technology
twin cities assembly plant
from ford motor co, ford ranger posted in technology by pete_nice
The Twin Cities Assembly Plant, aka the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant, aka the Ford Plant, existed on this site from 1925 to 2011, making it the oldest Ford plant in operation when it closed on December 16, 2011.
The Ford Co. was drawn to the location early on by the promise of cheap hydroelectric power from the Mississippi River. From the mid 1920s to the 1950s, the company made glass from silica mined from sandstone on site.
Ford manufactured the following vehicles at the location: Ford Model T, Model TT truck, Sportsman convertible, Galaxie, LTD, Mazda B-Series, and many, many Ford Ranger pickups.
oculus vr headquarters
from virtual reality, oculus vr posted in technology by tacopolis
The headquarters for the Oculus VR company is located at this address in Irvine, CA.
Founded in 2012, the Oculus VR company is the outcome of CEO's Palmer Luckey's work to create a consumer form of immersive interactivity.
jonas salk hall
from polio vaccine posted in technology by pete_nice
Jonas Salk Hall is located on the University of Pittsburgh campus.
Constructed in 1941 in the Art Deco style, the building was previously owned by the city of Pittsburgh, and was called the Pittsburgh Municipal Hospital for Contagious Diseases.
In an obvious move of selfishness, the hospital was built by President Roosevelt's Public Works Administration (remember, that guy in the wheelchair who had polio).
In a move that would make an Ayn Rand acolyte's head spin, the research department at this facility was funded by that same selfish Roosevelt's private foundation- the National Foundation on Infantile Paralysis (later named the March of Dimes).
In 1948, enter Jonas Salk, skilled and dedicated research scientist. He put together a team and a laboratory in the basement of this address and got to work. Seven years later, polio is gone. Gone! Seven years!
When asked who owned the patent to the vaccine, Salk replied "There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?" The estimated value, had the vaccine been patented, was roughly $7 billion.
the flint center for the performing arts
from apple, steve jobs, macintosh posted in technology by prof_improbable
Located on the De Anza College campus, the Flint Center was the location of the Apple Annual Shareholder's meeting on January 24, 1984.
Clad in a suit jacket and bow tie (pre-black turtleneck), a young Steve Jobs unveiled the Macintosh for the first time. The computer was in a bag, was plugged in to demonstrate the variety of programs developed, and then talked (early MacSpeak). People went bananas (see video).
brain telecommunication ltd.
from hackers, computer viruses posted in technology by pete_nice
In 1986, brothers Basit Farooq Alvi and Amjad Farooq Alvi created the Brain virus, considered to be the first virus for MS-DOS.
Based out of Lahore, Pakistan, the brothers were trying to protect their medical software from piracy. Users would receive the message:
"Welcome to the Dungeon © 1986 Brain & Amjads (pvt). BRAIN COMPUTER SERVICES 730 NIZAM BLOCK ALLAMA IQBAL TOWN LAHORE-PAKISTAN PHONE: 430791,443248,280530. Beware of this VIRUS.... Contact us for vaccination..."
Today, the brothers have a company named Brain Telecommunications Ltd and provide a variety of computer-related services.