RS

RS Making Amazing Happen for a Better World. Your global partner with over 750,000 in stock industrial and electronics products. What will the future bring?

RS Components is the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc, the global distributor for engineers. Since 1937 we have supported generations of engineers with products for all types of applications. Through 80 years we've seen technologies develop and inspirations come to life. Well, whatever the innovation or industry, RS will continue to support the engineers of tomorrow. For more information, please visit the website at www.rs-online.com.

ON THIS DAY | In 1996, Intel prepared to announce a video phone.Executives predicted hundreds of thousands of video‑phon...
30/05/2026

ON THIS DAY | In 1996, Intel prepared to announce a video phone.

Executives predicted hundreds of thousands of video‑phone‑ready PCs would sell that year.

They were right about the future.
They were just wrong about when.

29/05/2026

68,000 fans
135 decibels of noise
And commentators still sound crystal clear :studio_microphone::football2:

Inside , speakers are positioned 54 metres above the pitch. From giant roof structures to precision sound systems, modern stadiums are built for far more than just the game itself.

ON THIS DAY | In 1992, Apple CEO John Sculley unveiled the Apple Newton at CES, a bold vision of handheld computing.Unfo...
29/05/2026

ON THIS DAY | In 1992, Apple CEO John Sculley unveiled the Apple Newton at CES, a bold vision of handheld computing.

Unfortunately, the first unit shown on stage had dead batteries and refused to turn on.🙊

A glimpse of the future… briefly delayed by the present.

ON THIS DAY | In 1936, Alan Turing submitted his paper “On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsp...
28/05/2026

ON THIS DAY | In 1936, Alan Turing submitted his paper “On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem.”

Rather than proposing a physical machine, Turing outlined a simple theoretical mode, later known as the Turing Machine, to define what it means to compute something mechanically.

Using this model, he demonstrated that any calculation expressible as a step‑by‑step procedure could, in principle, be carried out by a single, general-purpose machine. The work addressed a problem in mathematical logic but went on to shape the foundations of computer science.

Long before electronic computers existed, Turing had already described what they could, and could not do.

27/05/2026

Name something engineers save “just in case”👀

ON THIS DAY | In 1959, MIT shut down its Whirlwind computer after nearly a decade of near‑constant service.First shown o...
27/05/2026

ON THIS DAY | In 1959, MIT shut down its Whirlwind computer after nearly a decade of near‑constant service.

First shown on television in 1951, Whirlwind impressed audiences with its speed, large memory, and something rare at the time, reliability. It routinely ran long shifts each week, proving computers could be trusted to stay on and keep working.

When it was finally switched off, it wasn’t because it failed, it was because the world had moved on.

How many of today’s machines will be remembered for simply being… dependable?

ON THIS DAY | In 1995, Bill Gates circulated an internal Microsoft memo titled “The Internet Tidal Wave.”In it, he descr...
26/05/2026

ON THIS DAY | In 1995, Bill Gates circulated an internal Microsoft memo titled “The Internet Tidal Wave.”

In it, he described the Internet as the most important development since the IBM PC, and warned that Microsoft needed to take it seriously, fast. At the time, the web was still rough, slow, and far from mainstream, but Gates saw it reshaping software, business, and how people used computers.

The memo triggered a sharp change in direction. Microsoft moved quickly into web technologies and soon released its own browser, Internet Explorer, marking the company’s full entry into the Internet era.

ON THIS DAY | In 1961, President John F. Kennedy addressed Congress and committed the United States to landing a human o...
25/05/2026

ON THIS DAY | In 1961, President John F. Kennedy addressed Congress and committed the United States to landing a human on the Moon before the decade was out.

At the time, the goal came early, publicly, and without certainty. The technology was unfinished, the risks were clear, and the deadline was fixed.

Was it confidence, strategy, or sheer belief in progress?

24/05/2026

Tag someone who fits this description: Can’t walk past bad workmanship without pointing it out. 🤣

ON THIS DAY | In 1935, General Electric sold the first spectrophotometer.The machine could distinguish around two millio...
24/05/2026

ON THIS DAY | In 1935, General Electric sold the first spectrophotometer.

The machine could distinguish around two million different shades of colour and, crucially, record the results automatically... no guesswork, no relying on the human eye.

For the first time, colour became something you could measure, not argue about. Research labs, manufacturers, and chemists suddenly had a common, objective standard.

So next time you debate whether something is blue or very blue…would you trust your eyes, or a 1935 GE machine? 👀

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