On this day in 1983, the ARPANET network officially switched to using the TCP/IP protocol, effectively creating the Internet.
"January 1, 1983 is considered the official birthday of the Internet. Prior to this, the various computer networks did not have a standard way to communicate with each other."
Did you know? "1. Respect the privacy of others, and 2. Think before you type." first appred in June 1993[1] sudo source code. This is called sudo lecture. Later in 2004, added "With great power comes great responsibility" - a quote from Stan Lee / Uncle Ben quote[2].
A set of footprints in Kenya reveals that our ancestor Homo erectus lived alongside a now-extinct bipedal hominin 1.5 million years ago. "I would expect the two species would have been aware of each other's existence on that landscape, and they probably would have recognized each other as being 'different, '" Kevin Hatala, a paleoanthropologist at Chatham University, told @LiveScience in an email. Here’s more on the discovery: https://flip.it/GVs2ei #Science#Humans#History#Kenya#Anthropology
If recent events have you feeling down and defeated, @thetyee wants you to know that it’s still worth fighting back. Alvin Finkel, author of “Humans,” writes about “the persistent spark of resistance throughout recorded history, in service of visions of more humane, egalitarian societies.”
When will someone make a biopic about Maria Tallchief, America’s first prima ballerina? A member of the Osage nation, she was key to the success of the New York City Ballet, danced with Ballet Russe (which tried to make her change her last name to Tolchieva) and became the highest paid ballerina in the world. Tallchief once said a ballerina “takes steps given to her and makes them her own.” Learn more about her in this story from @TheConversationUS
The launch of Windows 98 was a major upgrade for Windows users, solving some of the problems of Windows 95. This program previewed the new functionality of Windows 98 and also featured Win98 add-ons including Microsoft's Plus! 98, the Windows utility Tweak UI, and Gizmos 98 from Play. Guests include Linus Torvalds, developer of Linux, Mike Elgan of Windows magazine, and Kiki Stockhammer of Play. Originally broadcast in 1998. https://archive.org/details/Windows9_2
Slackware is a Linux distribution created by Patrick Volkerding in 1993. It is the oldest distro still in existence. However, someone was dissatisfied with Slackware and created another distro a month later, in August 1993. This was Debian, the second oldest distro, founded by Ian Murdock. Both of these distros are still maintained, and Debian is often known as the "mother distro" because it has spawned many more distributions. #Linux#OpenSource#history
Linux Pro Desktop from the mid-90s. See the Linux kernel version! It had everything installed. The charter of WGS #Linux Pro was different from all other distributions in the late 90s. They were actively pursuing penetration into the commercial marketplace for Linux. Everything they did was aimed at increasing the size of the Linux community and helping Linux to become the one true operating system, not just an operating system. Sadly, it failed its mission, but they did try #opensource#history
You never know where a town might pop up — even if it was established, and later abandoned, during the Bronze Age. The remains of a town being dubbed al-Natah was recently discovered in an oasis in modern-day Saudi Arabia. al-Natah was built around 2,400 BC and home to about 500 residents. It lasted 1,000 years, but no one knows why it was abandoned. There’s more from @CBSNews: https://flip.it/y9KClc #Science#BronzeAge#History#SaudiArabia#Archeology
“The National Archives museum, under Biden-appointed U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan, has been working to reshape its narrative of American history in order to make white conservatives more comfortable … The museum has removed references to Martin Luther King Jr., Japanese internment, Native Americans, union organizers, and birth control … A photo of King was replaced with one of Richard Nixon meeting Elvis Presley.”
Museum specimens have been collected over many years — sometimes centuries — and those jars of frogs, lizards and most often, tissue samples, are used now as much as ever. “Museums provide scientists with ready access to several kinds of biological materials such as preserved specimens that can be used for molecular analysis of tissues, as well as digital images for anatomical studies, which can all be used to understand and document biodiversity, for taxonomic research, and even understanding the impact of climate change on various species,” writes Don Lyman for @thexylom. https://www.thexylom.com/post/perspective-the-legacy-of-specimen-collections-in-modern-museums
Archaeologists discover 12 skeletons at a buried tomb in Petra, Jordan.
From @npr: "The remains were found beneath the Treasury, also called Al Khazneh, in the ancient city of Petra — famous as a landmark seen in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."
Archaeologists say they’ve solved the mystery of a lead coffin discovered beneath Notre-Dame.
From @Smithsonianmag: "When excavations at Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral unearthed a pair of lead coffins hidden beneath the church’s nave in early 2022, archaeologists immediately recognized the sarcophagi’s significance. Lead, a metal that keeps out moisture and prevents decomposition, has long been the chosen coffin material of the elite."
Here is a detail from a traditional, leaded light window for #FensterFreitag. I particularly like the way the sky and trees are reflected in kaleidoscope fashion by the diamond-shaped 'quarries', and the fact that each panel contains a split (presumably repaired) diamond. I've no idea how old this window is, but the building was dated 1420, and this was a dominant style of window making for much of the last 1,000 years.