (VHD)? The latter is a rare Japanese format that had very limited use, which is why you probably haven’t heard of it. Imagine a world where watching family memories is extremely...
Curator's Corner
Each month, Curator Dr. Luis Felipe Eguiarte Souza will share fascinating stories from the history of electronic communication. Stay tuned for insightful tales that connect the past to the present.
The Spark Transmitter of Science Fiction
That man has been called “The Father of Modern Science Fiction,” also known as Hugo Gernsback. Let’s talk about how he motivated millions of people not only to tinker and invent but also to imagine better futures for these technologies. If you are not a science...
Silicon Prairie: The Supercomputing Industry in Minnesota
October 2024 Minnesota may not be the first place that comes to mind when discussing computer innovation. However, from the 1950s to the late 1980s, Minnesota served as an incubator for groundbreaking technological advancements in computing. Surprisingly, the origin...
Through the Screen of Cyberpunk: How the Subgenre Foretold Our World
By the 1960s, the science fiction genre was going stale and feeling repetitive. Too many action-filled, space-cowboy operas where a lone male protagonist saved the girl and the galaxy, all with his intellect and physical prowess, saturated the market. Some writers saw that science fiction could be so much more than just a simple hero journey and started to rebel.
Mexico’s Color TV Pioneer: The Legacy of Guillermo González Camarena
Mexico might not be the first place you think about when it comes to technological innovations, but here’s the story of a man who tried to make his country the first to have color television. Guillermo González Camarena was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1917. From a...