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This Week in History of Computing

First Robot Viking I Lands on Mars
First Robot Viking I Lands on Mars

On July 20, 1997 Viking I landed on Mars to explore the surface of the Red Planet. The first robot on Mars, Viking I and its successor gave scientists their first information about the planet’s surface, including information they hoped would allow people to walk there. Although the Viking probes found no evidence of life on Mars, they returned detailed pictures of the planet and information about the soil’s composition.
Source: https://www.computerhistory.org/tdih/july/20/#first-robot-viking-i-lands-on-mars

Apple Announces OS 8
Apple Announces OS 8

On July 22th, 1997 Apple Computer Inc. announces a new operating system for its Macintosh computers, OS 8. An important move at a time when Apple’s upper-level management and profits were experiencing significant problems, the new operating system offered new features such as easier integration of the Internet and a three-dimensional look. Immediately after the announcement, the software earned positive reviews from users.
Source: https://www.computerhistory.org/tdih/july/22/#apple-announces-os-8

Daniel D. McCracken
Daniel D. McCracken

On July 23th 1930 was born Daniel D. McCracken. He was an american computer scientist. He was a Professor of Computer Sciences at the City College of New York, and the author of over two dozen textbooks on computer programming, with an emphasis on guides to programming in widely used languages such as Fortran and COBOL. His “A Guide to Fortran Programming” (Wiley, 1961) and its successors were the standard textbooks on that language for over two decades. His books have been translated into fourteen languages.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_D._McCracken

Randolph Frederick Pausch
Randolph Frederick Pausch

On July 25th 1960 was born Randolph Frederick Pausch. He was an American educator, a professor of computer science, human–computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1998, he was a co-founder, along with Don Marinelli, of CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), and he began the Building Virtual Worlds course at CMU, which he taught for 10 years. He consulted with Google on user interface design and also consulted with PARC, Imagineering, and Media Metrix. Pausch is also the founder of the Alice software project. He received the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award and was a Lilly Foundation Teaching Fellow.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Pausch

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