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This Week in Tech History: Apple’s First Computer & Oldest Human Voice Recording

On this edition of "This Week in Tech History", Chris reminds us of the first computer Apple ever released. He also takes us back to the oldest known recording of a human voice.

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This week in 1860 – the oldest known recording of an audible human voice was made on the phonautograph machine by its French Inventor.

1892 – Voters in Lockport, NY became the first in the U.S. to use voting machines.

kinetoscope
Kinetoscope

1894 – The kinetoscope was demonstrated by its inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, in New York City. A viewer that held 50 feet of film — about 13 seconds worth — showed images of Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill.

1956 – Ampex Corporation of Redwood City, CA demonstrated the first commercial magneticAmpex_VR1000A_(serial_329) tape recorder for sound and picture. The videotape machine had a price tag of $75,000. These early Ampex units were too large to fit in a small room.

Apple_I_Computer1976 – Apple’s first product ever, The Apple I computer, is created by co-founder Steve Wozniak.

And this week in 1984 – Challenger astronauts made the first satellite repair in orbit by returning a healthy Solar Max satellite to space. The orbiting sun watcher had been circling the Earth for three years with all circuits dead before repairs were made.

Written by Chris Graveline

Chris has covered consumer technology for over 20 years. He is the host of This Week in Tech History as well as a regular co-host on "Into Tomorrow with Dave Graveline" and our Technical Director.

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