First Versions: May 2015

Ferrari: 1st model ever

Ferrari logo 1947
by Eligio Gerosa

Name: "Auto Avio Costruzioni 815"

Category: Cars

Subcategory: Sports car

Designers: Alberto Massimino, Vittorio Bellentani

Producer: Auto Avio Costruzioni (founded by Enzo Ferrari on September 1, 1939, the company name changed to Auto Costruzioni Ferrari in 1957)

Production start: 1940 - Modena, Italy

Features: The engine was largely based on the four-cylinder, 1.1 L engine of the 508 C Balilla 1100. In concept, it was two 508C engines placed end to end, but it used a specially designed aluminium block built by Fonderia Calzoni in Bologna for integrity and light weight and a five-bearing crankshaft and a camshaft designed and built by AAC to get the traditional straight-8 timing and balance. The engine used Fiat valve gear, cylinder heads (two 508C heads per engine), and connecting rods. The engine was high-tech for the time, with a single overhead camshaft, two valves per cylinder, and a semi-dry sump lubrication system. Four Weber 30DR2 carburettors were specified for a total output of 75 hp (56 kW) at 5500 rpm. The 815 used a Fiat four-speed transmission with the Fiat gears replaced by gears made in-house by AAC. The transmission was integral to the engine block. The car had independent Dubonnet suspension with integral shock absorber at front, with a live axle on semi-elliptic leaf springs and hydraulic shock absorbers at the rear. The bodywork was done by Carrozzeria Touring using Itallumag 35, an aluminium/magnesium alloy, and was done in long, flowing forms with integrated wings. The bodywork weighed 119 lb (54 kg). The complete car weighed 625 kg (1,378 lb) and attained a maximum speed close to 170 km/h (110 mph).

Interesting facts: The AAC 815 was designed and developed in 1940 at Auto Avio Costruzioni, the company founded by Enzo Ferrari. Although a contract clause restricted him from racing or designing cars for four years, Ferrari managed to manufacture two cars for the 1940 Mille Miglia; however, legal issues with former associates Alfa Romeo prevented Ferrari from creating the Ferrari marque. One of the cars was later scrapped, while the other is currently in a car collection in Italy. The designation "815" was based on the car's 8-cylinder, 1.5 L engine.

Quote (Enzo Ferrari): «Bad luck does not exist».

Property: Ferrari S.p.A.

Producer website: http://www.ferrari.com

Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, the first car designed by Ferrari (1940)

Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 - Alberto Ascari

Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 - Lotario Rangoni Machiavelli

Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, the only two models with their respective owners: the Italian racing drivers Alberto Ascari (top) and Lotario Rangoni Machiavelli.

Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 - Mille Miglia (1940)

Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 at the Mille Miglia (April 28, 1940)

Enzo Anselmo Ferrari (Modena, February 18, 1898 - Maranello, August 14, 1988), motor racing driver, entrepreneur and founder of the Ferrari S.p.A.

Ferrari advanced models (2015): the Formula One racing car model SF15-T, and the sport car model 488 GTB (official video)

Space Invaders

Space Invaders logo 1978

Original name: "Space Monsters"

Name: "Space Invaders"

Category: Video games

Subcategory: Arcade

Genres: Sci-Fi, fixed shooter

Inventor: Tomohiro Nishikado

Developer: Taito Corporation - Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

Publishers: Taito (Japan), Midway (North America)

Released: 1978 - June (Japan) - July (North America, limited) - Oct. (N.A., wide)

Platform: Arcade

First price: 1 play 1 coin - 25 cents

Tomohiro Nishikado
(Osaka, March 31, 1944)
video game developer
and creator of the
arcade Space Invaders

Number of players: Up to 2 players, alternating turns

Cast of characters:
--- Laser cannon (1 play 3 cannons)
--- Large Invader (10 points)
--- Medium invader (20 points)
--- Small invader (30 points)
--- UFO (50 to 300 points)

Features: Space Invaders is a two-dimensional fixed shooter game in which the player controls a laser cannon by moving it horizontally across the bottom of the screen and firing at descending aliens. The aim is to defeat five rows of eleven aliens that move horizontally back and forth across the screen as they advance towards the bottom of the screen. The player defeats an alien, and earns points, by shooting it with the laser cannon. As more aliens are defeated, the aliens' movement and the game's music both speed up. Defeating the aliens (55 per screen) brings another wave that is more difficult, a loop which can continue without end. The aliens attempt to destroy the cannon by firing at it while they approach the bottom of the screen. If they reach the bottom, the alien invasion is successful and the game ends. A special "mystery ship" will occasionally move across the top of the screen and award bonus points if destroyed. The laser cannon is partially protected by several stationary defense bunkers that are gradually destroyed by a numerous amount of blasts from the aliens or player.

Interesting facts: The game was originally titled Space Monsters, inspired by a popular song in Japan at the time ("Monster"), but was changed to Space Invaders by Nishikado's superiors. Space Invaders was first released in a cocktail-table format with black and white graphics, while the Western release by Midway was in an upright cabinet format.

Slogan (1978): «The world's hottest game»

Property: Taito Corporation

Producer website: http://www.taito.com

Space Invaders, screenshot of the play area

Space Invaders cocktail table instructions

Space Invaders "cocktail table" cabinet by Taito (1978)

Space Invaders upright cabinet by Midway (1978)

Space Invaders, play area with background (1978)

Space Invaders, first level gameplay

Space Invaders upright cabinet advertising 1978 Taito

Space Invaders, advertisement for the upright cabinet by Taito (1978)

Space Invaders cocktail table advertising 1978 Taito

Space Invaders, advertisement for the "cocktail table" cabinet by Taito (1978)

Space Invaders upright cabinet advertising 1978 Midway

Space Invaders, advertisement for the upright cabinet by Midway (1978)

Space Invaders cocktail table advertising 1978 Midway

Space Invaders, advertisement for the "cocktail table" cabinet by Midway (1978)

Space Invaders 40th Anniversary (1978-2018)

LEGO

LEGO logo 1934

Name: "LEGO"

Category: Toys

Subcategory: Construction set

Inventor: Ole Kirk Christiansen

Producer: The LEGO Group (founded by Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1932)

Production start: 1932 (marketed since 1935) - Billund, Denmark

Features: In 1932 Ole Kirk Kristiansen, master carpenter and joiner, establishes his business in the village of Billund, Denmark. His firm manufactures stepladders, ironing boards, stools and wooden toys such as cars, aeroplanes and yoyo's. His son Godtfred starts working in the business at the age of 12 and creating models at 17. In 1946 the LEGO Group is the first in Denmark to buy a plastic injection-moulding machine for toy production. At the machine demonstration in Copenhagen the British salesman has given Ole Kirk Kristiansen a handful of plastic bricks to take away with him. The bricks have been invented by a Briton, Hilary Fisher Page, but they have not been a success for his company, Kiddicraft. Ole and son begin redesigning the plastic cubes and in 1949 the company launches its first building set: Automatic Binding Bricks, a forerunner of the LEGO bricks we know today.

Interesting facts: In 1934 the company and its products adopt the name LEGO, formed from the Danish words "LEg GOdt" ("play well"). Later, it is realised that in Latin the word means "I put together".

Slogan (1936): «Det bedste er ikke for godt» (Only the best is good enough).

Property: The LEGO Group

Producer website: http://www.lego.com

First LEGO product line (1932)

LEGO Duck (1935), the first toy marketed by LEGO, made of birch wood.

LEGO Yo Yo (the surplus was used as wheels on the wooden cars and carts) and the early cars with the LEGO logo (1930s).

LEGO Automatic Binding Bricks (1949). The first LEGO bricks were the 2x2 and 2x4 slotted bricks. They were only sold in Denmark. These bricks had no "LEGO" text embossed anywhere on the brick, introduced only in 1953 with the new series "LEGO Mursten". Windows and Doors with wings that slotted into the slots in the ends of the bricks, were also introduced in 1949.

LEGO Toy Building Bricks, figure from Patent (Oct. 24, 1961, filed July 28, 1958) granted to Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, the third son of Ole Kirk Christiansen.

Kiddicraft Self-Locking Building Bricks by the Briton Mr. Harry Fisher Page. LEGO reprised the design of this set to create Automatic Binding Bricks, after examining a sample given by the British supplier of the first injection moulding machine they had purchased.

Ole Kirk Christiansen (Filskov, Apr. 7, 1891 – Mar. 11, 1958), master carpenter and joiner, inventor of the LEGO construction toys and founder of the LEGO company.

LEGO 90th anniversary (2022) and the company's history in a short animated film

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows logo 1985

Project name: "Interface Manager"

Name: "Microsoft Windows"

Categories: Electronics, Home - Office - School

Subcategory: Operating Systems

Developer: Microsoft (founded on April 4, 1975, by Bill Gates and Paul Allen)

First version: 1.01

Released: November 20, 1985 - Bellevue, Washington, USA

Platforms: x86

Programming language: C, C++, Assembly

Default user interface: Windows shell

First price: 99 USD

Features: Windows 1.0 is an MS-DOS program. It requires MS-DOS version 2.0, two double-sided disk drives or a hard disk, 256K of memory or greater and a graphics-adapter card. Windows 1.0 does not allow overlapping windows. Instead all windows are tiled. Only modal dialog boxes may appear over other windows. Windows 1.0 runs a shell program known as the MS-DOS Executive, which is little more than a mouse-able output of the DIR command that does not support icons. Components included Calculator, Calendar, Cardfile, Clipboard viewer, Clock, Control Panel, Notepad, Paint, Reversi, Terminal and Write. Package contained some manuals and five 5.25" floppy disks: Setup Disk, Build Disk, Utilities Disk, Desktop Applications Disk, and Program Disk (Microsoft Windows Write). Windows 1.0 was officially declared obsolete and unsupported by Microsoft on December 31, 2001.

Interesting facts: The history of Windows dates back to September 1981, when Chase Bishop, a computer scientist, designed the first model of an electronic device and project "Interface Manager" was started. It was presented to the public under the name "Windows" on November 10, 1983 and released two years later.

Slogan (1986): «Microsoft Introduces Power Windows. It's going to open your eyes».

Property: Microsoft Corporation

Product website: http://windows.microsoft.com