Category Archives: Tech History

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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Do You Believe in Miracles? The History of HDTV

Posted on 20 September 2015 by Stewart Wolpin

We are currently going through a second next-gen TV (r)evolution, from HDTV (2K) to UHD (4K) – and maybe even 8K. Much about this softer transition reminds me of the messy transition to HDTV back in the mid-1990s. In 2003, … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday, Thomas Edison!

Posted on 11 February 2015 by Stewart Wolpin

A couple of years ago, I wrote a birthday tribute to Thomas Edison for the late and semi-lamented Tech Goes Strong. Since that site is kaput, I present that Edison tribute here, along with some photos of my 2004 visit … Continue reading →

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George Johann Carl Antheil

Posted on 10 November 2014 by Stewart Wolpin

(1900-1959) Co-inventor, frequency hopping/spread spectrum In a ridiculous case of truth being way stranger than fiction, the origins of spread spectrum – the technology that makes it possible for millions of people to securely connect to wireless communications for voice … Continue reading →

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Hedy Lamarr

Posted on 10 November 2014 by Stewart Wolpin

Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000) Co-inventor, frequency hopping/spread spectrum How one of the world’s most beautiful women and most popular film stars of Hollywood’s golden era came to co-invent the most important wireless communications security technology – frequency hopping – is a … Continue reading →

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