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Computing hardware has been an essential component of the process of calculation and data storage since it became necessary for data to be processed and shared. Humanity has used devices to aid in computation for millennia. The first recorded computing hardware was literally hard. The Phoenicians stored clay shapes representing such things as livestock and grains in containers, which were used not only by merchants but by accountants and government officials of the time. Even today, an experienced abacus user using a device several thousands of years old can complete basic calculations more quickly than the average person using a standard four-function hand calculator.

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Selected anniversaries

On June 23: Jani held in ancient Latvia.

• Launched from the Mojave Spaceport and piloted by Mike Melvill, SpaceShipOne becomes the first successful manned private spaceflight, reaching the boundary to space beyond the Earth's atmosphere.