age of technology 1975-2017

floppy disk

Dec 30, 1960

The floppy disk may be a largely obsolete technology at this point but its legacy is huge. This very article is being written in Microsoft Word and the document has been saved by clicking that floppy disk symbol in the top left corner. We’re not using floppy disks anymore but we haven’t forgotten about them.

videogame

Aug 20, 1972

While Tennis for Two, created by William Higinbotham, could be considered the first ever videogame, it was only in the 1970s that video games hit the big time. Pong was released in 1972 by Atari and was the result of a training exercise set by Nolan Bushnell for his protégé Al Alcorn.

the walkman

Jun 8, 1979

Launched in 1979 in Japan, the Walkman was an unprecedented success and by 1986 the name had entered the Oxford English Dictionary.

The Video Cassette Recorder

Jan 4, 1980

Imagine not being able to pause, rewind or record TV, or to choose what you wanted to watch? Ah yes, in those giddy days TV was in charge and you only got to see whatever it decided to offer you.

the computer

Apr 12, 1981

While there were several variations on the idea of the personal computer pre-1980s, including the Apple II, it was IBM that coined the term when it released the IBM 5150 on 12 August 1981.

the CD

Sep 12, 1982

The humble CD was a strongly contested invention, with both Philips and Sony working feverishly to be the first to produce them prior to the 80s.

the internet

Apr 3, 1990

Arguably the most important technological advancement in the 1990's was the creation, and release of the commercial internet, or the World Wide Web (WWW). Starting off as a networking project in the University of Minnesota, Microsoft quickly launched its own internet browser, Internet Explorer, which was later released as a standard internet browser with the release of the Windows 98 OS. The internet allowed people to communicate in a way never experienced before.

Hubble telescope

Apr 15, 1990

Hubble is one of NASA's most successful and long-lasting science missions. It has beamed hundreds of thousands of images back to Earth, shedding light on many of the great mysteries of astronomy.

xbox

Jun 29, 2001

Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. It represents a series of video game consoles developed by Microsoft, with three consoles released in the sixth, seventh, and eighth generations respectively. The brand also represents applications (games)

ipod

Oct 23, 2001

The iPod is a line of portable media players and multi-purpose pocket computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about 8½ months after iTunes (Macintosh version) was released.

skype

Aug 12, 2003

Skype is an instant messaging app that provides online text message and video chat services. Users may transmit both text and video messages and may exchange digital documents such as images, text, and video. Skype allows video conference calls

gmail

Apr 1, 2004

Gmail is a free, advertising-supported email service developed by Google. Users can access Gmail on the web and through the mobile apps for Android and iOS, as well as through third-party programs that synchronize email content through POP or IMAP protocols. Gmail started as a limited beta release on April 1, 2004.

hulu

Jul 16, 2007

Hulu is an American subscription video on demand service owned by Hulu LLC, a joint venture with The Walt Disney Company

chrome

Mar 7, 2008

Google Chrome, a web browser
Chrome OS, a Google Chrome and Linux-based operating system
User interface chrome, the borders and widgets that frame the content part of a window
Chrome (Mozilla) or XUL, the Mozilla XML user interface language
Chrome (programming language) or Oxygene, an Object Pascal implementation for the .NET Framework

ipad

Apr 3, 2010

iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., which run the iOS mobile operating system. The first iPad was released on April 3, 2010;