September 4, 1956 – theLogBook.com

The first hard disk drive

IBM RAMAC IBM announces the IBM 305 RAMAC (Random Access Memory Accounting) mainframe, a computer as large as two refrigerators, containing the new 350 Disk Storage Unit, the world’s first hard disk drive. The nearly-six-foot-high drive consists of a huge metal case surrounding a towering stack of 50 double-sided magnetic platters, adding up to a total capacity of four megabytes. In 1958, IBM will introduce the option to double capacity by adding a second stack of drive platters to the casing. The 305 RAMAC and 350 Disk Storage Unit together weigh over a ton, and are leased to IBM’s clients for $3,200 per month.

The Guardians: I Want You To Understand Me

London Weekend Television airs the ninth episode of the alternate-future-history series The Guardians, starring Gwyneth Powell and Cyril Luckham.

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Roy Wood: Boulders

The Lost Planet EMI Records releases Roy Wood‘s first solo album, Boulders, following his departure from The Move and Electric Light Orchestra. Aside from a single instrument on a single song, every voice and instrument on the album is performed by Wood himself.

Space: 1999: Breakaway

ITV airs the first episode of Gerry Anderson’s new live action series Space: 1999. Space: 1999’s lavish budget, sleek sets and impressive miniature effects work make it the TV science fiction saga to beat in the 1970s (at least visually). Isaac Asimov even reviews it in the New York Times, giving the show’s shaky science a pass in favor of dramatic necessity.

Space: 1999: The Metamorph

The 25th episode of Gerry Anderson’s space adventure series Space: 1999 airs on British broadcaster ITV, starring Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, and adding new cast member Catherine Schell. Brian Blessed (Flash Gordon) guest stars in the second season premiere; Fred Freiberger (Star Trek) takes over as showrunner and institutes major changes to the series format, costuming, and music.

Doctor Who: The Masque Of Mandragora, Part 1

The 428th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1. Gareth Armstrong and Tim Piggott-Smith guest star. This episode is the beginning of Doctor Who’s 14th season on the air.

Star Blazers: Episode 2

The second episode of Star Blazers, an English rewrite and dub of the 1974 anime series Space Battleship Yamato, premieres in syndication across the U.S.

Wonder Woman: Phantom Of The Roller Coaster – Part 1

The 58th episode of Wonder Woman airs on CBS starring Lynda Carter and Lyle Waggoner. Jared Martin (The Fantastic Journey, War Of The Worlds), Marc Alaimo (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Ike Eisenmann (The Fantastic Journey, Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan), and Craig Littler (Jason Of Star Command) guest star.

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Major League Baseball (Intellivision)

Mattel Electronics releases the Major League Baseball cartridge for the Intellivision home video game system.

Rush’n Attack

Rush'n Attack Konami introduces the arcade game Rush’n Attack in the United States, while the same game – with no changes to its hand-to-hand military fighting action – is released elsewhere as Green Beret.

Star Trek: Voyager: Initiations

UPN airs the 17th episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Aron Eisenberg (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) guest stars.

Xena: Warrior Princess: Sins Of The Past

Xena The week-long national syndication window opens for the first episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor. A spinoff from the popular fantasy series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena has already been built up by a three-episode arc during Hercules’ first season, and will end up outlasting its parent series (and making an international star out of New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless in the process).

Nowhere Man: Turnabout

The second episode of Lawrence Hertzog’s paranoid spy-fi thriller Nowhere Man, starring Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek), airs on UPN. Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) directs.

Star Trek: Voyager: Basics – Part II

UPN airs the 42nd episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Brad Dourif guest stars; this is the beginning of Voyager’s third season.

Lexx: Eating Pattern

Lexx Pay cable channel Showtime airs the third movie-length episode of Lexx (under the alternate title “Tales From A Parallel Universe”). Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner) guest stars.

The Outer Limits: The Balance Of Nature

Showtime airs the 83rd episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of the 1960s science fiction anthology series.

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TV Eyes

TV Eyes TV Eyes releases its self-titled debut album. The ’80s-styled album is the combination of the talents of Brian Reitzell and former Jellyfish members Roger Joseph Manning Jr. and Jason Falkner.

Eureka: Sight Unseen

Eureka Sci-Fi Channel airs the 21st episode of the quirky modern-day science fiction series Eureka, starring Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson, Debrah Farentino, and Joe Morton.

K-9: Angel Of The North

K-9 Australia’s Nine Network airs the 23rd episode of K-9. The Australian-made series features no Doctor Who-related characters other than K-9.

Dawn departs Vesta

Vesta from Dawn NASA’s Dawn unmanned space probe fires up its ion propulsion system, breaking its orbit around the large asteroid Vesta. Having orbited and mapped Vesta since 2011, Dawn must now survive a nearly-three-year trip through the main asteroid belt to reach the largest body in that region, Ceres. Successful arrival at Ceres, planned for 2015, would make Dawn the first unmanned spacecraft to have orbited two bodies in the solar system.

Battlestar Galactica: Volume 3 (soundtrack)

Soundtrack specialty label Intrada releases a third volume of Stu Phillips’ episode soundtracks from the TV Series Battlestar Galactica. The complete scores from the episodes The Long Patrol, The Lost Warriors, The Magnificent Warriors, The Young Lords, Murder On The Rising Star, The Hand Of God and the Galactica 1980 episode The Return Of Starbuck are included.