From the Wheel to the Web
Who even knew that National Technology Day is a thing? But do think about it – where would we be without technology?
Can You Guess What the #1 Technology Invention Is?
You probably take the #1 technological invention for granted and may not even think of it as “technology.” But without it, there would be no carts or wagons, no ploughs, no bikes, no cars. The wheel wasn’t invented until around 3500 BC but it changed the world. The wheel enabled mobility. It facilitated agriculture and commerce by moving goods to market and allowed people to move greater distances. Now, wheels are vital to our way of life, found in everything from clocks to vehicles to turbines.
Email Was Invented Before The Web
Fast forward 5,467 years to 1961. Trying to improve an internal process at work, a computer scientist named Ray Tomlinson added his own computer to code to an existing code, enabling computers that were not on the same system to communicate with each other. He used the ubiquitous @ symbol to distinguish the different computers and thus, email as we know it today came into existence.
The World Wide Web
Almost three decades went by and again, sharing complicated data was a problem. Tim Berners-Lee working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) merged the evolving technologies of computers, data networks and hypertext into a powerful, easy to use global information system. Using a computer created by Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, he created the building blocks we’re familiar with today, even if we don’t know what the acronyms stand for: HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) for creating Web pages; HTTP, (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) a set of rules for transferring data across the Web, and URL (Uniform Resource Locators), or Web addresses. In effect, this created the world wide web.
The first-ever World Wide Web site went online August 6 1991. It was a single page that contained information about the CERN’s World Wide Web Project. On it, people could find out how to create web pages and learn about hypertext, the coded words or phrases that link to content. By 1992, there were ten sites and when the web became public domain in 1994, there were 3000. When Google debuted in 1996, there were 2 million. Today, there are approximately 1.4 billion websites and 175 are created every minute!
Appreciate How Technology Has Changed Our Lives
National Technology Day, the 6th of January, was made commemorative by the Vegas-based tech company AXEL in 2016. It is intended to mark the achievements and inventions that have shaped and inspired the way we live. From the wheel to the latest smartphones and apps, National Technology Day recognizes tech’s impact on the world and how it will change all of our lives in the future.
Don’t Forget About End-of-Life
Given how important of a role tech plays in our lives, it’s also important to keep your most essential devices protected both while you’re using them and at their end-of-life. Most of us have mastered the basics of protecting our devices with sophisticated passwords, changing them periodically and two-factor identification. But how diligent are we with ensuring that data can’t be accessed when we get rid of the device? While there are some DIY methods that may be acceptable for personal devices, they are not appropriate for organizations and businesses. Data destruction must be complete and documented to meet legal and regulatory requirements. Moreover, corporate officers and directors may be held liable if due diligence is deemed insufficient in the event of a breach. For these reasons, not to mention peace of mind, organizations need a partner that can eradicate all of the data and provide written certification.
As you take a moment to appreciate everything technology has brought to our lives, think about the security requirements you will need when you retire your technological devices.
Happy National Technology Day!
