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Pentium Microprocessor
The very first CPU in a series, which was released by Intel, was also called the P5. It was the world's first mass produced superscalar microprocessor. Superscalar meant it was able to execute at least two instructions simultaneously. This change made computers much faster and allowed greater functionality for software development. -
ThinkPad 700 series
Featuring a 10.4" TFT (Thin Film Transistor) full-color display, a TrackPoint (A tiny nub built in and used to control the mouse cursor in Windows GUI), and a sliding keyboard, the ThinkPad 701 was considered the best in mobile business computers of the time. Designed by John Karidis, an IBM mechanical engineer and inventor, the patented keyboard design allowed two jigsaw-like interlocking pieces to tuck into the laptop case when the display lid closed. -
The PalmPilot 1000
Palm Inc. founder Jeff Hawkins and co-creators Donna Dubinsky and Ed Colligan introduced the Palm Pilot in March of 1996. The Palm Pilot 1000 was smaller, faster, and cheaper than the competition of the time. The Palm OS platform was the first PDA with wireless internet access in 1997. -
ASCI Red supercomputer
ASCI Red was a supercomputing initiative of the US government designed to help maintain the country’s nuclear arsenal. Built by Intel, it was the first supercomputer to score above one Teraflops on the LINPACK, a test that measures a computer’s calculation speed. Using Pentium Pro processors, originally the ASCI Red was recorded at 1.6 TFLOPS, but later after an upgrade in 1999, at 3.1 TFLOPS00. It held the record of world’s fastest supercomputer until late 2000. -
Kyocera Visual Phone VP-210
Only available in Japan, the first commercial camera phone. It could store 20 JPEGs which could be sent via email. Camera phones were not introduced into US markets until 2002. The first camera phone was invented by Philippe Kahn in 1997. The engineer and inventor, Kahn jury-rigged a mobile phone and digital camera to send photos of the birth of his daughter. -
CSAIL is formed
This research Institute Computer Science and AI Laboratory (CSAIL) is at MIT. CSAIL is organized as a number of semi-autonomous research groups. Their focuses include:
Artificial intelligence, Computational biology, Graphics, Language and learning, Theory of computation, Robotics, and Systems (includes computer architecture, databases, distributed systems, networks and networked systems, operating systems, programming methodology, and software engineering, among others).