Sunday 25 June 2023

The Video Game Made Me Do It!

20 years ago on 25th June 2003, Two American step-brothers, Joshua and William Buckner (16 and 14 respectively), shot at vehicles on Interstate 40 in Tennessee with a .22 calibre rifle, killing a 45-year-old man and wounding a 19‑year‑old woman. 

The boys both claimed they had been bored and decided to mimic their favourite video game Grand Theft Auto III.



The families of the two victims subsequently sued the boys, their parents, Rockstar Games who created the game, Take-Two Interactive who published it, Wal-Mart who sold it to them, and Sony Computer Entertainment America who manufactured the PlayStation 2 console they played it on.

Friday 23 June 2023

The Telcan - the First Home Video Recorder

60 years ago on 24th June 1963, long before video systems Betamax and VHS, the first home video recorder was demonstrated at the BBC’s Alexandra Palace studios in London.


Designed by Norman Rutherford and Michael Turner and manufactured by the Nottingham Electric Valve Company, the Telcan was a reel-to-reel tape recorder capable of recording only 20 minutes of video on either side of the tape. It only worked in monochrome and was very expensive. 


Surprisingly it was not a commercial success.


Further reading :https://www.inventricity.com/telcan-first-home-video-recorder