1937: John Atanasoff, a professor of physics and mathematics at Iowa State University, starts working on creating the first digital computer; one without gears, cams, belts or shafts.
1941: Atanasoff and his graduate student, Clifford Berry, design a computer that can solve 29 equations simultaneously (shown above). This is the first time a computer is able to keep information in its own memory. 1943-1944: John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, two professors at the University of Pennsylvania, build ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator). This was a twenty by forty foot machine with eighteen thousand vacuum tubes; it is considered the grandfather of digital computers. (shown below) 1946: Mauchly and Presper are able to leave the University of Pennsylvania and, with funding from the Census Bureau, build UNIVAC: the first commercial computer for business and government applications.
1953: Grace Hopper (shown below) develops COBOL: the first computer language. Thomas Johnson Watson Jr creates the IBM 701 EDPM--the world's first scientific commercial computer--to help the United States during the Korean War. 1954: FORTRAN is born: a computer programming language used for scientific calculation and computation.
1958: Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce reveal the creation of the computer chip, known then as the integrated circuit. 1964: Douglas Engelbart builds a prototype of a modern computer, including a mous and a GUI (graphical user interface). The computer is now more than a machine used by scientists and mathematicians. |
1970: Intel, the newly formed company, releases the first DRAM (Dynamic Access Memory) chip.
1974-1977: A few personal computers hit the market, including Scelbi & Mark-8 Altair, IBM 5100, RadioShack’s TRS-80, known as the “Trash 80,” and the Commodore PET. 1975: The IBM 5100 becomes the first commercially available portable computer. 1976: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak start working on a company called Apple and release the Apple I: the first computer with a single-circuit board. (shown below) 1977: Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80, intended for the general public as a computer programming system to do whatever the buyer so desired. Jobs and Wozniak release the Apple II, a computer that includes an audio cassette drive and color graphics.
1978: VisiCalc, the first computerized spreadsheet program, is introduced to the public. 1979: Word processing becomes a reality as MicroPro International releases WordStar. 1981: The first IBM personal computer, Acorn, is introduced. It has an Intel chip, two floppy disks (created to share information between computers) and an optional color monitor. This massive production popularizes the term PC. 1983: Apple’s Lisa (shown below) is the first personal computer with a GUI. It also features a drop-down menu and icons. It eventually evolves into the Macintosh. The Gavilan SC is the first portable computer with the familiar flip form factor and the first to be marketed as a “laptop.” 1985: Microsoft announces Windows in response to Apple’s GUI. Commodore unveils the Amiga 1000, which features advanced audio and video capabilities. |
1985: The first dot-com domain name is registered.
1990: Tim Berners-Lee develops HTML (HyperText Markup Language), resulting in the ris of the World Wide Web. 1994: PCs become gaming machines as Command & Conquer, Alone in the Dark 2, Theme Park, Magic Carpet, Descent and Little Big Adventure hit the market. 1997: Microsoft invests $150 million in Apple, allowing the two companies to mimic each other's style. 1999: Wi-Fi becomes a part of the computing language when the idea of connecting to the Internet without wires is introduced. 2000: Sony releases the Playstation 2. 2001: Apple releases the Mac OS X operating system, providing better memory architecture and pre-emptive multi-tasking, as well as other benefits. Microsoft releases Windows XP, including a significantly redesigned GUI. 2004: Mozilla's Firefox 1.0 begins to challenge Internet Explorer, which is the dominant web browser, owned by Microsoft. 2006: Apple introduces the MacBook Pro, its first Intel-based, dual-core mobile computer. Nintendo's Wii is now available in the market. 2007: The iPhone is born, bringing computer functions to a mobile phone. 2009: Microsoft launches Windows 7.
2010: Apple releases the first iPad (shown below). |