E-mail...the new scope.

Could you live your life without your email? Email is much older than ARPANet or the Internet. It was never invented, but it evolved from very simple beginnings.Early email was just a small progress on what we know these days as a file directory. It just put a message in another user's directory in a spot where they could see it when they logged in. One can think of it just like leaving a note on someone's desk. Perhaps the first email system of this type was MAILBOX, used at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1965. Additionally, an early program to send messages on the same computer was called SNDMSG.Most of the mainframe computers of this era might have had up to one hundred users. Often they used what are called "dumb terminals" to access the mainframe from their work desks. Dumb terminals just connect to the mainframe. They had no storage or memory of their own; they did all their work on the remote mainframe computer.Before internetworking began, as a result, email could only be used to send messages to various users of the similar computer. Shortly after, computers started to “talk” to each other over networks. Nonetheless, the problem became a little more complex .We needed to be able to put a message in an envelope and address it just like we would for a regular letter. Furthermore, to indicate to whom letters should go to, they used electronic posties understood just like the postal system. We needed a way to get a specific address.In 1972, Tomlinson was recognized with invention of the email. Similar to many of the Internet inventors, Tomlinson worked for Bolt Beranek and Newman as an ARPANET contractor. He selected the @ symbol from the computer keyboard to indicate sending messages from one computer to another. Electronic mail is a natural use of networked communication technology that developed along with the evolution of the Internet.

Fax Machines

Faxing by definition is taking a method of encoding data and sending thru a telephone line on one end and having a hard copy appear on the other end in a writing or drawing. The fax machine evolved from the creation of the telegraph. The fax machine was developed in 1843 by a Scottish mechanic named Alexander Bian. Alexander Bian received a patent for improving the production of timepieces, electric printing and the signal telegraph and eventually got to what is now known as a fax machine. The breakdown of how it work as such “devising an apparatus comprised of two pens connected to two pendulums, which in turn were joined to a wire that was able to reproduce writing on an electrically conductive surface.” Although his invention was a success it did not become popular among people till the 1980’s. In modern times, most businesses cannot function without a fax machine and it plays a vital role especially in fortune five hundred companies in relaying key information from one location to another, so what may have once been created and not so much needed became something that the business class of society cannot live without today.

How Microphones Evolved

A microphone is a device used for converting acoustic power into electrical power that has similar wave characteristics. Microphones took sound waves and transformed them into electrical voltages and than switched them back again into sound waves thru speakers.
The first person to “Coin” the phrase microphone was Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1827, he was a British scientist and inventor who paved the way for others to take his initial invention and push it forward to what we use in today’s age. In 1876 Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter. She saw the invention of the telephone and decided that she would find a way to improve it. Eventually a representative from the telephone company saw her invention and bought her patent for fifty thousand dollars. Another inventor, David Edward Hughes, invented the carbon microphone in 1878 and eventually it was developed in the 1920’s. His microphone is the model for what we now use today as carbon microphones. Eventually the ribbon microphone was invented in 1942 with the development of radio broadcasting and it was an essential tool for radio companies throughout the world.
As you can see the microphone itself helped with other inventions like the telephone, radio, and etc. to what is now used today throughout the world in assisting communication.

This is Brittney: Over!

Another archaic form of communication would be the walkie-talkie. This was originally used by the military to help communicate more effeciently without the hinderance of wires and chords. The walkie-talkie used 4, 45-volt dry cells or 12V Nickel-Cadmium batteries. Because of technologies growth, what was once thick clunky bars of soap is now a sophisticated piece of machinery. But as these inventions grew more popular, fast food restaurants began to see the use of having them and installed the system with their waitresses.
On some of the walkie-talkies used by children, some have a call button that allows you to send morse code to someone who is on the same frequency.

Petroglyph & Pictograph: Is that a 6 year olds drawing?

Petroglyphs and pictographs are also known as what is considered rock art. They were used as a form of communication, but nowadays it seems that they were more for stories. They were probably done to make sure that as time went on their stories and times would not be forgotten. The art of Petroglyphs is actually created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading. Most of the time its referred to as carving or engraving. Pictographs on the other hand is the actual painting of the rock. When one thinks of rock art, our minds most often drift to the painting and not the actual engraving.

Most believe that these markings were markings for their gods. They put a lot of belief into the healing power of these markings and sometimes were tattooed onto their bodies in symbolism of that healing.

Make sure we check out this video. It's actually very cool.

From Stone Tablets to Typewriters....

It is safe to say that everyone reading this takes advantage of the ability to print multiple copies in just a few minutes. Years ago, people were not so fortunate. At one point in time any type of written material was carved into stone. One can only image how time consuming it was to make a single copy, let alone multiple. With the invention of the pen and paper, things most of us never think twice about, duplications were made even easier. However, each was still written out by hand. Advancements after that consisted of the printing press and type writer. The printing press allowed for mass production of pamphlets, books, magazines and newspaper. It made communication much easier, and quicker. Information could be quickly shared and pass along, however it was on a larger scale. Most printing presses were used by businesses and companies. As the popularity of the printing press grew, the typewriter was invented. This allowed for individuals to type their own ideas and share them. However, not a single one of these methods left much room for error. A small mistake would lead the creator to starting over completely. There was no erase or backspace. Communication has been made much easier with each of these advancements. Information can be published and passed along in more convenient ways.

The video below is an old Jerry Lewis clip about typewriters, its rather amusing. Take a peek!

Semaphore Flags

Semaphore flags were a form of communication that was used mainly in Europe in the 18th century. The Term Semaphore comes from the Greek word meaning “sign bearing” and was also referred to as an “optical telegraph” at times. The system was used by a person holding two flags cut in half diagonally with the top part being red and the other half being yellow. Than these flags were held in a particular position and translated alphabetically to determine what message was being delivered. Surprisingly, the symbol which most people assume stands for peace (the circle with an upside down “Y” with a line going through it) is actually a semaphore symbol for nuclear disarmament. The two lines at four and eight (if looking at it as a clock) stand for the letter “N” and the vertical line cutting right down the middle stands for the letter “D” The use of Semaphore flags can be traced back to as long ago as 1684. It is believed to have been invented by an English scientist named Robert Hooke. He tried getting the Royal society to accept it in practical use but was unsuccessful; years later it did become a vital part of communication between ships and naval bases and eventually was used by railway sytems around the world. Till this day semaphore flags are used, it is even taught to children in boy scouts as a form of communication when out in the wilderness.

If you have a moment take a look at this link of the different positions and what each symbol represents http://www.anbg.gov.au/flags/semaphore.html

Radio: Tune in to find out more

The development of radio became possible with the harnessing of electromagnetic waves. James Clerk Maxwell and Heinrich Hertz, combined the mathematical theory of these waves and a devise used to generate and detect them to come up with a crude version of the radio. Hertz were used as a measurement to count cycles per second in transmission of electromagnetic waves. With all this new information, radios were soon able to transmit sound and amplify it. In 1906, radio telephony was just that with the work of Reginald Fessiden and Ernst F.W. Alexanderson. Then in 1913, Edwin H. Armstrong patented a circuit that made radio communication more practicable. These men helped pave the way for the first radio communication between ships and shore. In 1920, commercial broadcasting became popular. Music, ads, and radio programs quickly became a big hit. Soon the radio became a common household appliance. Much was transmitted that served more than an entertainment purpose. During war, the radio was a device that supplied information and developments for those at home. Much the same as now, the public learns and benefits greatly from radios.

Hieroglyphics

What comes to mind when you think of Ancient Egypt? The pyramids. The Sphinx. Mummies. What about hieroglyphics? ‘Hieroglyphic’ comes a Greek word which means sacred carvings. These carvings which were inscribed into stone and papyrus all across Egypt are another early form of communication. In 3200 BC, Egyptians began using a language called Old Egyptian. It is around the same time that they began using hieroglyphics. There are between 700 and 800 different symbols which represent words, ideas and phrases. They even had their own form of proper grammar! However, they did not use punctuation. They were written in perfect columns and rows. Interestingly, hieroglyphics can be read from left to right, as well as, right to left depending on which direction the symbols are facing. Not everyone was able to write in hieroglyphics. Only scribes were given that chance. It was time consuming to learn and the papyrus (paper from a papyrus plant) was expensive. Scribes often worked for the kings or pharaohs. They were responsible for recording important dates, events, and religious information. The job was passed from generation to generation, only the children of scribes could then become a scribe.

The link below is an overview of the alphabet in hieroglyphics. Take a look!

Cave Paintings- An Insight Into the Lives of our Ancestors

Cave paintings are recognized as one of the earliest forms of art communication. These pieces of art are painted on rocks or cave walls. Most knowledge about cave paintings is purely speculated. There is not enough evidence to prove anything for certain. Although there is not an exact age, they are believed to be prehistoric. Scientists are trying to find an accurate time period through a process call radiocarbon dating. However, this is proving difficult due to contamination. Most of the paintings include animals such as bison, deer, and horses. It is rare to see a human drawn. Scientists believe that these ancient people used some form of a stone lamp as a light source. And instead of paint, they used natural supplies like yellow ochre, hematite, manganese oxide and charcoal.

The most interesting part about cave painting is the insight it gives into the lives of our early ancestors. Some believe that they were not “advanced” enough to create any form of art. Not only did these unknown people create art, but they were able to tell a story through their pictures. If the estimates in age are correct, cave paintings disprove this theory.
http://www.crystalinks.com/petroglyphs.html

The Heliograph

The heliograph originates from the Greek word "Helios," meaning "sun." This wireless for of communication was based solely around the sun. A "solar telegraph," if you will, would send signals using flashes of sunlight reflected by a mirror. This was almost like a Morse code of the sky. The sender of the flashes would pivot a mirror, in and out of a direct beam of sunlight, then interrupting the beam with a shutter. Although it sounds more complicated than it seems, the heliograph was a simple, yet effective tool for optical communication. It was used mainly for military, survey and forest protection work. It is said that heliographs were standard issue in the British and Australian armies until the 1960s, and were used by the Pakistani army as late as 1975. Although it's use has almost vanished today, it certainly plays a big part in our technological timeline. This goes to show how much society has changed our form of communication through technological advancement.

McDonough's Mistake

James W. McDonough, from Chicago, Illinois, was one of the first inventors to de-throne Bell. McDonough was a manufacturer, who had a hobby of experimenting with electricity to create sound. He invented the Teleloge on April 10, 1876 and applied for a patent. McDonough was not as fortunate as some of the inventors. His patent had to be sent to Patent Post Office Hearing, which took eight years.

The major setback with McDonough's invention was not the actual receiver, but his transmitter. The transmitter was indentical to Reis. He also followed in Reis's foot steps by making the same mistakes and reffering to it as the circuit breaker. Both men had not been familiarized with the microphone mode.

It is very interesting when people have the same ideas, but one person gets a patent where the other gets nothing. Many of the invetors were facing the same problems.


"In the United States, in interference actions, the patent goes to the inventor who can prove priority of conception, not necessarily to the one who was first to file" (Evenson).


Works Cited: Evenson, Edward A. "The McDonoughTelephone Transmitter." Antique Telephone History Website. 14 June 2009 .

Eletrical Mastermind - Liquid Transmitter

Alexander Graham Bell was an electrical mastermind. He was always looking for a challenge even after many inventions. Another one of his famous inventions was the liquid transmitter. The working theory of Bell's Liquid transmitter is pretty straightforward. A wire that is connected to the bottom of the parchment diaphragm is supposed to slightly touch the water. The purpose was to create an electrical current with a very small amount of acid. The words would be spoken on the top of the diaphragm causing it to flex up and down. By doing that the attached wire has more or less contact with the water, therefore to transform the circuit resistance.The example below is a demonstration of that.

When "The Internet" and "E-mail" sounded High-Tech!

Please watch the Video at the link below:

http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/whatsnew/video

It is definitely amusing when taking a trip down memory lane. It's wild to remember the old green screens and that always melodic dial-up tone...

(Click the link below to listen)

http://www.phonezoo.com/ContentProfile.do?id=88200841&tsrc=taf

This Information Revolution was a dramatic change taking place in the last half of the 20th century. This uprising created jobs from the high technology and highly skilled professions to the technologically low-skill jobs. Beginning with the invention of the integrated circuit or computer chip, our lives have ultimately been revolutionized. These chips run our appliances, provide calculators, computers, and other electronic devices that control our world. Thus, the birth of the Internet had finally come. This information superhighway has permitted people to communicate using computers all around the globe.



E-mail has come a long way over the years and has surely made an impact on society. From the earliest stages of simple window boxes and unified fonts to the various options upon options that we have today, our world of technology has evolved immensely and made communication more accommodating and accessible.

Carrier Pigeons

During World War One, carrier pigeons were used to relay messages. Communication was very important during the war. These birds were used to report progress, request supplies, and even call for help. Carrier pigeons flew on their own while the message was placed in a small container attached to the bird’s leg. Each field commander had his own small group of pigeons that he relied on. Others flew aboard airplanes, while some even wore cameras to take pictures of the enemy.
At the beginning of the war, the American troops had 600 carrier pigeons. The most famous bird was named Cher Ami. He flew multiple missions, while his most important took place on October 4, 1918. Major Whittlesey and his men were trapped on the side of a hill. They were completely surrounded by the enemy. Many of the men were killed the first day, almost 300 total. He sent out all of his birds to express his dire need of help. After all the other birds were killed, Whittlesey sent up his last hope, Cher Ami, with a note containing his location and need. He watched as the Germans fired relentlessly at Cher. Miraculously, he seemed to dodge the bullets and continued to fly 25 miles to his destination. Upon delivering his last message, he sadly died as a result of his many war wounds. He saved the mens lives and was named a hero of World War One.
Carrier pigeons were the most reliable form of contact among troops during the war. Telegraphs, the only other form of communicating, would not function in these settings. They could not run wires across the battle front. As time progressed, and technology advanced the armed forces have found better means of communication, and the use of carrier pigeons has since faded out.

This commericial aired during the 2008 SuperBowl. Check it Out

Reis Receiver

Before Alexander Graham Bell many other inventors had comparable ideas. The image above is an instrument that was created by Phillip Reis. He was a physics instructor from Friedrichsdorf, Germany. When this receiver was invented everyone had the idea that it was another type of electro-magnetic receiver, but that was not the case. The receiver functioned by a hidden experiment was called magnetostriction. This reaction happens when an iron rod becomes longer or shorter when under the influence of a magnetic field. The receiver above was used for a telephone transmitter. It uses elevated levels of current, but not responsive as the common electro-magnetic receiver, but able to be understood on a call.

The Telegraph

The picture you see above is the original telegraph transmitter and receiver manufactured by Samuel Morse in 1837. This device happens to be the first working mechanism to convert and transform information into an electrical form and transmit that information accurately over long distances. The words "What hath God wrought!" resounded in the ears of many as the world famous message sent for the first successful time using the telegraph. The dots and dashes were communicated between the U.S. Capitol in Washington and Mount Clare Depot in Baltimore May 28, 1844. Ironically enough, telegrams are still used today, even in a world that has moved so fast in accommodating technology and Hi-tech equipment such as mobile phones, internet, email, etc.

Bell's first telephone

It’s unbelievable how much we have advanced in
technology. Whenever people think of the first
telephone, they think of the crank wall telephone.
The ability to have a conversation with others cross
country was far from being reached in the early 1700’s.
That is until two brilliant inventors, Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell, designed the first telephone which looked nothing like it does today.

Both men were extremely gifted and wanted their idea patented. One clearly got his idea patented within hours of the other inventor. It was the famous Alexander Graham Bell, who was the first, to receive a patent for the most basic operating telephone. After such victory, Bell and Gray entered into a legal conflict, which concluded in Bell winning.

On June 2, 1875, Bell discovers that he can use a wire to hear voices. But it wasn’t until March 10, 1976 when Bell not only created the birth of the telephone, but at the same time destroyed the telegraph. Shortly after, he was able to hear the first voice.


Alexander Graham Bell was a sharp man and incredible creator. The communication potential he was able to achieve has significantly changed the world. With his invention he created the ability to utilize electricity. Bells telephone was able to outperform any system at the time. This invention made it easy for the world to communicate.

Pony Express...look horsies...

Before what we call the "snail mail", there was another way our mail was delivered. Even though it existed only a very very short amount of time, it's remembered in movies and as an important piece to America's puzzle. Though the Pony Express was only established for 18 months, the legend that follows it will always remain on our minds.

The criteria to be a Pony Express rider was that you had to weigh under 125lbs which explains why many of the riders were young boys of 14-15. One extrordinary boy was William "Buffalo Bill" Cody who would later go on to form his "Wild West Show". These boys were taught to be tough and withstand attacks and extreme weather changes. The riders were only supposed to ride 75 miles per day but many went for much much more. Another famous rider, "Pony Bob" Haslam had to ride a record 380 miles in 36 hours.

If our mail, even "snail mail", took as long as it took for the Pony Express to deliver it, I doubt I'd survive. Unfortunately, the age of the Pony Express came to an end due to financial troubles. Other, quicker ways were coming to communicate which led to the Pony Express's demise. For all their hard work, they may have paved the beginning to a "speedy" mail delivery system.

Smoke Signals

As technology has progressed over time, people have grown accustomed to having easy and reliable ways to communicate with one another. Let’s take a minute to look back and imagine how we would communicate without cell phones, computers, or even the postal service. It seems hard to believe that it was even possible. Years ago, Native Americans used smoke signals to relay messages to each other. This is one of the earliest noted forms of visual communication. This worked best when one Indian or group of Indians was higher than the other so that the smoke could be seen. The different tribes would have signal posts where this took place. They would create a signal fire using wet materials that would produce more smoke. To send a message they would pass a blanket or piece of cloth across the fire. This would separate the smoke puffs. Certain spacing or number of puffs relayed different messages. As one would imagine, they could not produce detailed messages in this fashion. This form of communication was not always reliable. The messages were short and to the point. It is said that smoke signals were used between tribes to warn each other of the possibility of attacks or buffalo sightings.

Photo courtesy of www.cartoonstock.com

http://history.howstuffworks.com/native-american-history/smoke-signal.htm

Morse Code: A thing of the past or the new toy of the future?

The question I want to put before you is this: is morse code really a dead communications tool? Is there really a problem with using Morse Code? It's obviously shown by this video that it can be quite efficient. Another good thing is that it doesn't need sattelite links to stay in touch. In 1835 Samuel Morse, the inventor of Morse Code, used pulses of current to deflect an electromagnet, which moved a marker to produce written codes on a strip of paper (Bellis). The Titanic did use Morse Code to transmit signals, but unfortunately did not heed the warnings about the iceburgs. We've come so far, but truly there is an art and skill in using Morse Code. The sheet on the left is the basics needed for Morse Code.

It's amusing to watch, though, as kids find out about Morse Code and grow incredibly intrigued by it. It seems to me that older ways to do things captures the attention of young adults more often than the "newer/better" things. I wouldn't doubt that before too long there will be a new "toy" that will allow kids to talk to each other in a similar fashion to Morse Code. But to them, it'll be like learning some new all over.



Work Cited: Bellis, Mary. "The History of the Electric Telegraph and Telegraphy." 1997. About.com. 3 June 2009 .