1992 – The first text message was sent on Vodafone’s UK network from a PC to a mobile device with the message “Merry Christmas.”
1994 – The Sony PlayStation game console went on sale in Japan.
http://www.economist.com/node/21541164
1999 – NASA lost radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before the spacecraft entered the Martian atmosphere. It just wasn’t a good year for Mars exploration.
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/lander/
2001 – In Bryant Park in Manhattan, Inventor Dean Kamen unveiled a secret project with the codename “Ginger” that Steve Jobs reportedly said would cause cities to be re-architected. The Segway Personal Transporter has become iconic for mall cops and mailmen.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1687647/IBOT
Read Tom’s science fiction and other fiction books at Merritt’s Books site.