Computing & Technology
Explore VisiCalc, early Linux, Android, Unix, personal computers and the web through stories about the engineering choices that made technology useful.
Change Your Password Day
A new password is not automatically a better one. Check which changes actually strengthen your accounts instead of rotating passwords on a schedule.
Steve Wozniak at 76: The Engineer Who Made Computers Personal
On Steve Wozniak’s 76th birthday, discover how elegant engineering turned a hobbyist board into a computer people could truly make their own.
Failures Day 2026: How Nerds Learn from Mistakes
Failures do not teach by themselves. Discover how debugging, safety reporting and blameless postmortems turn mistakes into useful evidence.
Sergey Brin at 53: How PageRank Mapped Web Trust
PageRank did more than count links. On Sergey Brin’s 53rd birthday, discover how a research prototype turned the web’s relationships into a ranking signal.
eBay at 31: How a Broken Laser Pointer Built Trust
eBay began with a broken laser pointer and a risky deal between strangers. Discover how public feedback turned that odd first sale into a marketplace design pattern.
Google at 28: Why It Has Two Birthdays
Google was incorporated on September 4, 1998, yet it celebrates on September 27. Follow the evidence behind the search company’s two birthdays.
Dennis Ritchie at 85: The Code That Could Travel
A new computer should not mean rewriting every useful program. On Ritchie’s 85th birth anniversary, explore the engineering behind software that could travel.
Linux at 35: Inside the First Source Release
The first Linux release offered something more demanding than an installer: a design to inspect. Read the evidence behind its hardware limits, MINIX dependency and later licensing change.
Read an Ebook Day 2026: A Book That Fits Its Reader
A bigger font can move every page break without changing a single sentence. Discover the design decision that makes an e-book adapt to you.
Android at 18: Three Dates That Built a Platform
The SDK, the source code and the first phone did not arrive together. Android’s staggered beginning reveals what it takes to open a platform.
W3C at 32: One Web, Many Screens
A web page can change its shape without losing its meaning. The W3C’s anniversary is a chance to discover the shared rules behind that everyday freedom.
Spreadsheet Day 2026: The Power of Changing One Number
A spreadsheet’s most powerful feature is easy to overlook: change an assumption and watch its consequences. VisiCalc made that everyday experiment personal.
Ubuntu at 22: The First Release as an Invitation
Warty Warthog offered more than a new desktop. Its chosen defaults, support promise and shareable CD made the first step into Linux concrete.
Caps Lock Day 2026: The Keyboard’s Borrowed Voice
A keyboard switch changes letters; a reader supplies the voice. Explore how all caps acquired a tone, and where that familiar internet rule reaches its limits.
iPod at 25: The Journey from Computer to Pocket
The original iPod’s story is also the story of leaving the computer behind. Discover why the cable, the library and the player belonged to the same design problem.
National Checklists Day 2026: Check the State, Not the Box
A checked box records a claim. A good checklist makes that claim testable. Follow the idea from aviation to your next software release.

















