Philo Farnsworth: The Most Famous Man You Never Heard Of…

The Guys Who Invented The Video Tape Recorder

SMPTE Slides Come Alive!

One of my first jobs in TV involved operating a Telecine. A telecine transfers film and slides to analogue video for TV broadcast. For years I worked with the slides to check colour although admittedly I never really understood what to do with the slides. I just eyeballed the colour controls until it looked right. Today I came across this film. Yikes it’s like the slides came alive.

The Computer that Controlled the Saturn V

The Birth Of BASIC Computer Language

Professors John Kemeny and Tom Kurtz along with a band of Dartmouth undergraduates invent the Basic computer language.

The 1969 Apollo Guidance Computer

Half a century ago, on 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong was in the final stages of the lunar descent, just a few thousand feet above the surface, when suddenly his on-board computer indicated a critical alarm. For three nail-biting seconds it looked as if the mission would have to be aborted. However, Armstrong was given a “go” to continue, and after several more alarms the Eagle touched down safely on the Moon. Robert Wills introduces the amazing hardware and software that made up the Apollo Guidance Computer, walks you through the landing procedure step-by-step, and talks about the pioneering design principles that were used to make the landing software robust against any failure. He also explains the problems that occurred during the Apollo 11 landing, and shows you how the Apollo Guidance Computer played its part in saving the mission.

Recording, ’50s Style

Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1. Demonstration Record 1962

Mars In 4K

A History of TV by Mark Schubin