All the latest UK technology news, reviews and analysis
|
|
|
30 Jan 2009
To say that the technology industry has had a rough couple of months would be a huge understatement. The economic crisis has devastated the industry, sending finances through the floor and leading to tens of thousands of lost jobs in the past few months alone.
It is no fun for the people involved, and writing about it every day has dampened the environment in the vnunet.com offices as well.
But crisis also leads to reflection. Not just on better times, but on those who emerged from seemingly dire circumstances to accomplish the 'impossible'.
So this week, we take a look at some of those uplifting stories. Our hope is that they not only help raise spirits, but prompt some reflection on how success stories can emerge from the current crisis.
10.
The moon landing
Shaun Nichols: No list of great science stories would be complete
without what may be mankind's greatest achievement.
It was arguably an engineering feat, and the computing technology used in the project was roughly the equivalent of a pocket calculator compared to today's hardware, but the 1969 moon landing showed the general public just what a nascent technology industry could accomplish.
The event also sparked an interest in science for millions of children, many of whom would help to change the industry over the next 10 years.
Iain Thomson: The Apollo flight control computer was arguably the first embedded computer system to use integrated circuits. But, more importantly, it served to ignite interest in computers among the general public.
Watch some of the early coverage of the Apollo missions and you find constant mentions of the onboard computer systems. To the general public it was a taste of what computers could actually do for mankind, and established the idea of their utility.
To be sure, the bulk of the success of the Apollo missions was down to good engineering rather than computer technology, but it gets a spot on the list not so much for its power, but for its effect.
Latest stories from Web
Related articles
Related jobs
Poll
What is the most important IT priority for your company this year?
Sneak peek at the forthcoming glass-based machine
Connect with V3.co.uk
This paper focuses on a series of best practices and techniques for development teams looking to improve their software development processes
Why good data management at all levels is essential in the modern business (video, 6mins)
A Workflow Development Team Leader with a good knowledge...
Senior SQL Developer Investment Banking SSIS SSRS T-SQL...
Business Analyst Financial Services, SQL (Business analysis...
Junior/Graduate IT Support, Financial Services (Networks...
Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies. IThound.com brings you over 2,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.
Do you agree?
Good points but inspiring?
You raise some important milestones Simon and all of them are important but are they inspiring? We were trying to pick moments that really inspired people to hope for something better and see new ways of doing new things. I will be raiding your list extensively in a forthcoming technological milestones Top 10 however :)
Posted by: Iain 03 Feb 2009
Short term memory
10 interesting moments in recent computing history and 1 bizarre historical memory about the Apollo mission. But the story of commercial computing I lived through just isn't there - who wrote this - someone under 35? I doubt that my top ten would have included anything from your list! Where is the first digital computer, the arrival of the mainframe, the first commercial data processing, the invention of operating systems, the introduction of random-access storage, the first high-level programming language, using communications to allow remote access, the database, invention of client server architectures, and, on the downside, the invention of the software licence?
Posted by: Simon Wallace 01 Feb 2009