Science & Technology
The launches, acquisitions, and discoveries of 2006, from the rise of Web 2.0 to Pluto's demotion.
Every Science & Technology article in the 2006 knowledge base. Use the topic filters to narrow by sub-topic.
The Web 2.0 Revolution of 2006
2006 marked the crystallization of **Web 2.0**—the shift from read-only, corporate-controlled web...
PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii launches
In November 2006, two gaming consoles launched in North America within days of each other, defini...
Windows Vista release
Microsoft completed **Windows Vista** on November 8, 2006 (reaching RTM — Release to Manufacturin...
Google Acquires YouTube
On **October 9, 2006**, Google Inc. announced it had agreed to acquire YouTube, the leading onlin...
Facebook's News Feed and Open Registration
In September 2006, Facebook made two changes that transformed it from a college-oriented director...
Pluto Reclassified as a Dwarf Planet
On **August 24, 2006**, members of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), meeting at the **2...
Perelman proves the Poincaré conjecture and declines the ...
At the 2006 International Congress of Mathematicians in Madrid, Grigori Perelman was awarded the ...
The 2006 Sony laptop battery recall
A manufacturing defect in Sony lithium-ion cells triggered the recall of roughly 9.6 million lapt...
Launch of Twitter
Twitter, the microblogging and social-networking service, was launched publicly on **July 15, 200...
MySpace reaches peak influence in social networking
MySpace became the world's largest social networking site, surpassing Google in U.S. web traffic ...
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Advances in 2006
A landmark paper revived neural networks while DARPA competitions and the Netflix Prize catalysed...
H5N1 Avian Influenza Global Spread and Pandemic Alarm
Throughout 2006, the H5N1 avian influenza virus spread from Asia into Turkey, Europe, Africa, and...
Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD Format War Begins
The battle over next-generation DVD formats between Blu-ray and HD-DVD defined 2006 consumer elec...
Amazon Launches S3 (Simple Storage Service), Pioneering C...
On March 14, Amazon officially launched Simple Storage Service (S3), establishing the foundationa...
iTunes Music Store reaches one billionth song download
On February 23, 2006, the iTunes Music Store sold its one billionth song, proving the viability o...
New Horizons Launch to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt
On January 19, 2006, NASA launched the New Horizons spacecraft from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atla...