Yesterday, June 17th, marks a milestone anniversary in American culture (and no, we’re not talking about the Battle of Bunker Hill or the Watergate break-in). What we are talking about is the 1980 copywriting by Atari of the video games Asteroids and Lunar Lander. You remember Atari, the originator of many of the games that started the whole video game craze. But actually, video games started way before Atari came on the scene. So we thought it would be a good idea to review the history of the business that has become such an important part of our culture, and a multi-billion dollar industry.

The history of video games goes back as far as 1947, when a couple of physicists—and the original video heads—named Tom Goldsmith and Estle Mann applied for a patent for an interactive electronic game they described as a ‘cathode ray tube amusement device.’ The game consisted of trying to shoot down an airplane by maneuvering a dot over the plane and firing your machine gun.  It sounds pretty cool for 1947; but unfortunately, while they did receive the patent in 1948, they were never able to market the game.

Then in 1952, a Cambridge PhD student named Alexander Douglas was writing his thesis on computer/human interaction when he built the first digital graphics game to run on a computer. It was called ‘Noughts and Crosses’ (or tic-tac-toe in the US) and known by its shorthand name of OXO. It used a rotary phone dial to let you place your symbol in the tic-tac-toe matrix. Unfortunately, this too was never marketed, since you needed a University sized computer to run the program. In fact, most of these early computer games were built at universities and required large mainframe computers to operate; therefore, they couldn’t be practically marketed.

Still, there were many games being created in the 1950s and 1960s, so the idea of the video game had clearly captured the imagination of a lot of very bright people. For instance, in 1961, students at MIT created a game called SpaceWar!, where (you guessed it) players fired missiles at each other’s spaceships. In 1966, a couple of defense contractor physicists developed Chase, the first game designed to play on a standard television set. In 1969, a bunch of AT&T computer programmers created a game called Space Travel and in the process, invented the UNIX operating system.

Then in the 1970s, things changed. In 1971, a couple of guys named Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney created a coin-operated arcade version of Spacewar! and named it Computer Space. They sold the concept to a manufacturing company who built and sold around 1,500 machines to pinball arcades around the country. Though the game was hard to play and wasn’t a big money maker, it did make history as the first mass-produced video game that was available for commercial sale. And with the money they made from the sale of that game, Bushnell and Dabney founded Atari, Inc. in 1972.

Atari was, of course, the first true video game company in the world, and became an overnight success with the release of the most famous video game ever, Pong. Atari sold over 19,000 Pong machines and went on to create some of the most iconic games in history like Asteroids and Lunar Lander. But the genius of Atria was that they were not content to merely make arcade games, they realized that the big money was in creating games that could be played at home on a TV, so they created the Atari Video Computer System (later renamed the Atari 2600) that could play all of Atari’s games. Marketing genius, to say the least.

Atari has, of course, spawned many imitators and competitors, a few of which have displaced Atari as king of the video game. Heavy hitters like Sony (PS3), Microsoft (Xbox 360), and Nintendo (Wii) have taken over and dominate the market, with the help of third party developers who created games like the BioShock, Halo and Call of Duty franchises. And the future looks bright thanks to developers at companies such as Valve and Rockstar Games, who not only put quality over quantity with their products but also look to innovate with their story, gameplay and graphics. So as we load up our favorite game and kill some zombies or maniacal robots, let’s give a nod of thanks to those pioneers who started it all.

Copyright Davison 2013

Images:

http://www.video-game-history.com/images/video-game-history.jpg
http://www.authenticsociety.com/Images/Content/VideoGames/oxo-a-s-douglas-original-tic-tac-toe-game-screenshot.png
http://blog.aurorahistoryboutique.com/images/pong.png
http://blog.muchmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/holidaywrap-best-games.png

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathode_ray_tube_amusement_device
http://classicgames.about.com/od/classicvideogames101/p/CathodeDevice.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OXO

Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of a very important inventor in American history, but a man that most people probably never heard of—Elmer Ambrose Sperry.  Sperry was a prolific inventor, creating advanced compasses and gyroscopes for the United States Navy to stabilize ships, airplanes and aerial torpedoes. He also invented the gyrocompass and advanced targeting controls for accurately controlling naval bombardments. He spent 50 years of his life creating and innovating, and at the time of his death on June 16, 1930, had filed for almost 400 patents. To put that into perspective, the incredibly prolific inventor Thomas Edison filed for about 200 in his lifetime. So let’s learn a little more about Elmer Sperry, the man who is remembered by many as the ‘father of modern navigation technology.’

Sperry was born in upstate New York in 1860.  He seemed to have a natural gift for inventing. The story goes that he invented a horseradish grater to help his grandmother in the kitchen when he was only six years old. He was educated at the State Normal and Training School followed by two years at Cornell University where he became interested in dynamos. He left college early and moved to Chicago to start his own company; the Sperry Electric Company which made dynamos and arc lamps. This would be the first of eight companies Sperry would start over his lifetime.

In 1890, a man named G.M. Hopkins invented the first electric gyroscope, which is basically a disk mounted on a base in such a way that it remains in a fixed position despite the movements of its base.  Sperry saw that this device might be used to replace magnetic compasses, which didn’t work well for navigation on steel ships because of the magnetic interference of the metal. After years of experimentation, Sperry created a functional gyrocompass system, a navigation device impervious to magnetic fluctuations caused by the ship itself.

By 1908, Sperry had patented his gyrocompass and founded the Sperry Gyroscope Company in Brooklyn, New York. By 1911, the US Navy installed the gyrocompass in one of its ships and by the start of World War I, the Navy was using the device in all of its ships. In another invention for the war effort, Sperry created a device he called ‘Metal Mike,’ the first gyroscope-guided autopilot steering system designed to keep a ship on a set course without human monitoring. In 1915, he also introduced high-intensity arc lamps used as a searchlight, by both the Army and Navy.

Through World War I and into World War II, Sperry’s company expanded as military demand for its technological devices climbed. Sperry also applied the gyroscope to airplanes for the Air Force. He invented more devices for aircraft, creating one to give fliers ‘artificial horizons’ which enabled them to fly in heavy cloud cover. His company also created innovative radar systems, and introduced automated take-off and landing systems.

In addition to all of the marvelous inventions Elmer Sperry created for naval and aerial navigation, he invented and patented a wide range of devices for civilian use too, such as new types of street lighting, electric trolley cars, an electric automobile, new mining machinery, railroad safety devices, and even a lighting system for motion picture projection. But it’s for his contributions to modern navigation that he will always be remembered, especially by those involved in naval navigation. In fact, the Navy held him in such high regard that after his death, they named a Fulton-class submarine tender, the USS Sperry, after him. Pretty high praise indeed.

Copyright Davison 2013

Photos

http://www.sperryflight.com/i/elmer2.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Algonquin_gyro_compass2.jpg/220px-Algonquin_gyro_compass2.jpg
http://www.navypictures.net/images/products/secondary/844.jpg

Sources

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/searchlight.aspx
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1012.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmer_Ambrose_Sperry
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/sperry_hi.html
http://www.nndb.com/people/933/000167432/

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in 2008 plastics amounted to about 12 % of the country’s municipal solid waste stream — up from less than 1 % 50 years ago. That’s about 30 million tons (27 million metric tons), close to half of it in the form of containers and other types of packaging. What if we could turn all that garbage into energy?

Turns out that a U.S.-based company can do just that. JBI Inc. out of Niagara Falls has created technology that turns recycled plastic into oil.  According to their website:

JBI, Inc. transforms unsorted, unwashed waste plastic into ultra-clean, ultra-low sulphur fuel without the need for refinement. JBI, Inc.’s patent pending Plastic2Oil® (P2O®) process is a commercially viable, proprietary process designed to provide immediate economic benefit for industry, communities and government organizations with waste plastic recycling challenges. JBI, Inc. is committed to environmental sustainability by diverting plastic waste from landfill and potential incineration.

Each barrel of oil costs about $10 to produce. JBI can sell it for around $100 through a national distributor. The young company is already producing a few thousand gallons of oil a day. It has signed lucrative deals to set up operations next to companies with large volumes of plastic waste.

According to a 2012 study prepared for the American Chemistry Council by the research organization RTI International, these Pyrolysis conversion technologies that turn plastic waste into fuel have developed to the point where they are likely to be commercially viable in just 5-10 years.

The United States consumed a total of 6.87 billion barrels (18.83 million barrels per day) in 2011 and 7.0 billion barrels (19.18 million barrels per day) of refined petroleum products and biofuels in 2010. For both years, this was about 22% of total world petroleum consumption.

But considering we throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour, maybe this technology can transform some of our waste into a lasting energy solution.

Copyright Davison 2013

Images:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2hL9n7c9WWQ/TjZmd1V3-sI/AAAAAAAAQy4/jF4oQ7EJ9hA/s1600/plastic+bottle+landfill.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xt34Gycgjfc/TfTTJIKJ3KI/AAAAAAAAAf4/0mrDwKZji6U/s1600/Plastics2Oil.jpg

Sources:

http://www.plastic2oil.com/site/home

http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/plastic-thrown-away-year-us

http://www.npr.org/2012/03/19/147506525/startup-converts-plastic-to-oil-and-finds-a-niche

http://www.hoaxorfact.com/Technology/man-invented-a-machine-to-convert-waste-plastic-into-oil-and-fuel-facts.html

http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=33&t=6

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/smart-takes/infographic-americans-throw-away-25-million-plastic-bottles-every-hour/9309

Writing and drawing tools are considered some of mankind’s greatest inventions. They have allowed the recording and conveying of thoughts, feelings, ideas – and grocery lists – for thousands of years. They are the very reason we know the history of us. Pencils and pens have given everyone in this world quick, easy and affordable access to put on paper what lives in their minds.

Writers, artists and draftsmen are just some of the creative types whose lives and careers have been transformed by these ingenious tools. Celebrated novelist John Steinbeck used 300 pencils to write East of Eden. Trail-blazing animator and entrepreneur Walt Disney first sketched Mickey Mouse’s ears with a pencil and the rest is history.

The origins of the pencil and pen are actually just as fascinating as the words and pictures they have recorded throughout time. The earliest means of writing with pen and paper as we know it was developed by the Greeks, and perfected by the Romans.

The writing instrument that dominated for the longest period in history – over 1,000 years — was the quill pen. Introduced in Europe around 700 A.D. and made from a bird feather, quill pens lasted for only a week before it was necessary to replace them. Lewis Waterman of New York patented the first practical fountain pen in 1884 and in 1931, Hungarian Laszlo Biro invented the ballpoint pen — the writing implement of choice for most people today because of their neatness and reliability.

(A sketch of Saturn by Galileo)

The idea for the pencil came much later in human history and quite by accident. Some time prior to about 1560, graphite was discovered near Borrowdale, England, supposedly when a large tree was uprooted in a storm, exposing a black substance beneath its roots.

Because graphite is soft, it requires some form of encasement.  Graphite sticks were initially wrapped in string or sheepskin for stability. Shortly after, a superior technique was discovered: two wooden halves were carved, a graphite stick inserted, and the halves then glued together—essentially the same method in use to this day.

Because graphite is soft, it requires some form of encasement.  Graphite sticks were initially wrapped in string or sheepskin for stability. Shortly after, a superior technique was discovered: two wooden halves were carved, a graphite stick inserted, and the halves then glued together—essentially the same method in use to this day.

Although the pencil was first officially documented in 1565 by Conrad Gesner, and its invention is sometimes attributed to him, it wasn’t until the late 1700s that manufacturing techniques similar to those practiced today were developed.

The method of making pencils was painstakingly slow, so Joseph Dixon, an inventor and entrepreneur, developed a means to mass-produce pencils. By 1870, The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company was the world’s largest dealer and consumer of graphite and later became the contemporary Dixon Ticonderoga pencil and art supplies company.

Here is a look at how pencils are made today:

In 1858, Hymen Lipman did us all a great favor when he received the first patent for attaching an eraser to the end of a pencil. As we continue to use the pencil to help sketch the future, we can also rely on the eraser to make a few revisions along the way.

Copyright Davison 2013

Images:

http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/the-earliest-known-drawings-of-mickey-mouse-1928-photo-walt-disney-family-foundation.jpg

http://s3.hubimg.com/u/6837618_f520.jpg

Sources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JqJXD0RoRI&feature=em-share_video_user

Among all of the wonderful cities in the United States, San Francisco is unique. Not because of its big buildings or beautiful panorama views; no, San Francisco is unique because it has a feature that sets it apart from other big cities: cable cars. The cable car enabled easy transport of goods and people throughout the entire city despite the peninsula’s steep hills. It was the cable car that made San Francisco the cosmopolitan city by the bay.

The inventor behind the cable car system, Andrew Hallidie, had witnessed many accidents of horse-drawn streetcars sliding backwards down steep cobblestone streets and injuring (or killing) the riders and horses. Hallidie’s company manufactured wire-rope—or cable—to pull heavy ore cars out of underground mines, and he realized he could create a comparable system to pull street cars up and down the steep roads with his wire-rope.

He devised an apparatus by which streetcars could attach to and release from a constantly moving giant coil of cable running in a slot beneath the streets. A centralized stationary steam-powered engine drove giant wheels that pulled the cable through the slot. Hallidie’s cable cars started running in 1873 and haven’t stopped since. In fact, the cars help attract over 16.5 million visitors to San Francisco every year. And the beauty of the cable car system—with 53 miles of track—can take tourists to all of the key attractions in San Francisco, from Fisherman’s Wharf to Chinatown.

Fisherman’s Wharf: One of the busiest and most well-known tourist attractions in San Francisco is Fisherman’s Wharf, the home of San Francisco’s fishing fleet. As you might expect, seafood restaurants are plentiful at the Wharf, serving fresh seafood and crab literally right from the fishing boats. Some of the historic family restaurants going back generations include Fishermen’s Grotto, Sabella & LaTorre, Alioto’s, and Pompei’s Grotto. Fisherman’s Wharf is also home to many visitors’ favorite attractions; such as Ghirardelli Square, the Wax Museum, the Aquarium of the Bay, and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

Chinatown: San Francisco’s Chinatown is the largest Chinatown outside of Asia as well as the oldest Chinatown in North America. It began in the 1850s as Chinese immigrants settled in this area of San Francisco when they moved to the area to work on the railroad and as miners during the 1849 Gold Rush. Today, Chinatown is full of great restaurants, art galleries and sightseeing attractions; especially on Saturday’s, when produce stands and food markets are set up for the locals to do their shopping. It’s a great way to get immersed into the culture.

Russian Hill: Russian Hill is a residential neighborhood with a lot of trendy restaurants, unusual boutiques, and antique shops, and spectacular views of the city and the bay. It got its name from Russian gravestones found at the top of the hill. Russian Hill is probably most famous for Lombard Street, better known as the ‘world’s crookedest street,’ where tourists line up their cars for a chance to drive down. Of course, the residents are a little tired of their front yards as a tourist destination, so be polite and don’t drive down more than three or four times.

So here is a quick look at San Francisco; a city made possible by the invention of the cable car. It is truly one of the great cities of the world.

Copyright Davison 2013

Images:

http://cdn.funcheap.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/A-cable-car-on-top-of-Hyde-Street-in-San-Francisco-California.jpg

http://www.fishermanswharf.org/upload/merchants/main1.JPG

http://www.san-francisco-chinatown.info/photos/chinatown-1.jpg

Sources:

http://www.sanfrancisco.com/history/

http://www.sfcablecar.com/history.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_cable_car_system

http://www.streetcar.org/cablecars/work.html

http://www.sfmta.com/about-sfmta/our-history-and-fleet/sfmta-fleet/cable-cars

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_San_Francisco

http://www.sfgate.com/neighborhoods/sf/chinatown/