February 19th

1878image001

Thomas Edison receives a US patent (No. 200521) for the phonograph. His first recording was of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” spoken into a large horn, which transmitted vibrations to a needle that cut the recording on a hand-rotated cylinder.

For further reading,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph

1971image003

The first warrant is issued to search a computer’s storage. This event would lead to increasingly sophisticated methods of encryption to hide computer files from law enforcement agents.

For further reading,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrant

1987image005

The Internet domain apple.com is created. It would soon become a battleground between the people who understood what quality meant and those who didn’t.

For further reading,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.

2008image007

The “war” over the High Definition successor to the DVD ends when the supporters of the HD DVD format discontinue it. The Sony-backed Blu-ray format had garnered the support of many players in the industry, leading to the demise of HD DVD.

For further reading,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_DVD