Throwback Tech Thursdays



  • Music and technology have become increasingly inseparable in the world of modern-day music. A shining example of this evolutionary process is Robert Moog, who crafted Moog electronic music synthesizer, which revolutionized rock, electronica, pop, and experimental music in the late 1960s and early ’70s. Moog introduced the first electronic synthesizer in the year 1964. The synthesizer was a voltage-controlled machine that allowed changes in pitch, timbre, attack, and decay of sound for the use of musicians. Having been passionate about his work, Moog kept on refining the synthesizer for several years. This novel instrument gained immense popularity, with progressive rock-bands such as Yes, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, and Pink Floyd having based their sounds on the same. In this week’s Throwback Tech Thursdays we present an image of Robert Moog sitting in front of his electronic musical instrument, the Moog synthesizer.
  • Elevators might seem like a recent invention, but equipment used to lift heavy materials for construction and transporting people vertically have been around for thousands of years. According to ancient writings, Greek Mathematician Archimedes created a device in 236 BC, operated by hoisting ropes around a drum and rotated by manpower, what might be a primitive form of an elevator. The man credited for inventing the mechanism behind the modern elevator was Elisha Graves Otis, and American industrialist and inventor. In 1852, he invented a revolutionary safety break for the elevator, in the event of breakage of the hoisting rope. He installed his first “Safety Hoist” elevator at the bedstead factory in Yonkers New, York, where he was employed as a master mechanic. He subsequently left his job to set up an elevator shop for hauling freight initially and then patented and installed his first steam engine passenger elevator in 1857 at a multi-story department store. He laid the foundation of a business in the name of the Otis Elevator Company, carried on by his sons after him. In this week's Throwback Tech Thursday, we present a photograph of Elisha Otis showing standing firmly on his “Safety Hoist” elevator while the hoisting rope was cut from above.
  • Refrigerators have become an essential piece of electrical appliance in every home. The inventor responsible for creating this machine was Thomas Moore. The refrigerator he invented was nothing like the machine we use in our houses, but was essentially an icebox, made from materials like tin, wood, and rabbit skin. A cedar oval tub and lid were made for Moore’s icebox, along with a tin box to allow space for ice between it and the wood. In 1802, Thomas received a patent for the refrigerator, signed by the then US President Thomas Jefferson. President Jefferson, upon invitation from Thomas Moore, went to his home to see the new “refrigeratory” and even bought one for himself. In this week’s Throwback Tech Thursday, we present a photograph of Thomas Moore’s Refrigerator (Icebox) made from tin, wood, rabbit skin, and cloth that allowed keeping the contents of the box cool.
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  • The use of headphones began in the early 1900s and was restricted mostly for telephone and radio operators. They were released for public use in 1910 and were unlike any headphones we use today. Nathaniel Baldwin, a fundamentalist Mormon, and an engineer is credited with inventing the first pair of audio headphones for the public, on his kitchen table in 1910. Baldwin’s invention was initially dismissed by private investors but was later adopted by the US Navy that ordered 100 pairs. The headphones were never patented by Baldwin. In this picture, we can see the first pair of headphones manufactured by Nathaniel Baldwin under his own brand name with a tagline “This Instrument Manufactured Under my Personal Supervision
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  • As we look back at the greatest inventions of all time, one generally comes across the creation of Telstar 1, the first communication satellite that was launched on July 10, 1962. Telstar was a collaboration between various broadcasting agencies from the U.S., France, and Great Britain which enabled the broadcasting of TV programs across the Atlantic. The 3-foot long satellite was also the first to send the television signals, telephone calls, and fax images through space. The satellite was launched into space on a Delta rocket and circled the planet after every two and a half hours, only to transmit beams between the U.S. and Europe. This is a photograph of the satellite being mounted to the Thor-Delta rocket in the year 1962.
  • #T3 #Throwbackthursday William (Bill) Moggridge is one of the pioneers to venture into the domain of composite software and hardware designing, while duly integrating the pivotal human dimension. He also introduced the concept of laptop computers to the world of automation which was done by inventing GRiD Compass 100, the first commercial laptop computer machine presented to the world. Bill completed the design of the computer in 1979, however, it was first launched in April 1982 and was announced in the market as Model 1101. GRiD Compass caught the attention of NASA and was adopted, to contribute successfully and gainfully in the operational functioning of the space shuttles of the 1980's era. In this week’s T3 we present a picture of an astronaut named John Creighton posing with a GRiD Compass aboard a space shuttle discovery mission in 1985.
  • #T3 #ThrowbackTechThursdays One of the most interesting facts about the year 1900 is the creation of the world's largest camera which was built by a Chicago camera builder named J. A. Anderson. The camera was built to capture a full-length photograph of one of the most beautiful trains of the 19th century called
  • Date: 2 April 2020 #T3 #ThrowbackTechThursdays Pictured here is the first communication satellite launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) called
  • Date: 26 Mar 2020 #T3 #throwbacktechthursdays Wiliam Bradford Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain were inventors of the transistor, one of the most significant inventions in the twentieth century that led to the discovery of mobile phones, televisions, and computers. The invention took place in Bell Telephone Laboratories, a research and scientific development company based in New York where the three of them worked together. Here is a photograph that was used by Bell Labs to officially announce the invention of the transistor in 1948.
  • Date: 12 Mar 2020 #T3 #ThrowbackTechThursdays The name most closely associated with the invention of wireless telegraphy – what we now know simply as the radio – is Guglielmo Marconi. Here he is photographed as he reads signals on a tape recorder (left) with a 10-inch spark coil used for ship-to-shore radio tests in this 1901 photo.
  • Date: 5 Mach 2020 #T3 #ThrowbackTechThursdays a day late this week. We revisit history with an iconic picture featuring Paul Allen and Bill Gates who are seen sitting surrounded by computers, shortly after they signed a major contract with IBM, to write software for their upcoming line of PCs in 1980. (Image Credits: Microsoft Corporation) Story Credits - @Vinayak A #zigram #throwbackthursdays #dataassets #history #technology #billgates #computers #paulallen #microsoft #ibm #software #ibm
  • The name most closely associated with the invention of wireless telegraphy – what we now know simply as the radio – is Guglielmo Marconi. Here he is photographed as he reads signals on a tape recorder (left) with a 10-inch spark coil used for ship-to-shore radio tests in this 1901 photo.