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Western Electric 500: Monopoly phone
For years, even decades, virtually everyone in the United States had the same telephone. You didn't even think about it — it was just The Phone. Well…
11 hours ago
Amazon Echo: Always listening
For years, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos knew the computer he wanted to build. He wanted it to be cheap, accessible everywhere, and controlled entirely by vo…
1 week ago
Macintosh: All in one
The Macintosh wasn't a hit, at least not in its first incarnation. But it was still unquestionably one of the most iconic computers ever made — and i…
2 weeks ago
Vocoder: Magic mic
The vocoder was never meant to change the music business – it wasn’t meant for music at all. But the research that started a century ago as a way to …
3 weeks ago
Clubhouse: Pivot to audio
If you were launching a new app in 2020, it was either the worst timing (see: Quibi) or the best timing (see: Clubhouse). Clubhouse was an initially …
4 weeks ago
Furby: Talk Furbish to me
In 1997, David Hampton and Caleb Chung took one look at a Tamagotchi and decided they could bring the virtual pet craze into the real world. Their ro…
1 month ago
Version History season 3 is coming soon
We're working on season 3 of Version History, and we want to hear from you! Our planned episodes are:
1984 Macintosh Amazon Echo Furby The v…2 months, 3 weeks ago
TiVo: Press pause
Best remote ever? Best remote ever. When TiVo first debuted, it felt like magic: You could pause live TV! You could rewind it! The concept immediatel…
3 months ago
Flappy Bird: Game over
Flappy Bird was a mean game. It was extremely simple and yet punishingly difficult; if you could get 10 points, that meant you were pretty good! For …
3 months, 1 week ago
Nintendo Power Glove: I love it. It's so bad.
In the mid-1980s, Nintendo pretty much ruled the video game industry. And somehow, a few toymakers and inventors convinced Nintendo that the controll…
3 months, 2 weeks ago