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Telex Messaging Network Begins
Beginning as a way for military to communicate in WWII, the Telex sent text messages worldwide. It connected teleprinters to telephone lines, allowing for widespread communication. -
Elektro Robot
The Elektro Robot debuted at the World's Fair. It could respond to voice commands, move, speak around 700 words, and "smoke" cigarettes. -
Curta Calculator
The Austrian engineer, Kurt Herstarck, created the smallest all-mechanical, four-function calculator known to man. He developed the calculator while in Nazi imprisonment -
ENIAC Computing System
Built by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania. It was faster than past computers because of its electronic technology and it's believed the ENIAC did more computing during its use than ever before in humanity. -
A-0
Created by Grace Hopper, the A-0 program allowed a computer user to use English-like words rather than numbers to give the computer instructions. It was made for the first commercial business computer in the U.S, the UNIVAC I. -
SRI Creates ERMA
Standing for Electronic Recording Machine, Accounting, ERMA is made for the Bank of America. ERMA was the first machine to use Magnetic Ink Character Recognition, and could process checks faster than any person could. -
ASCII
Standing for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, ASCII allowed machines from different makers to exchange information. It used 128 strings of ones and zeroes, and could represent up to 256 symbols. -
SABRE
SABRE's Reservation system allowed for American Airlines to do online transactions. It could deliver data for flights within seconds. Travel sites such as Travelocity and Expedia still use SABRE as a base. -
Computer Space Game
Computer Space was one of the first arcade games and set the stage for many more to come. It had a simple design but was still complex enough for a steep learning curve. -
Apple II Release
One of the first personal computers, the Apple II would create images when connected to a TV set. It was a hit among hobbyists and students. -
CD-ROM
The CD-ROM expanded off of music compact discs. They were able to hold 550 megabytes of prerecorded data- a feat for its time. -
Microsoft Introduces Word
First titled Multi-Tool Word, Microsoft introduces Word in 1983. In 1989 it finally became standard. -
The Morris Worm
When Robert T. Morris sent a nondestructive worm throughout the internet, he became the first person to commit computer fraud. This worm sparked great interest in computer security. -
WorldWideWeb is Made
Created by the English programmer and physicist Tim Berners-Lee, the WorldWide Web featured a server, HTML, URLs, and the first browser. -
DVD
The DVD's better audio and video quality, interactivity, and longer lifespan defeated the VHS and rendered it obsolete. -
First Camera Phone
The J-Phone J-SH04 was the first digital camera phone with an integrated camera. Cameras became widely popular in phones soon after. -
iTunes
iTunes allowed users to custom burn CD's, and the iTunes store revolutionized music distribution and the industry as a whole. -
Earth Simulator Supercomputer
The fastest supercomputer in the world from 2002-2004, it was built by the Japanese government to simulate global climate models. -
MySpace
Developed by Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, MySpace transformed social networking and social media in general. -
Opportunity and Spirit Mars Rovers Land on Mars
Designed by Caltech, the Opportunity and Spirit Mars Rover landed on Mars in 2004. They stayed much longer than their expected lifespan, -
Arduino Begins
Arduino boards consisted of a microcontroller and signal connector, and became the key computer platform in the DIY computer Movement. -
WikiLeaks Made
Created by Julian Assange, WikiLeaks served as a storage for top secret information, unreleased news, and anonymous material. -
Apple iPhone is Introduced
The first combination of a web browser, music player, and cell phone- the iPhone had many features that no other mobile device had seen before -
MacBook Air Released
The first thin, lightweight, and battery efficient computer. Apple replaced the traditional hard drive with a solid state disc to reduce its size. -
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a crypto-currency first described by Satoshi Nakamoto. Their value was sky high in 2013 and then leveled out. -
IBM's Watson Beats Jeopardy Contestants
IBM's Watson defeated the two best Jeopardy players of all time in 2010. This was a breakthrough because IBM's Watson was able to analyze natural language questions accurately and efficiently . -
Siri is Introduced
Siri is a voice-activated personal assistant that can use "natural language" and comprehend it to find the answer. It was released in the iPhone 4s. -
Facebook Takes Over Instagram
In 2012, Facebook purchases Instagram for nearly one billion dollars. This is a breakthrough because FaceBook acquired another huge social media presence. -
Edward Snowden Files
Edward Snowden, a former CIA and NSA employee, released thousands of documents about the USA's national security programs. -
Apple Pay is Introduced
Apple Pay allows for online transactions and in-store purchases by using near field communications interface, Apple touch ID, and the Passbook app. -
Apple Watch Released
The highly anticipated Apple Watch used Apple's iOS operating system and had sensors for health and environment. While some critics said it had a poor battery and high price, almost a million units were sold the days of its release. -
Oculus Rift Released
The Oculus Rift is an important technological breakthrough because it will pave the way for virtual reality in 2016. While right now virtual reality is expensive and bulky, we will soon see massive changes in usability.
