technology
nikola tesla’s hotel room
from nikola tesla posted in technology by prof_improbable
Nikola Tesla, inventor and engineer, lived at The New Yorker Hotel in rooms 3327 and 3328 from 1933-1943. Although Tesla had enormous contributions to several fields (electronics, radio, wireless communications and more), he had never attempted to exploit his research for financial gain.
After Tesla died in his hotel room on January 7, 1943, the safe in room 3327 with his papers on "Tesla's Death Ray" (a theoretical weaponized form of his research) was broken into and the research papers stolen. They have never been recovered.
view full location details...susan wojcicki’s garage
from google posted in technology by EntropyOrSloth
Larry Page and Sergey Brin rented out Susan Wojcicki's garage in Menlo Park to use as Google's workspace in September of 1998, the same month they filed for incorporation in California and hired their first employee. They outgrew the garage by February of the next year.
hewlett-packard’s garage
from the hewlett-packard company posted in technology by elvis_crabs
Hewlett-Packard was started in the one-car garage of this residence by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard.
Started with $538 of start-up capital in 1939, the 2011 total equity of the company was valued at $38.62 billion.
view full location details...apple computers first office
from apple, steve jobs posted in technology by prof_improbable
Apple got their first major investor in Mike Markkula, a former Intel employee who had made millions and retired by the age of 34. He help draw up a business plan where he would invest $250,000 to build 1,000 machines.
Apple hired Rob Holt (a friend of Steve Jobs) to create a power supply and create a mold for the distinctive plastic shell (as opposed to the previous wooden case). With the addition of an office manager in Mike Scott, the company moved to their first real office setting in 1976.
the byte shop (former)
from apple, steve jobs posted in technology by prof_improbable
This address is the former location of The Byte Shop. Owned by Paul Terrel, The Byte Shop specialized in computer supplies in the mid-70s. Terrel was a member of the Homebrew Computing Club, the same club as a young Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
In 1976, the Byte Shop became the first retail location for the Apple 1 computers after the duo had demonstrated the machine at a Homebrew meeting.
Terrel ordered 50 of them, at $500 a piece, with a purchase order totaling $25,000. It was an enormous order for for the fledgling company, and Steve and Woz put their friends and neighbors to work in Jobs' garage. Early "employees" were paid $1 a board.
The parts for the Apple cost $220, while the computer was sold to Terrel for $500, who would usually put them in wooden boxes.
view full location details...