Technology History Timeline -...
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Technology History TimelineDickens, UOP
Note: Many events were found on multiple references, and some had slightly different dates. Part of this can be attributed to the time difference in a technology being designed, implemented, and marketed, and many references did not distinguish which of these it was referring to.
References: “The Age of Spiritual Machines” by Ray Kurzweil
http://www.penguinputnam.com/static/packages/us/kurzweil/excerpts/exmain.htm “Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind” by Hans Moravec
http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/users/hpm/book97/ Lexikon's History of Computing (CD) http://www.lhbe.edu.on.ca/teach2000/onramp/timeline.html http://cter.ed.uiuc.edu/cter2/ci335/timeline.html http://www.geocities.com/~compcloset/toc.htm http://www.accad.ohio-state.edu/~waynec/history/timeline.html http://www.msci.memphis.edu/~ryburnp/comp1200/history/microhist.html http://www.computerhistory.org/exhibits/internet_history/index.page http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/ http://www.ox.compsoc.net/~swhite/history/timeline.html http://www.icwhen.com/book/index.shtml http://www.icknowledge.com/history http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/strategy/statistics.asp
Technology History TimelineDickens, UOP
Questions to consider:1. When did we (humans) start designing computers?
2. When did we start planning for artificial intelligence (the ability for computers to emulate human intelligence)?
3. When should we have computers as powerful as the human brain? What should this cost in 1999 dollars?
4. When should we have computers as powerful as 1000 human brains? What should this cost in 1999 dollars?
5. When were the words “computer” and “electricity” first used in publications?
6. When was the first programmable electronic computer used? What was it named, and how much did it weigh?
7. When did the US have 500,000 computer systems?
8. When did the US have 1,000,000 computer systems?
9. When did the US have 10,000,000 computer systems?
10. When were radio waves first used?
11. When was the term computer “bug” first used?
12. When were punch-cards first used to program a system?
13. When was Apple founded?
14. When was IBM (or the company th3at became IBM) founded?
15. When was Microsoft founded?
16. When did Bill Gates become the richest man in the world?
17. Have there been previous dot.com-like busts? If yes, when?
18. When was the C programming language introduced?
19. When was the FORTRAN programming language introduced?
20. When was the Java programming language introduced?
21. When was the floppy invented? What sizes have there been?
22. What was the first “killer application” for consumer computers? When, by whom, and for what computer?
23. When were computer graphics first used in a movie? What movie and by whom?
24. When was the first computer-generated full-length film done? What movie and by whom?
25. When was “civilization” first connected by electronic signals?
26. When was the transistor invented?
27. When was the first integrated circuit invented? By whom?
28. When did the Internet start?
29. When did the Internet surpass 1 billion web pages?
30. Can a computer beat a human chess master? If yes, when?
31. When was the first microprocessor created? By whom?
32. When were 100 MHz microprocessors first available?
33. When were 1 GHz microprocessors first available?
34. When was the first microprocessor used in space?
35. How much processing power is on the Mars Spirit lander (landed 1/3/2004)
36. What was the first consumer computer, when was it marketed, and for how much?
37. When was the first memory-chip marketed? By whom?
38. When was the first CD marketed?
39. When did CD sales surpass LPs? (do you know what an LP is?)
40. When was the first DVD marketed?
41. When did computer viruses first show up?
42. When were there more than 1000 known computer viruses?
Year Key Technology Communications Computing Key CompaniesComputer OS, Languages &
Programs
5000 B. C.
Abacus invented, China.
387 B. C.Plato forms the
Academy for science & philosophy.
200 B. C. Accurate water clock, Egypt.
725 First mechanical clock, China.
1045A Chinese printer, Pi Scheng, invents
moveable clay type.
1400Europeans use wooden block
printing.
1453The printing of the
Bible with moveable type by Gutenberg.
1600-22 Napier, invents the use of logarithms.
Gilbert publishes book on static
electricity.
Oughtred invents the slide rule.
1642-46Words “computer”
and “electricity” first used in publications.
Pascal invents mechanical (+-)
calculating machine.
1687 Newton’s Principia Mathematica.
1694Leibniz mechanical
computer does multiplication.
1752-62
Benjamin Franklin discovers electricity.
Watt's first efficient steam engine.
Johnson publishes first English dictionary.
Harrison’s clock wins the British Board of Longitude's prize.
1805Jacquard implements
punch-card driven loom for weaving.
1819-28
Oersted discovers electromagnetism.
First steam locomotive in
operation.
Photography invented by Fourneyron.
Webster publishes first comprehensive
American dictionary.
Baggage develops the Difference Engine.
1832-37
Babbage designs the Analytical Engine, a
general purpose computer.
Morse invents the telegraph.
Year Key Technology Communications Computing Key CompaniesComputer OS, Languages &
Programs
1843-45
Ada Lovelace, paper on Babbage’s work and the ability for
computers to emulate human intelligence.
First telegraph message, sent from
Washington, D.C. to Baltimore. Message:
"What hath God Wrought?"
1847Boole develops
Boolean theory and Boolean algebra.
1852-54 Talbot patents photoengraving.
Paris and London connected by
telegraph.
1861San Francisco and
New York connected by telegraph.
1873Maxwell develops
laws of electro-magnetic radiation.
Sholes invents the typewriter.
1876-79
Edison invents the light bulb.
Crookes invents the Crookes Tube, which
produces cathode rays.
Bell gets patent for telephone.
Edison invents the phonograph.
Grant exhibits a gear-operated difference engine, Philadelphia
Centennial Fair.
1885-88
Hetrz transmits the first radio waves.
Photoelectric cells are designed.
Boston and New York talk by telephone.
Burroughs offers dependable adding
machine with printing.
1892-1899
Johnson discovers the electron.
Roentgen discovers X-rays.
Marconi patents radio.
Sound is first recorded and played back on metal wires.
Burroughs develops a 90-key adding
machine, capacity of nine decimal digits.
Hollerith founds the “Tabulating Machine
Company” which later becomes IBM.
1900-03 First Zeppelin built. Telegraph connects entire civilized world.
Tesla patents electrical logic circuits
called "gates" or "switches."
1905-15
Einstein, Special Theory of Relativity.
First airplane is flown.
First transcontential phone call from San
Francisco / New York.
Hebern invents machine for
encrypting messages, Lead to the German Enigma machine.
Burroughs Adding Machine Company
founded.
Sperry Gyroscope Company founded.
1921Czech word "robot" appears in the play "R.U.R." Capek.
Smathers develops electric typewriter.
1924-28 Bohr and Heisenberg develop quantum
Farnsworth develops first television.
Lehmer, developed a mechanical device to
IBM established from Computing-
Year Key Technology Communications Computing Key CompaniesComputer OS, Languages &
Programs
mechanics. Pfleumer patents magnetic tape.
determine large prime numbers.
Tabulating-Recording Company
(CTR).
Galvin Manufacturing
Company founded (becomes Motorola).
1930-31
NBC and CBS founded, New York.
Sperry Corporation is organized from
Sperry Gyroscope and Ford Instrument
Company.
1937-39
Randall and Boot invent the magnetron
tube which made microwave radar
possible.
BBC begins regular television service.
NBC introduces television as a regular service. Franklin D.
Roosevelt first president seen on TV.
“Turning Machine” is a theoretical model for
a computer design.
Bell Labs Model 1 Complex Calculator, utilized 440 relays.
Hewlett-Packard established, coin toss for order of names.
First Radio Shack catalog is published.
1940
Coaxial cable used between New York and Philadelphia for
TV.
First color television broadcast, CBS, in
New York City.
First operational computer, Robinson, successfully break
Enigma codes.
1941
WNBT and WCBW in New York, first
commercially licensed TV transmitters .
Zuse completes Z3 computer, uses
telephone relays and a mechanical memory.
1943
Colossus used to win WWII by breaking
German codes, 1,500 vacuum tubes.
1944 Mark I, uses paper tape a vacuum tubes.
1945
Grace Hopper, first computer “bug,” is a
dead moth in the cabinet of a Mark II computer. (The term "bug" for a problem had also been used earlier by Thomas Edison in 1878.)
Von Neumann describes the stored-
program design.
Magnetic drum technology is used for information storage
1946-47 Shockley, Brattain, & Bardeen invent
transistor.
First use of BIT for Binary Digit, Turkey.
ENIAC (US Army) first programmable
computer, used 18,000 vacuum tubes and
Association for Computing
Machinery (ACM) is formed.
Goldstine and von Neumann introduce the method of flow diagrams for logic.
Year Key Technology Communications Computing Key CompaniesComputer OS, Languages &
Programs
weighed 30 tons.
1948-50
Forrester, iron core memory for computer
memory storage; began to be replaced
by semiconductor memory in 1964.
Wang develops robust usage of magnetic core
memory.
Color TV is first broadcast.
The first speech recognition machine is built, Davis at Bell
Labs.
Isaac Asimov writes "I, Robot"
formulating the Three Laws of Robotics.
UNVAC (Universal Automatic Computer),
first commercially sold computer, 5,400 vacuum tubes. Used
for US census.
Bell Computer, Model VI , Harvard Mark II.
First chess playing computer built by Shannon of MIT.
1951Forrester files patent for his magnetic core
memory.
First coast-to-coast TV broadcast,
President Truman at the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference.
UNIVAC developers build EDVAC using stored-program, six
years to design/build. Harvard Mark III.
Wang establishes Wang Laboratories.
1952-53 DNA molecule is discovered.
Pocket-sized transistor radios are
sold.
701, IBM’s first computer.
Harvard Mark IV.
U.S. Government files anti-trust suit
against IBM.
1953-54Texas Instruments starts production of silicon transistors.
Remington-Rand develops the first
high-speed printer for use on the UNIVAC.
MIT test computer (MTC), the first to successfully run a ferrite core main
memory.
JOHNNIAC Computer, Rand Corp.
Commodore Business Machines
founded as a typewriter repair
service.
FORTRAN (Formula Translator) developed
by Backus, IBM. First successful
FORTRAN program is run by Herrick.
1955
IBM introduces first transistor calculator. Model 608, plus the
Model 702 computer.
Sperry-Rand Corporation formed
to rival IBM.
IPL-II is the first artificial intelligence language developed.
1956-57
The term Artificial Intelligence is first coined, Dartmouth.
Sputnik launched by U.S.S.R. 11/4/57 , sends information
from space (falls to earth on 12/4/58).
First all-color television station,
WNBQ beginsoperating in Chicago.
IBM ships model 705 computer.
Bell Labs Leprechaun, first experimental
transistor computer.
First virtual memory computer, Atlas,
developed by Kilburn.
Fairchild Semiconductor,
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC),
and Control Data Corporation (CDC)
are founded.
IPL-V (Information Processing Language V), by Newell, Shaw,
and Simon.
1958First integrated circuit (IC) made, Kilby at Texas Instruments.
Carlson develops first photo copier for
office use.
Perceptron Mark I, utilizing a CRT output
device, is built by Rosenblatt.
CDC announces its first major computer
system, the fully transistorized 1604.
NEC builds its first electronic computers,
the NEC 1101 and 1102, in Japan.
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency) founded.
LISP (List Processing), an AI
language, developed by McCarthy.
Year Key Technology Communications Computing Key CompaniesComputer OS, Languages &
Programs
1959-60
Noyce of Fairchild improves transistor
manufacturing..
IBM develops mass-production facility for
transistors.
Xerox markets first commercial copier.
Digital Equipment introduces the first
minicomputer, PDP-1.
IBM ships the 1620 and 7090, fully
transistorized, second generation computers.
CDC Model 160 designed by Cray.
COBOL (Common Business Oriented
Language) developed by Grace Hopper.
ALGOL 60 (Algorithmic Language) developed.
1961
Fairchild Semiconductor, first
commercial IC, 4 transistors, 2
resistors.
IBM’s Selectric typewriter, the first
successful ball-typewriter.
CDC announces the 160A computer, twice the computing power
of the CDC 160.
American Federation of Information
Processing Societies (AFIPS) is formed.
1962-63
First industrial robots, the "Unimates," developed by
Unimation Inc.
Telecommunications satellites in geo-
synchronous earth orbits for national and
global television.
DEC introduces the PDP-5, first
minicomputer.
CDC 6600 announced.
Tandy Corporation buys a chain of Radio
Shack electronics stores.
APL (A Programming Language),
developed by Iverson, IBM and
Harvard University.
1964
One of the first applications of an
integrated circuit is used in a hearing aid
by Texas Instruments.
ASCII (American Standard Code for
Information Interchange).
IBM introduces the series 360 computer.
Englebart invents the computer mouse.
RCA, Spectra 70 computer, a plug-compatible system with the IBM 360.
BASIC developed by Kemeny and Kurtz of Dartmouth College.
PL/1 programming language is developed.
1965
Gordon Moore, from Fairchild
Semiconductor, crafts Moore's Law.
First live television pictures of moon shown on earth.
CDC delivers its first model CDC 3100
computer.
1967Bubble memory is developed at Bell
Laboratories, Bobeck.
IBM builds the first floppy disk.
Roberts puts together his plan for the
ARPANET.
Texas Instruments develops the first
hand-held calculator.
Hewlett-Packard Laboratories are
formed.
LOGO language is developed.
1968
Hewlett-Packard introduces the world's first desktop scientific
calculator, the HP 9100A.
DEC introduces the PDP-8.
CDC 7600, the most powerful computer of
its time.
Intel is founded by Noyce and Moore, markets a 2,000 bit
memory chip.
1969 First international joint conference on
artificial intelligence is held.
First manned Lunar
The Arpanet is constructed.
Xerox demonstrates first laser printer.
Intel builds the first microprocessor, the
4004.
Advanced Micro Devices Incorporated (AMD) is founded.
Year Key Technology Communications Computing Key CompaniesComputer OS, Languages &
Programs
landing
1970
The Association for Computing
Machinery (ACM) holds its first
Computer Chess tournament.
Intel creates the 1103, first available DRAM memory chip, 1Kbit.
DEC introduces the PDP-11/20, its first 16
bit minicomputer.
IBM ships its first fourth generation
computer, the System/370.
Bell Labs develops Unix.
BLISS (Basic Language for
Implementation of System Software) is
developed.
1971
3M introduces a 1/4 inch tape drive and
cartridge.
ARPANET increases from 14 to 19 nodes.
IBM introduces the 8” floppy drive.
CDC announces Cyber 70 computer
family.
General Electric sells its computer operations to
Honeywell, Inc.
Wirth invents the Pascal programming
language.
1972
The Pioneer 10 spacecraft is
launched, with an Intel 4004 brain.
5 ¼” floppy disks appear.
Bally/Midway introduces "Space Invaders" and "Pac
Man", two successful video games.
Atari, "Asteroids" video game.
Playskool, the Playskool Computer.
Kernighan and Ritchie develop the C
programming language.
CP/M (Control Program for
Microprocessors) OS, Kildall
1973 Skylab, US space station launched.
IBM introduces the "Winchester" disk
drives.
Thirty institutions are connected to the
ARPANET.
Kahn and Cerf give their first paper on the
new Transmission Control Protocol
(TCP).
Seymour Cray leaves CDC, forms Cray
Research.
PL/M written by Kildall.
1974
U.S. Congress establishes the
National Commission on Electronic Fund
Transfers.
Skylab abandoned, crashes in 1979.
First release of IBM's SNA (System
Network Architecture).
Daily traffic on the ARPANET exceeds
million packets.
Intel invents the 8080.
Motorola, the 6800.
DRAM, 4Kbit.
Microsoft Corporation is
founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
1975 Xerox Park develops first WISIWYG
computer system.
The ARPANET now
The Altair 8800 computer, kit $439, assembled: $621.
Designers of Intel's 8080 chip form the Zylog Corporation.
Microsoft writes BASIC for the Altair.
Year Key Technology Communications Computing Key CompaniesComputer OS, Languages &
Programs
has 61 nodes.
1976
Metcalfe develops Ethernet Network.
IBM develops the ink jet printer.
Microprocessors:MOS Technology ships the 6502 .Intel the 8085.Zylog the Z80.
Texas Instruments the TMS9900, the first
16-bit microprocessor.Cray-1 supercomputer
prototype is built.
DRAM, 16Kbit.
Apple computer is founded 4/1/1976, Jobs and Wozniak.
U.S. Robotics is founded.
Warner Communications buys Atari video game company.
CP/M OS written by Kildall.
1977 Fiber optics first used in phone lines.
JVC introduces the VHS format VCR.
Apple Computer introduces Apple II,
$1298.
Commodore, the PET computer.
Radio Shack, the TRS-80, $600.
DEC introduces the VAX 11/780, 32-bit supermini computer.
.
1978Total installed U.S. computer systems in use reaches 500,000.
Over 300,000 word processing systems in
use in the U.S.
Intel markets the 8086 microprocessor chip.
The first Computer Dealer Exposition (COMDEX) trade
show is held.
1979
MicroPro introduces "WordStar", becomes
one of the most popular word
processor apps.
USENET starts as a series of shell scripts written by Bellovin at UNC to communicate
with Duke.
Apple Computer announces the Apple
II+, 48K memory, $1195.
Intel markets the 8088 microprocessor chip.
DRAM, 64Kbit.
Sperry Rand is renamed Sperry
Corporation.
Personal Software, Inc. releases VisiCalc
electronic spreadsheet for the Apple II, the first
“killer application”, allowing 20 hours of work to be done in 15
minutes.
ADA programming language, Ichbiah.
1980 Total installed computers in use in
the U.S. exceeds one million units.
Mollenauer, Stollen, & Gordon create first
optical fibers.
Disney first to use computer graphics for
a movie, Tron
Microsoft signs agreement with IBM
to produce an operating system.
Apollo Computer Inc. introduces first high-
performancemicrocomputer workstation.
Motorola develops the
Burroughs Corp. acquires the System Development Corp.
and Memorex.
U.S. Department of Defense issues ADA to be their standard.
Year Key Technology Communications Computing Key CompaniesComputer OS, Languages &
Programs
68000 chip.
1981Apple has an installed
base of 300,000 Apple II computers.
Hayes introduces his first SmartModem,
300 bps.
The Internet Working Group of DARPA
publishes transition plan from the
Network Control Protocol to the
TCP/IP protocol.
IBM announces the Personal Computer,
64k memory, $2,665, speed of .2 MIPS.
Sun, the "Sun 100" workstation, 256k memory, $12,900.
Commodore, the VIC-20, $299, sells more than 1,000,000 units.
Japan mounts successful challenge to US chip makers by
producing 64-kbit RAM chips so
inexpensively that U.S. competitors
charge the chips are being ‘dumped’ on
the U.S. market.
Berkeley, Bill Joy incorporates TCP/IP
into next Unix release.
1982
Time magazine names ‘the computer’ its ‘Man of the Year.’
First flight of the Space Shuttle.
Audio CD marketed, merging the music industry with the
computer revolution.
Apple, the Lisa computer, $9995.
IBM introduces the IBM PC XT, $3,000.
DRAM, 256Kbit.
Compaq Computer Corporation founded,
Canion, Murto, Harris.
1983
Total number of installed computers in U.S. over 10 million.
Sinclair proposes concepts in wafer-scale integration.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital
Interface) developed.
Apple, the Macintosh, $2500. Intel, 80286
microprocessor.
Cray-2 supercomputer capable of performing 1 billion floating point operations per second.
Apple Computer enters the Fortune
500 at number 411.
Osborne Computer Company declares
bankruptcy.
Lotus 1-2-3 replaces VisiCalc as the
primary spreadsheet software for PCs.
Borland, Turbo Pascal.
1984
“Cyberspace” first discussed in Gibson’s book Neuromancer.
Apple sells its two millionth Apple II.
CD-ROM players for computers.
Hewlett-Packard pioneers inkjet
printing technology with Thinkjet printer.
Commodore 64, $595, 22,000,000 units.
Kaypro 16, IBM compatible.
IBM PC AT, $5470.
Sun 4/100 workstation $18,900, 8MB RAM,
speed 7 MIPS.
Atari Corporation founded,
manufactures PCs and video games.
"Windows" software is introduced.
1985
The term "Vaporware" is
coined for software that is talked about and promoted but
does not yet exist in reality.
High temperature superconductors are found, IBM, Müller
and Bednorz.
Laser printers marketed by HP and
Apple.
The number of networks on the
Internet (all TCP/IP) is 2,000.
Kaypro, first company to market IBM PC AT
clone, Kaypro 286i, $2300.
Intel, the 80386 microprocessor chip.
IBM 3090 mainframe.
Jobs resigns from Apple Computer and
later forms NEXT Inc.computer
company.
Lotus Development Corporation acquires
assets of Software Arts, and Dataspeed.
Hypercard, a language and
multimedia authoring tool, Apple.
1986 Installed computers in the U.S. exceeds 30
million.
Apple sues Microsoft, claiming its Windows
3 ½” disks are introduced for
Macintosh, PCs also adopt them.
Compaq releases Deskpro 386, beating
IBM to a 386 PC release.
Apple Macintosh
Compaq joins the Fortune 500 faster
than any company in history, ships its
500,000th computer.
Year Key Technology Communications Computing Key CompaniesComputer OS, Languages &
Programs
operating system illegally copied the
"look and feel" of the Macintosh.
Plus, $2600.
Atari the ATARI 1040ST, $999, uses
6800 processor chip.
DRAM, 1Mbit.
Apple buys a Cray X-MP supercomputer, $15.5 million, for
product development.
Burroughs merges with Sperry Rand to form UNISYS, the
second largest computer company.
1987
Stock market takes a major blow.
Computer stocks drop sharply.
First PC FAX boards shown at Comdex.
Number of networks on the Internet is
30,000.
Max Headroom - computer-mediated live action figure
Motorola, the 68030 microprocessor.
Apple Mac II, 68020, 1 MB memory,
$5,498.
DEC, MicroVax and Vaxstation
workstations.
DECWorld is the world's largest
vendor sponsored trade show.
Pixar purchased from Lucasfilm by Jobs
Microsoft releases "Windows 386" and Microsoft "Works".
Lotus drops copyright protection
on Lotus 1-2-3 .
1988
5 known computer viruses.
Upgrade of the NSFNET backbone to
T1 completes, the Internet becomes more international
with the connection of Canada, Denmark,
Finland, France, Iceland, Norway and
Sweden.
CD sales surpass LPs.
Tandy announces an erasable optical disk.
3-Com Corp. ships the first LAN
Manager-based networks.
Apple Mac II, 68030, 68882, 4M RAM.
Cray Y-MP, its most powerful
supercomputer.
Apollo is first to use 68030 in workstation,
Series 4500.
DRAM, 4Mbit.
Gang of Nine formed by Compaq and eight other PC companies who set up the EISA (Extended Industry
Standard Architecture) to challenge IBM's Microchannel
Architecture (MCA).
23-year-old Robert T. Morris, Jr., unleashes a computer virus that
enters the Internet network and affects
over 6,000 computers on the system.(Morris
is prosecuted and sentenced in
April/May 1990).
1989
Xerox Inc. sues Apple Computer
alleging that Apple unlawfully borrowed from the Xerox Star's
graphical user interface.
DSHD (double-sided, high-density) 3 ½”
floppy disks, 1.4 MB. Tremendous growth of e-mail as a form of
communication.
Number of networks on the Internet is over
160,000.
Intel introduces 80486 microprocessor.
Jobs markets NeXT computer, 8 MB RAM, 5 MIPS,
$9,995.
Cray 3 computer.
Hewlett-Packard Company acquires Apollo Computer
Inc.
Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web
concept and HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol) language.
1990
Hubble Space Telescope launched with DF-224 1.25 MHz computer.
HTML developed by Berners-Lee.
ARPANET formally shuts down. In twenty
years, ‘the net’ has grown from 4 to over
300,000 hosts.
Motorola releases 68040
microprocessor.
UNISYS announces layoffs of 10,000.
Microsoft releases Windows 3.0.
1991 Apple releases PowerBooks, Quadra, and Centris, 68040.
Nationwide recession affects computer industry, driving
Microsoft ships DOS 5.0 for PCs.
Year Key Technology Communications Computing Key CompaniesComputer OS, Languages &
Programs
DRAM, 16Mbit.prices lower and
forcing downsizing and layoffs.
Linux is introduced by Linus Torvald, a student in Finland.
1992More than 1,000 known computer
viruses.
Number of networks on the Internet
exceeds 7,500 and the number of computers
connected passes 1,000,000.
Apple introduces its Newton MessagePad
personal digital assistant (PDA), $700.
IBM cuts 325,000 workers.
Microsoft ships Windows 3.1.
1993
Hubble Space Telescope, 16MHz
80386/80387 computer added to
the DF-224.
Sharp Electronics, Japan, announces the
PI-700 Expert Pad personal digital
assistant (PDA), with a list price of $899.
200 domain hosts in use, only 8 end in .com or .net.
Pentium (80586) by Intel, 32-bit processor,
named Pentium because they couldn’t copyright a number.
IBM, RS/6000 Unix workstation.
Microsoft starts testing Windows '95, code named Chicago.
Andreesen and Bina wrote the first
browser, Mosaic.
1994
Estimated 20-25 million users on the
internet, on-line services include
Prodigy, Compuserve, and America-On-
Line.
Internet traffic passes 10 trillion
bytes/month
Apple, PowerMacs using the Motorola
PowerPC chip.
IBM, ThinkPad 510C color subnotebook
computer, 4 Mb RAM and 200 Mb hard
drive.
DRAM, 64Mbit.
DEC announces plans to lay off
20,000.
Symantec acquires Central Pont
Software and SLR Systems.
McAffee Associates acquires Brightwork.
Red Hat Linux is introduced.
1995
Boeing’s 777 is the first 100% digitally
designed and preassembled (using computer simulation)
airplane.
The Group of Seven (G7) industrialized
nations holds the first technology-orientedsummit about linking the world's networks together for improved
interoperability.
Lasseter of Pixar gets Academy Award for
development and application of
techniques used in Toy Story, the first computer-generate
full-length film
NEC announces its SX-4 Series parallel-
processor supercomputer which
can handle up to 1 TeraFLOPS.
Compaq releases 133 MHz Pentium
systems.
Microsoft plans to form "Microsoft
Network."
Seagate acquires Conner Peripherals in a $1.04 billion deal.
Microsoft releases Windows 95 and
introduces Internet Explorer browser.
Sun releases Java language.
1996 Mars Pathfinder lands on Mars, Sojourner robot explores and
transmits data for 83 days, returned 2.6
billion bits of
Internet phones catch the attention of US telecommunication companies who ask the US Congress to ban the technology
Intel release the 150, 166, & 200 MHz versions of the
Pentium Processor.
MCI upgrades Internet backbone
adding ~13,000 ports, bringing the effective speed from 155Mbps
to 622Mbps.
Linux 2.0 released.
Year Key Technology Communications Computing Key CompaniesComputer OS, Languages &
Programs
information. (which has been around for years)
1997
Deep Blue (IBM) computer beats world
chass champion Kasparov (2795
ranking).
Mars “Sojourner” rover landed on Mars,
has an 8085 brain
DVDs first marketed.
Intel release the Pentium II processor, 233, 266 & 300 Mhz
versions.
Honda showcases the P3 robot, the 8th
prototype in a humanoid design project started in
1986.
Microsoft’s Bill Gates' worth is
estimated at $23 billion, richest man in
the world.
Apple acquires NeXt and Jobs returns.
Microsoft invests in financially-troubled
Apple, buying 100,000 non-voting shares worth $150
million
1998
Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) launched. 80386/80387 brain with 8085 attitude
control system.
Web size estimates are 275 to 320 million
pages.
Bluetooth technology developed for "body"
personal LANs.
The 1,000th DVD title is released.
DRAM, 256Mbit.
Compaq Computer acquires DEC for an
estimated $9.6 billion.
1999
Y2K bug forces computer and
application upgrades. Due to the effort
expended, little Y2K damage was seen.
Hubble Space Telescope computer replaced with a 50 MHz 80486 (the fastest radiation-hardened CPU
currently available).
MCI/Worldcom begins upgrading the US Internet backbone
to 2.5GBps.
Star wars Episode One - The Phantom
Menace uses 66 digital characters
composited with live action
Sony markets the AIBO robotic dog,
$2,500.
AMD release K6-III 400 & 450 MHz, and the Athlon 750MHz.
DRAM, 512Mbit.
AOL and Time-Warner announce
merger plans.
Microsoft releases Windows 98 SE
(Windows 98 Second Edition) and
Windows 2000.
2000
Complete DNA sequence of the
human genome mapped.
Web size estimates surpass 1 billion
pages.
The 5,000th DVD movie title is released.
AMD Release the Athlon 1GHz.
Intel Pentium III processor 1 GHz.
Honda announces the ASIMO humanoid
Robot.
Microsoft releases Windows ME as a fix
to Windows 2000.
Mac OS-X introduced, Unix-
based OS from NeXT technology.
2001 MacAfee releases first handheld virus protection software.
Internet Fraud Complaint Center
Movies with significant computer-
generated content: Final Fantasy Monsters Inc(Pixar), Harry Potter, A.I., Lord of the Rings,
Intel introduces the Pentium 4 processor
2 GHz.
Sony releases the
Dell computers becomes the largest
PC maker. In economis downturn,
Dell is the only
Microsoft releases Windows XP.
Year Key Technology Communications Computing Key CompaniesComputer OS, Languages &
Programs
logs 17,000 cases, $18M in losses.
Shrek, The Mummy Returns, Tomb Raider, Jurassic Park III, Pearl
Harbor, Planet of the Apes.
The 10,000th DVD movie title is released.
second generation of its AIBO robot dog. computer seller that
grows.
2002
Approximately 1 billion PCs have been
shipped worldwide since the mid-'70s.
Chess computer Junior 7 beats human Grandmaster Mikhail Gurevich with 3 wins
and 1 draw.
Web size estimates surpass 6 billion
pages.
Internet Fraud Complaint Center logs 75,000 cases, $54M in losses.
DRAM, 1Gbit.HP and Compaq
merge.
2003
Top chess computers were Shredder 7.04 (2810), Shredder 7.0
(2770), Fritz 8.0 (2762), Deep Fritz
7.0 (2761), Fritz 7.0 (2742), Shredder 6.0
(2724), and Chess Tiger 15.0 (2720).
Only 5 humans have rankings above 2700.
171,000,000 domain hosts in use.
Internet Fraud Complaint Center
logs 120,000 cases.
Apple introduces the Power Mac PowerPC
G5, a 64-bit processor.
Sony releases the AIBO ERS-7 it's 3rd
generation robotic pet.
Atari Games Corporation (Midway
Games West) goes out of business.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was knighted in
recognition of his creation of the 'World
Wide Web'.
2004
Robot rover Spirit lands on Mars with a20 MHz “PowerPC” (RAD6000), 128M RAM, 256M Flash,
running UNIX. (100+ RAD6000s now in earth orbit)
BlueGene/L massively parallel
computer, hundreds of teraflops.
2005
Over 1 Billion people are online.
- 50% of Internet traffic passes through Virginia - 88% of Americans say internet plays a
major role in their life
Cray XD1 supercomputer, more
than 1.6 trillion calculations per
second
2019
Automated driving systems are now installed in most
roads.
A $1,000 computer (in 1999 dollars) has the
computing capacity of the human brain.
2029 A $1,000 computer (in 1999 dollars) has the
computing capacity of
Year Key Technology Communications Computing Key CompaniesComputer OS, Languages &
Programs
1,000 human brains.
2039 - 2049
Machines claim to be conscious. These claims are largely
accepted.