Category Archives: Tech History

Where Old TVs Go to Live

Posted on 15 May 2017 by Stewart Wolpin

Here’s my story on Huff Post all about my visit to the Early TV Museum in Hilliard, OH.

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The Day Radio Died

Posted on 6 April 2017 by Stewart Wolpin

The day the U.S. entered World War I a century ago, April 6, 1917, Woodrow Wilson also ended all amateur radio broadcasting in America for more than two years. I told this story on the CTA i3 Blog, which you … Continue reading →

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The Technology Forest: Don’t Get Lost in the Woods

Posted on 25 March 2017 by Stewart Wolpin

The Technology Forest: Don’t Get Lost in the Woods Believe it or not, there is a somewhat timely pattern to the historical disruption caused by technology advances. Let’s call the individual technology advances the trees, and the profound business and … Continue reading →

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Top 10 Gadgets of the Last 50 Years

Posted on 1 January 2017 by Stewart Wolpin

  As part of the CES 50th anniversary commemoration, in my role as newly-minted historian for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA, the industry and lobbying group who produce CES), I helped collect around three dozen historically significant gadgets for display. … Continue reading →

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Tape recording was introduced 70 years ago today

Posted on 16 May 2016 by Stewart Wolpin

It was 2 am on a spring night in 1944 — May 14, to be exact. And thanks to the good fortune of suffering from insomnia, a curious observation by John T. “Jack” Mullin led to the introduction of tape recording and, … Continue reading →

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Welcome to TV’s 5th Wave

Posted on 28 March 2016 by Stewart Wolpin

A piece exploring the historical waves of country-dominated TV suppliers over the last 50 years from the U.S. to Europe to Japan to Korea and now, maybe China? – for Digital Technology Consulting. Read on here.

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Happy 125th Birthday, David Sarnoff (David Who?)

Posted on 27 February 2016 by Stewart Wolpin

It is so frustrating that people even within the consumer electronics industry don’t know who David Sarnoff is. I took the opportunity of his 125th birthday (Feb. 27) to explore Sarnoff’s unparalleled impact on technology for a huge chunk of … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday, Thomas Edison (Nikola Tesla Fans Exempted)

Posted on 11 February 2016 by Stewart Wolpin

February 11 is Thomas Edison’s birthday, and in this year’s commemoration I report on the sudden surge in Edison vs. Nikola Tesla for re/code.

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The Top 12 Technologies the Year eBay Was Born

Posted on 13 November 2015 by Stewart Wolpin

eBay was born in 1995, and their editorial folks asked me to ruminate on the technologies that were prevalent that year. You can read the interesting state of 1995 technology here.

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The History of DVD

Posted on 24 September 2015 by Stewart Wolpin

Back in 2007, just as Blu-ray was being introduced, I authored a history of DVD for the now-defunct magazine DVD Etc. Since the magazine is gone, I thought I’d rescue this history from publishing obscurity. So here is the story … Continue reading →

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