What Happened in October Wreckage of the Metrolink commuter train Oct 01 2008 Text Messaging Possible Factor in Fatal Train Wreck Oct 02 1955 ENIAC Computer Retired Oct 03 1950 Transistor Inventors Receive Patent Oct 04 1903 Computer Pioneer Atanasoff Born Oct 05 1996 Supercomputer Pioneer Cray Dies in Auto Accident Oct 06 1983 Lotus Development Goes Public Oct 07 1988 The Computer Bowl Begins Oct 08 1996 Special US Stamp Commemorates ENIAC Oct 09 1947 BINAC Computer to Be Built Oct 10 1995 A Day in the Life of Cyberspace Published Oct 11 1887 Comptometer Inventor Receives Patent Oct 12 1988 Steve Jobs Introduces NeXT Computer Oct 13 1915 Computer Pioneer Burks Born The BCS Crest Oct 14 1957 British Computer Society is Founded Oct 15 1956 First FORTRAN Reference Manual is Released Oct 16 1959 CDC Introduces 1604 Computer Oct 17 1994 IBM Cuts Back Personal Computer Line Cover of last Newsweek print issue Oct 18 2012 Newsweek Announces Transition to Online-Only Format Oct 19 1973 Atanasoff Judged Official "Inventor" of Computer Oct 19 1948 NBS Authorizes SWAC Project Oct 20 2004 The First Ubuntu Linux Distribution Released An Wang Oct 21 1949 An Wang Filed a Patent for a Magnetic Ferrite Core Memory Stanley Mazor Oct 22 1941 Microprocessor Co-Inventor Mazor Born Original iPod prototype Oct 23 2001 Apple Computer Releases the iPod Oct 24 1922 Werner Buchholz Born Oct 25 2001 Microsoft Releases Windows XP Harrison Dit Morse, one of the programmers, looks at a script being printed on the TX-0 Oct 26 1961 Saga, a Silent Shoot-Em-Up Western Playlet, Made on the TX-0 Computer with Help from Douglas Ross Map of the ARPANET in March 1972 Oct 27 1980 The First Major Network Crash, the Four-Hour Collapse of the ARPANET, Occurred Bill Gates' original BASIC 1.0 tape Oct 28 1955 Bill Gates, Co-Founder and CEO of Microsoft Corporation Born Marcian (Ted) Hoff Oct 28 1937 Microprocessor Co-Inventor Hoff Born Oct 29 1878 Willgodt T. Odhner Was Granted a Patent for a Calculating Machine That Performed Multiplications by Repeated Additions Oct 30 2000 Last Multics System Shut Down The Whirlwind team, R. Weiser, R. Everett, and J. Forrester, at Jay Forrester's retirement party in June 1956. (The MITRE Corporation Archives) Oct 31 1945 The First Conference on Digital Computer Technique Was Held at MIT