The Millenium Bug

The Y2K bug, or millenium bug, was a possible computer flaw that people feared would cause problems once the year hit 2000. Computer engineers thought that the date might turn to 1900 rather than 2000, destroying many systems they had in place. For example, banks and power plants depended on computers for interest rates and safety levels, respectively. Transportation, such as airlines and trains, required correct time. The problem became so widespread that countries like Australia invested millions of dollars in preparation for Y2K. Other countries like Russia barely invested any, so Australia recalled most of its embassy staff from Russia in fears that they might lose contact with them. The United States is another example of a country that spent millions of dollars to combat the Y2K bug. Eventually, when the year reached 2000, there were problems but very few. A nuclear energy facility in Japan had a fail in its radiation equipment.

Team Work Makes the Dream Work : Apple and microsoft

When the co-founder of the company Apple, Steve Jobs returned to the company in 1997 the beginning of Apple's resurrection was just beginning.  After twelve entire years of complete financial loss, Gil Amelio was ousted from the CEO position. Jobs took the position over and his task to complete was to restructure the company back to success. This is where the partnership with Microsoft was formed The Apple-Microsoft deal was revealed at the 1997 Macworld Expo. Both Gates and Jobs made the public announcement of Microsoft office and the $150 million investment in Apple. During this expo, Steve Jobs stated ¨If we want to move forward to see Apple healthy and prospering again, we have to let go of a few things here. We have to let go of this notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose.¨ This was the end of a long-lasting competition between the two major tech industries.

Macintosh

THE MACINTOSH

The 1990s were known for the increase in technology because the electronics went through all sorts of phases until it reached practicality for users with no experience beforehand. Most importantly, it was the year where Apple Inc. could really stand out in the market and offer their customers a revolutionary way to change the perspective on the computers. 

Steve Jobs was met with critiques after launching his first computer and made the adjustments that his customers had asked for; the "Macintosh line had become too complex, Apple consolidated nearly twenty models in mid-1997." Thus, introducing the iMac G3 in August 15, 1998, which became popular and saved the company from bankruptcy.  

2000 Presidential Election

In 2000 Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore ran for the presidency of the United States. Both men had to reach 270 electoral votes to win the presidency, and it came down to the last state (Florida). Bush had 246 electoral votes and Gore had 266. Florida would ultimately give the presidency to one of these men, giving 25 electoral votes to the winner. With the election coming down to one state there was lots of controversy surrounding the voting process. Each state had the power to decide how votes could be selected. In the state of Florida on the ballot, voters were supposed to puncture a hole in the ballot. Bush was ahead of gore by only a couple thousands to win Florida, Gore saw that he was about to lose the presidency and demanded a recount. The recount was underway and Gore was starting to catch up to Bush. Bush panicked and went to Congress and demanded that the recount is stopped. He claimed that it was a violation of the 14th amendment of the Equal Protection Clause. The supreme court later on ruled in favor of Bush and stopped the recount giving Bush the electoral votes in Florida and the Presidency. If the recount weren't stopped many believed that Gore would've won the presidency, he was only a couple of hundred votes behind and they had only gotten through half of the ballots.

Footage techniques: For a vulnerable crowd

Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez writer and director of The Blair Witch Project created an audience that believed their ¨Real footage¨ of witches to be true. Lots of ingenious offscreen threats were discussed on camera, creating immediate suspense for the audience, this was a very unique film in the 19th century as it was the first to use such techniques. The backstory for the film is a legend fabricated by these two men which are detailed in Curse of the Blair Witch, a mockumentary broadcast on the SciFi Channel in 1999 prior to the release of the Blair Witch Project. This film was nonetheless cobbled together on an unbelievably low budget, using what they portrayed as ¨found footage¨ which in that century was only popular in cult films, with this a marketing campaign in the cinema world was created and outdid any other film that was put out in 1999.

9/11 - The Aftermath

Americans were in shock as they woke up on the morning of September 11, turned on the news, and saw photos of national landmarks billowing up in smoke. No one could believe that we, the strongest and most developed nation in the world, was watching their nation go up in flames. Initially, after only the first attack,  everyone believed that the crash was a mistake. The thought was that the navigation systems on the plane broke and that it lost control, flying too low and hitting the towers.

As soon as the second building was hit, everyone in the country knew that America had been the target of a terrorist attack. It was now obvious that the threats from Al Qaeda were legit. Right away, the FBI started the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden, needing the man who caused our country so much pain.

News Coverage During the Iraq War

In the years leading up to the Iraq war, Fox News was the number one most watched news station. CNN was always trailing behind a little bit when compared to Fox. However, once CNN got exclusive coverage on many of the things that were happening in the Iraq war, they got a huge bump in their ratings.

The Iraq war was one of the first wars that Americans were able to watch unfold in real time on their television screens, so of course CNN had a lot more people tuning in to see what was happening. People could see what their family members and friends were seeing. This not only bumped up ratings for CNN, but increased the moral of the United States. Many people at home were seeing the war as video game-like and were impressed with what the U.S. military was capable of.

This amazement with the power that the military had led to many changes in common American fashion and technology. People wanted to buy Jeeps, which were previously only seen as military vehicles, and games and movies were being made about the war. There was a sort of fashion that came from the Iraq war that still hasn’t left the American people. Who knows if or when people would’ve gotten so infatuated with a war if it weren’t for CNN’s ability to cover this war thoroughly.