videodrome

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.capebreton.social/post/2509054

On April 9, 1999 the Domain Controllers for the redmond.corp.microsoft.com Windows NT4-based domain were upgraded to a pre-release version of Windows 2000 Server and thus became the world’s first production Active Directory domain:

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.capebreton.social/post/1302050

Microsoft Ships Internet Explorer 2.0 November 27, 1995

Microsoft Corp. shipped Internet Explorer 2.0, starting a browser war with the popular Netscape Navigator. Netscape Communications Corp. had had a virtual monopoly on World Wide Web browsers since the infancy of the web. The Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers serve as a format for viewing and creating World Wide Web pages, as well as participating in newsgroups and sending e-mail. Microsoft promotes its Internet Explorer with specific mention of its privacy and encryption.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.capebreton.social/post/1207163

For a brief moment, Nortel Networks was on top of the world. Let's enjoy that moment while we can. Part 1 of 2.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.capebreton.social/post/1047745

Excel is practically synonymous with the word "spreadsheet" today, and has attained near ubiquity in the workplace and home. But it wasn't always the reigning champion of the spreadsheet market.

In fact, Excel started out as a Macintosh exclusive, with Gates and Microsoft hoping that Excel could build a commanding position on the Macintosh, and then use that as a foothold to attack the dominant spreadsheet champion of the 1980s, Lotus 1-2-3. The Macintosh was in dire need of a killer app that could do for it, what VisiCalc had done for the Apple II years prior.

But could Excel be that app?

This is the story of how the world's most dominant spreadsheet was developed for the flailing Macintosh, a computer with a fraction of the market share of the then standard MS-DOS PC, from which humble position Excel began its long climb to total dominance.

#spreadsheet #excel #documentary

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.capebreton.social/post/889065

Microsoft introduced "Patch Tuesday" in October 2003 to reduce the cost of distributing patches after the Blaster worm.[10] This system accumulates security patches over a month, and dispatches them all on the second Tuesday of each month, an event for which system administrators may prepare. The following day, informally known as "Exploit Wednesday",[11] marks the time when exploits may appear in the wild which take advantage on unpatched machines of the newly announced vulnerabilities.

Tuesday was chosen as the optimal day of the week to distribute software patches. This is done to maximize the amount of time available before the upcoming weekend to correct any issues that might arise with those patches, while leaving Monday free to address other unexpected issues that might have arisen over the preceding weekend[citation needed].

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.capebreton.social/post/604393

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.capebreton.social/post/604391

John David McAfee (/ˈmækəfiː/ MAK-ə-fee;[2][3] 18 September 1945 – 23 June 2021) was a British-American computer programmer, businessman, and two-time presidential candidate who unsuccessfully sought the Libertarian Party nomination for president of the United States in 2016 and in 2020. In 1987, he wrote the first commercial anti-virus software, founding McAfee Associates to sell his creation. He resigned in 1994 and sold his remaining stake in the company.[4] McAfee became the company's most vocal critic in later years, urging consumers to uninstall the company's anti-virus software, which he characterized as bloatware. He disavowed the company's continued use of his name in branding, a practice that has persisted in spite of a short-lived corporate rebrand attempt under Intel ownership.

McAfee's fortunes plummeted in the financial crisis of 2007–2008. After leaving McAfee Associates, he founded the companies Tribal Voice (makers of the PowWow chat program), QuorumEx, and Future Tense Central, among others, and was involved in leadership positions in the companies Everykey, MGT Capital Investments, and Luxcore, among others. His personal and business interests included smartphone apps, cryptocurrency, yoga, light-sport aircraft[5] and recreational drug use. He resided for a number of years in Belize, but returned to the United States in 2013 while wanted in Belize for questioning on suspicion of murder.[6]

In October 2020, McAfee was arrested in Spain over U.S. tax evasion charges.[7] U.S. federal prosecutors brought criminal and civil charges alleging that McAfee had failed to file income taxes over a four-year period.[8][9] On 23 June 2021, he was found dead due to an apparent suicide by hanging in his prison cell near Barcelona shortly after the Spanish National Court authorized his extradition to the U.S.[10][11][12] His death generated speculation and conspiracy theories about the possibility that he was murdered.[13] McAfee's wife, Janice McAfee, said she did not believe McAfee committed suicide.[14][15]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.capebreton.social/post/517037

At 3:45 p.m., Grace Murray Hopper records 'the first computer bug' in the Harvard Mark II computer's log book. The problem was traced to a moth stuck between relay contacts in the computer, which Hopper duly taped into the Mark II's log book with the explanation: “First actual case of bug being found.” The bug was actually found by others but Hopper made the logbook entry.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.capebreton.social/post/517037

At 3:45 p.m., Grace Murray Hopper records 'the first computer bug' in the Harvard Mark II computer's log book. The problem was traced to a moth stuck between relay contacts in the computer, which Hopper duly taped into the Mark II's log book with the explanation: “First actual case of bug being found.” The bug was actually found by others but Hopper made the logbook entry.