The first digital camera
Steve Sasson created the world’s first digital camera in 1976, while working at Kodak. He discusses the development of the camera in this video.
It was a camera that didn’t use any film to capture still images – a camera that would capture images using a CCD imager and digitize the captured scene and store the digital info on a standard cassette. It took 23 seconds to record the digitized image to the cassette. The image was viewed by removing the cassette from the camera and placing it in a custom playback device.
Given Moore’s Law, they estimated that it would take 15 to 20 years before such a camera reached the general consumer. The patent file contains a description and drawings of the apparatus.
Hype cycles
A Hype Cycle is a graphic representation of the maturity, adoption and business application of specific technologies. The cycle consists of five phases, including the trigger, inflated expectations, disillusionment, enlightenment and the plateau.
Digital Future
Dual Perspectives is an ongoing series of articles examining the future of technology and the web.
Homebrew CPU
Steve Chamberlin created his own custom 8-bit CPU, which he dubbed Big Mess of Wires. It brings me back to my assembly language class and the late night bug hunts, there’s something very visceral about talking directly to the machine.
Lost in Space
Lost in Space, the story of the Judica-Cordiglia brothers, radio transmissions from space and lost Russian cosmonauts.
