The Charles Babbage Institute (CBI), located at the University of Minnesota, emphasizes the importance "of the history of information technology and information processing and their impact on society." One of the most interesting parts of the CBI Web site is the Cray Research Virtual Museum exhibit, which showcases many of the supercomputing giant's accomplishments over the last half century. In...

Being able to look at a clock and check the time is something we all take for granted, but life would be a lot more complicated without accurate timing devices. This site, from Britannica.com, looks at ten manmade instruments that various civilizations have used to measure time. These clocks span many centuries, from the sundial in 1500 BC to the state of the art Cesium atomic clock. Some of the...

Now over 110 years old, General Electric played an important role in the worldwide adoption of many modern technologies. The company maintains this timeline of events and innovations that happened since its formation. Beginning with Thomas Edison's carbon filament lamp in 1879, the timeline briefly describes each entry and its significance. A picture and the occasional video clip are also...

IBM is one of the most recognizable names in the computer industry, with a history that spans over a century. The IBM Archives is an online repository of information that tells the story of how the company began and how it has evolved. Possibly the best way to learn about IBM's roots is to browse the archive's main exhibit, which takes the user on a year-by-year tour of inventions and major...

Our followers on social media really responded to this year's special edition of The Scout Report, released in honor of National Library Week (April 9-15, 2017). One resource that stood out was the Museum of Obsolete Media, a unique collection of tools and instruments used to record sound, motion, and information over the past two centuries. This online museum, which is frequently updated by...

The British railway system was one of the first national systems in the world; so, it is not surprising that they also have the largest railroad museum in the world. Offering a number of online exhibits, their site is an excellent resource for anyone, young and old, hoping to learn more about the history of railroads in Britain. For starters, users may want to look at the Frequently Asked...

Celebrated in American film, song, and popular legend, the San Francisco cable car gets its full due on this well honed site devoted to the history and operation of this cherished form of transportation. Beginning with a virtual tour of the Cable Car Museum, the site contains a full roster of current San Francisco cable cars and a detailed explanation of how a cable car works. Probably the...

Why is everyone all a-panic about the Internet and the (sometimes) deviant behavior it might seem to enable? This fine OpenCourseWare offering from Professor Marcella Therese Szabiewicz takes a look at a "number of technopanics" of late. The course begins by looking at how similar panics about "old" media (books, films, and the like) set historical precedents for these current fears. Visitors can...

The Transistor Museum is a fascinating site "dedicated to preserving the history of the greatest invention of the 20th century." The museum's front page mentions some remarkable facts and quotes that demonstrate the importance of the transistor in modern life. Visitors can read transcripts of lectures, oral histories, and short biographies of notable individuals who played a role in the...

The history of technology, particularly of communicative technologies such as the radio, is often overlooked by scholars. With this in mind, Thomas H. White has developed this fine site containing "articles and extracts about early radio and related technologies, concentrating on the United States in the period from 1897 to 1927." The site itself is divided into four large sections, ordered by...