#historyoftechnology — Public Fediverse posts

We know the road we're on because we're standing on it.

But history is full of roads that disappeared long before anyone noticed they were gone.

Roads Not Taken asks what happens to knowledge, technologies and possibilities when humanity stops looking in a particular direction — and whether the greatest thing we've lost might simply be the knowledge that something else was possible.

A new long-form essay from RABAGAS.

Read Roads Not Taken - https://rabagas.ghost.io/roads-not-taken/

#Rabagasmagazine #LostKnowledge #History #HistoryOfTechnology #Technology #Humanity

Just released. Judging from its Table of Contents, it promises to be very interesting in mere historical and technical terms. My suspiction is that it runs the danger of being too much enciclopedic.

From Markup to Markdown: The Evolution of Technical Writing, Typesetting Tools and Frameworks

Jim Hall (Apress)

“From Markup to Markdown is a history of how writers have used computers to write, and a look ahead to see what the future looks like for technical writing. This book explores both “technology history” and “how it works” about how we write with computers, with code examples so readers can explore and fully understand how each writing tool and framework works behind the scenes.

Starting with an overview of the major milestones of writing with digital technologies since the 1960s, you will learn about RUNOFF and how this inspired roff on Unix (and the more familiar versions, nroff and troff). You will also explore word processing milestones like WordStar, and printing technologies like the phototypesetter and the dot matrix printer, before moving onto modern markup and writing systems like HTML, Markdown and DITA and how they play a role in how we write today.

From Markup to Markdown is ideal for writers, technical communication professionals, history of computing researchers as well as “retro-computing” enthusiasts.

You Will Learn to:

- Explore the history of technical writing in the age of the personal computer, from the 1960s to the present day
- Understand how the technologies and tools have evolved over time
- Learn how each tool works with simple and clear code samples and exercises, giving you an under-the-hood understanding of how each system works, from RUNOFF markup to modern Markdown

This Book is For:
- Technical writers, technology history enthusiasts and researchers.”

https://books.google.pt/books?id=2XsAEgAAQBAJ

#TechnicalWriting #Markup #HTML #Markdown #DITA #TechnicalCommunication #HistoryOfTechnology

Associated Press: As AI grips world, the thrill of collecting vintage computers is growing. “While Silicon Valley has since moved on to shaping the future of artificial intelligence, these hardware enthusiasts are intent on saving the Atari, Commodore and IBM machines that are ancestors to today’s laptops, wearable devices and smart phones. Where others see junk, people like [Josh] Dersch see […]

University of Exeter: Historic discovery finds 19th-century estate agent used peepshow technology to create proto version of Rightmove. “A 19th-century estate agent created the world’s first version of Rightmove more than 160 years before the birth of online property previews. Brooks and Green, a high-end estate agent based in Old Bond Street, London, used an early form of immersive visual […]

Yet another nice Asianometry video, this time history of DSL.

Of course his (loosely paraphrased) comment on "DSL not widely used anymore but it'll remain in the backwaters for a long time" is peak hilarious to any German.

Worth your time. Got some fun comments too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phoeSk-qY8s

#Asianometry #retrocomputing #historyoftechnology #xDSL #adsl #neuland #isdn #telecommunicationsindustry

Anyone here an expert on the claims made to advertise technologies?
I'd love to learn about the proportion of claims made about technology as time-saving claims vs enjoyable in other ways

There's a lot about whether #labor-saving #tech actually yields leisure, but I am esp interested in promises made

#HistoryOfTechnology #Advertising #LaborSaving

I am having fun with preparing my intro lecture for the our new #PSTS course on #Enviroment and #Computation . Any readings and projects that are not to be missed? #PhilosophyOfTechnology #HistoryOfTechnology #HigherEd

Mountain View Voice: Mountain View’s Computer History Museum receives $14 million donation. “The Computer History Museum in Mountain View has received two gifts totaling roughly $14 million to renovate its computer graphics gallery and preserve the collection of Autodesk co-founder John W. Walker.”

Prepare for a deep dive into Networking 101, where we learn the groundbreaking revelation that data travels in packets 🤯 and sometimes even through wires! 🌐 Get ready for a history lesson that starts before computers existed—because who knew, cave paintings were the OG tweets? 🙄
https://fazamhd.com/mental-models/networking/ #Networking101 #DataPackets #HistoryOfTechnology #CavePaintings #OGtweets #HackerNews #ngated

Obsolete Sony: The Walkman Archive Is Now Open. “The archive currently includes 1,066 Sony portable-audio model entries: 441 cassette Walkman models, 171 Discman / CD Walkman models, 106 MiniDisc / MD Walkman models, and 348 Network Walkman models.”

This Is Not the First Time People Have Been Afraid of a New Tool

By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News

Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — June 20, 2026

A lot of people act like AI is something completely new and dangerous. It feels that way, but we have been here before.

When computers first showed up, people said they would destroy jobs. When the internet spread, people said it would ruin how we think. Even simple tools like calculators and spellcheck were once called cheating.

Now they are normal.

AI is following the same path. At first, people are unsure. Then they argue about it. Then they slowly start using it. After that, it becomes part of everyday life.

The pattern repeats.

That does not mean AI has no risks. Every tool has risks. But refusing to learn it does not protect you. It just leaves you behind while others figure it out.

The smarter move is to learn how to use it well.

You do not have to trust it completely. You do not have to love it. But you should understand it, because it is not going away.

This is not the end of something.

It is the start of a new normal.

If this work helps you understand what’s happening, help me keep it going: https://www.patreon.com/cw/WPSNews
For more from Cliff Potts, see https://cliffpotts.org

📯#DigitalHistoryOFK: Zachary Loeb (Purdue University) explores “What’s the worst that could have happened? Y2K and the Risks of the Information Age.” This talk asks how Y2K was treated as a crisis aiming to help us better understand and navigate technological risks today.

📅Wed ,27 May 2026, 4–6 pm (CET), online
ℹ️https://dhistory.hypotheses.org/13480

#4memory #DigitalHistory #HistoryOfTechnology #CriticalInfrastructure #STS
@historikerinnen @histodons @digitalhumanities

✍️ The call for papers for the 8th International Workshop on the History of Speech Communication Research, which is being co-organised by the #PHONLAB team, closes on 15 May.

This year’s edition places particular emphasis on #ExperimentalPhonetics as an emerging field at the intersection of the humanities, medical sciences and engineering, which underwent rapid development throughout the 20th century.

ℹ️ https://ihc.fcsh.unl.pt/en/events/8th-iwhscr/

#IWHSCR #Histodons #CFP #Communication #Speech #HistoryOfTechnology

✍️ The 8th International Workshop on the History of Speech Communication Research is being co-organised by the #PHONLAB team, with a special emphasis on #ExperimentalPhonetics as an emerging field throughout the 20th century.

📅 The deadline for manuscript submissions is 15 May

ℹ️ https://ihc.fcsh.unl.pt/en/events/8th-iwhscr/

#IWHSCR #Histodons #CFP #Communication #Speech #HistoryOfTechnology

Binary code powers modern technology, yet its conceptual roots may trace back to the ancient I Ching. Did early philosophy unknowingly shape computing, or are we connecting patterns across time?
#BinaryCode #HistoryOfTechnology #IChing #Mathematics #AncientKnowledge
Read more:https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-general/creation-binary-code-inspired-5000-year-old-text-001468

Absolutely genius : a brilliant experiment recreating the original experiment of Bell for the first telephone communication, based directly on Bell’s 1876 writings and using period-appropriate tools. It’s fascinating to see how the experimentation follows Bell’s own notes and reveals the progression of the scientist’s thinking step by step in his notebooks. Bravo to the @connections for this formidable initiative. Watch the video — super cool! 👌 Can’t wait for part 2 with the skin-tension system in the second device presented! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6irxbKpKzo #HistoryOfTechnology #HistoryOfScience
#ExperimentalScience #RetroTech #TechHeritage #SciComm #Engineering

I wasn't all that impressed by last year's exhibition on the history of #radio at the Weston Library #Oxford, but now I stumbled across the book and quite liked it: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/01/on-origins-of-radio.html #bookreview #historyOfTechnology #media #sociology

🎉Gleich geht es los!

Seit April 2021 organisiert die Gesellschaft für Technikgeschichte während der Semesterzeiten (Mitte April bis Mitte Juli und Mitte Oktober bis Mitte Februar) alle zwei Wochen freitags von 12-13 Uhr ein Online-Kolloquium. Darin werden Forschungs- und Publikationsprojekte, Ausstellungen, Studiengänge, Lehrkonzepte oder Tagungspläne zur Technikgeschichte im deutschsprachigen Raum vorgestellt und gemeinsam diskutiert. Die Präsentationen können problemorientiert sein und können auch populärwissenschaftliche Anliegen behandeln.

Im Vordergrund steht der Werkstatt-Charakter: Auf einen kurzen Input (20 Min.) folgt eine offene Diskussion unter den Zuhörenden und darauf eine dialogische Reaktion der vortragenden Person.

👉INFOS zur Anmeldung gibt es auf www.geschichte.kit.edu

#ukraine #historyoftechnology

🗣 #Throwback to the #EuropeanResearchersNight: 'Sound, Science, and Memory: Armando de Lacerda and the Coimbra Experimental Phonetics Laboratory'.

Ângela Salgueiro and Quintino Lopes brought the #PHONLAB project to the streets of Évora, raising awareness about #ExperimentalPhonetics and its history.

#Histodons #HistoryOfScience #HistoryOfTechnology #Évora #NEI2025 #SciComm #HistoryInThePublicSphere #ArmandoDeLacerda #FonéticaExperimental #HistóriaNaEsferaPública

🆕 Quintino Lopes was invited by the European Research Council to act as an expert reviewer in the ERC Consolidator Grants 2025 competition. For the IHC researcher, ‘this invitation is a manifestation of the international projection and recognition of the research produced by the IHC.’

👉 https://ihc.fcsh.unl.pt/en/quintino-lopes-erc-reviewer/

#Histodons #History #ERC #ERC_funded #AcademicLife #HistoryOfScience #HistoryOfTechnology #HistóriaDaCiência #HistóriaDaTecnologia #VidaAcadémica #História #EuropeanResearchCouncil