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Intel 4004
Stanley Mazor, Federico Faggin, and Ted Hoff invented the first programmable microprocessor known as the Intel 4004. It was released to the public in 1971 and it would go on to earn them the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. -
The First Email
Ray Tomlinson sent the first Email in 1971 through ARPANET. Tomlinson and Bolt Beranek created text-based messaging through computers with the ARPANET network used the "@" symbol to route those messages. -
Floppy Disks
IBM began selling disk drives in 1971 and received patents for the drive in 1972. The big breakthrough for these disks happened when the Apple II was released with two 5 1/4-inch floppy drives. This allowed ordinary people to load operating systems and other software programs into their personal computers with much ease. -
Handheld Cell Phones
In 1973, Motorola's senior engineer Martin Cooper called his rival telecommunication company to inform them that they were speaking through a mobile phone. The Motorola DynaTAC 8000x weighed almost two and a half pounds and was a little over a foot long. It had only 30 minutes of talk time with a 10-hour recharge time. -
Digital Cameras
In 1975, Kodak engineer Steven Sasson invented the first self-contained digital camera. However, it was bulky and clunky like many early inventions we see. The camera weighed about 8 pounds and took 0.01-megapixel black-and-white photographs which were then recorded onto a cassette tape. The whole process took about 23 seconds.