The tech blogs are buzzing about Geni, a new genealogy application launched by former Paypal executive David Sacks (see Valleywag and TechCrunch for example). Billing itself as “a unique approach to solving the problem of genealogy,” Geni “lets you create a family tree through [its] fun simple interface”: When you add a relative’s email address,Continue reading “Geni”
Tekkie's Great Moments in Tech History
Tekkie, a.k.a. Mark Miller, “loves computers and software.” Apparently the software developer also loves the history of technology. In Great Moments in Modern Computer History, Tekkie gives us his take on the best demos, announcements, and breakthroughs in the history of computing. At more than 4000 words long, it must truly be a labor ofContinue reading “Tekkie's Great Moments in Tech History”
O'Reilly on the History of Science
In a post today called Remember the old “Two Cultures” Debate? Tim O’Reilly points to Jon Bosak’s keynote at the XML 2006 Conference to show that C.P. Snow’s two cultures thesis is phooey. He writes that Bosak’s referencing of Kant and Donne “puts to rest the idea that engineers don’t know the humanities.” Maybe, butContinue reading “O'Reilly on the History of Science”
About 100 Women
About.com is one of the most confusing places on the web. It seems to bill itself as one-stop-shopping for reliable “how to” and other information. The fact that it’s owned by the New York Times and written by so-called “expert guides” reinforces this image. Yet when you look closely at the articles themselves, it’s immediatelyContinue reading “About 100 Women”
Practicing What It Preaches
I was happy to read in this month’s Public History News that the National Council for Public History’s Long Range Planning Committee has posted its working definition of “public history” on Wikipedia. In the spirit of “sharing authority,” the committee invites thoughtful edits and comments at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_history
Tags Over Time
There’s a new trend in online amateur history that digital history scholars would do well to notice. A few months ago I pointed to Yahoo’s Taglines, a Flash visualization of the changing use of Flickr tags over a 16 month period from June 2004 to September 2005. More recently Chirag Mehta, an IT manager livingContinue reading “Tags Over Time”
Stock Car Rivals
This morning Automobileblog gives us the Five Greatest Rivalries in NASCAR History. No surprises in first place. It’s got to be Ford v. Chevy.
F/X
A quick one tonight from Popular Mechanics: The Top 10 F/X Scenes in Movie History. In fact it’s not a countdown of scenes at all, but rather a list of the most important applications of digital technology to recent filmmaking. Yet it’s ordered chronologically according to the dates of the films in which the techniquesContinue reading “F/X”
Hot for Teacher
Because I completely fell off the wagon towards the end of the year, I’m going to extend the Tops of All Time series for another month. All told, I didn’t do too badly—fourteen posts in just this category in just under fifty days—but this time I’m really going to try to post something every day.Continue reading “Hot for Teacher”
Hot Wheels
Today’s item in the Tops of All Time series shows just how widespread this brand of history really is. Why a rental car outlet at the Shannon, Ireland airport would post a list of the Top 10 Modes of Transport in Cartoon History remains unclear, but there you have it nonetheless.
