Happy 40th Birthday, PC and Mouse
On Dec. 9, 1968, Douglas Engelbart and 17 other researchers from the Stanford Research Institute demonstrated the first personal computer and mouse to 1,000 amused spectators. "The invention featured rudimentary windows and hyperlinks that allowed jumping from one document to another, as well as the ability to edit text and add graphics on a video monitor," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. It gave the audience a glimpse into what would become the Internet.

Englelbart and team had been working on the online system dubbed NLS since 1962 and presented the finished product at the Fall Join Computer Conference. (You can watch the original demo HERE.)

At a time when computers could fill an entire room, the personal computer was "just mind-blowing," comments Bob Taylor, who funded Englebart's work whilst a research manager at NASA. (Image right, via Gearlog)

The day was also the debut of the mouse, hypertext, windows, network collaboration and video/audio conferencing, according to L'Atelier. At that time, the mouse, built by Bill English, was a big wooden box with a red clicker button on top and two wheels underneath that controlled electric current that moved the cursor.

For a photo history of the mouse, including the footmouse, visit Gearlog.

Cat-like Computer
The computer has come a long way from being an oversized calculator with punch cards to the supercomputers we have today. And International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) is taking it one step further by giving it a brain.

With $4.9 million funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), IBM will lead a team of neurobiologists, computer and material scientists and psychologists to create electronic circuits that mimic brains, BBC News reports. The technology could be used for large-scale data analysis, decision making or even image recognition. (Image right, via Getty Images)

"There are no computers that can even remotely approach the remarkable feats the mind performs," says Dharmendra Modha, the IBM scientist who is heading the collaboration. "The key idea of cognitive computing is to engineer mind-like intelligent machines by reverse engineering the structure, dynamics, function and behavior of the brain."

The long-term goal is to create a system that has the complexity of a cat's brain.

Worst Tech Predictions
Sometimes even the brightest people can be spectacularly wrong about their forecasts. Gadget Web site T3 has put together 10 of the worst tech predictions ever, including such gems as:

• Amstrad mogul Sir Alan Sugar predicting in 2005 that the iPod will be a complete flop;
• Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC), in 1977 saying that no one will want a home computer;
• Movie magnate Darryl Zanuck thought in 1946 that TV wouldn't last;
• Bill Gates allegedly saying nobody would need more than 640KB of memory for a personal computer; and
• Chief engineer at the Post Office, Sir William Preece, back in 1878 said the United Kingdom would not need phones. To quote: "the Americans have need of the telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys."

Fond Farewell to Polaroid
After 60 years of thrilling photo enthusiasts by having their prints processed in 60 seconds, Polaroid Corp. will end its production of instant film this month. Earlier this year, Polaroid announced it would cease production of all instant film, though the iconic white-bordered film should be available into 2009.

Edwin Land developed the process and the Land Camera and sold the first set in 1948. By 1950, Polaroid had sold more than one million packs of instant film. (Image right, via Wired)

Today, instant film is no longer flying off the shelves. According to Associated Content, the manufacturer posted the following on its Web site: "Due to market conditions, Polaroid has discontinued almost all of its instant [camera] production."

Although Polaroid now produces digital cameras, digital photo printers and portable DVD players, none of them quite capture the affection people have for its instant film. Many people are so attached to the film that a Web site was formed to Save Polaroid.

While it may seem like a good idea to horde as much Polaroid instant film as possible before supply runs out, remember that Polaroid instant film has a limited shelf life. According to Polaroid, the last specialty-film products will expire in May 2009, and the last photos using the regular 600 film should be snapped in August 2009.

Cooling with Fire
Many vaccines, like the ones with live viruses such as polio and measles, need to be kept at temperatures of 35℉ to 46℉ to be effective. Unfortunately for many developing countries, electricity supply can be unreliable or people do not have access to refrigeration.

Working with a thermodynamics team from Stanford, Adam Grosser, a tech venture capitalist, has found a way to refrigerate vaccines by using heat instead. Grosser and his team built a thermos-sized device that contains a refrigerant the kicks in when the device is heated and then left to cool. Acting like a super cold pack, it turns any container into a 24-hour fridge. The device costs about $50.

Also harnessing the power of heat, UNEP OzonAction, UNICEF, the WHO, the Danish Technological Institute, Greenpeace, the German governmental group GTZ Proklima, the international nonprofit organization PATH, and private sector companies Vestfrost and Danfoss have collaborated to develop a solar-powered refrigerator called SolarChill as an alternative to traditional refrigerators. Having been successfully field-tested in Cuba, Senegal and Indonesia, the SolarChill Vaccine Cooler Project is now entering the deployment phase.

Good News in the Midst of Record-Breaking Unemployment
While U.S. jobless claims last week hit a 26-year high, Joshua Persky, the guy who made headlines back in June when he appeared on Park Avenue wearing a sandwich board proclaiming "M.I.T. grad for hire," has gotten a job.

Have a good weekend!