Computer History Project

Hewlett-Packard is Founded

Jan 1, 1931

David Packard and Bill Hewlett started the company in their garage in California. Their first product was the HP 200A Audio Oscillator, which becomes a popular piece of test equipment for engineers. http://www.computerhope.com/history/196080.htm

Eniac Invented

Jul 29, 1947

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENIAC Eniac was the first computer invented. Electronic Numerial Integrator and Computer. Invented for military purposes.

Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device

Sep 13, 1947

Earliest known interactive computer game. Used ray tube technology. Pioneered modern day video games. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathode_ray_tube_amusement_device

The First Business Computer Invented

Apr 16, 1951

Lyons Electronic Office is completed by T. Raymond Thompson, John Simmons and their team at Lyons Co. Used by businesses for accounting and other business needs http://www.computerhope.com/history/196080.htm

Information Retrieval Language Invented

Oct 9, 1965

System later develops to the Pick Database Management System. It is used today on Unix and Windows systems. http://www.computerhope.com/history/196080.htm

First Edition of Unix Released

Nov 3, 1971

It includes over 60 commands like: b (compile B program); boot (reboot system); cat (concatenate files); chdir (change working directory); chmod (change access mode); chown (change owner); cp (copy file); ls (list directory contents); mv (move or rename file); roff (run off text); wc (get word count); who (who is one the system). The main thing missing was pipes. http://www.computerhope.com/history/196080.htm

Pearl

Aug 19, 1977

Pearl is a computer programming language. Pearl stands for Process and Experiment Automation Realtime Language. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEARL_(programming_language)

Ethernet

Sep 30, 1980

Family of computer networking technologies for local area networks. Ethernet was commercially introduced in 1980 and standardized in 1985 as IEEE 802.3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet

ARPANET Crash

Oct 27, 1980

Advanced Research Projects Agency Network experiences its first major net work crash. This caused it to go down for four hours http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET

Mac

Jan 24, 1984

The Mac or Macintosh is a series of personal computers (PCs) designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. Mac was first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a graphical user interface rather than a command-line interface. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_mac

The World

Nov 1, 1990

The World, the first commercial Internet dial-up access provider comes online. Run out of Brookline Massachusetts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_(Internet_service_provider)

Year 2000 Bug

Jan 1, 2000

The Year 2000 problem (also known as the Y2K problem, the Millennium bug, the Y2K bug, or simply Y2K) was a problem for both digita and non-digital documentation. Many people believed that the bug would cause the end of the world and that computers would all blow up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2000_problem

Code Red Worm

Jul 13, 2001

The worm spread itself using a common type of vulnerability known as a buffer overflow. It did this by using a long string of the repeated character 'N' to overflow a buffer, allowing the worm to execute arbitrary code and infect the machine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Red_worm

iPhone

Jan 9, 2007

First generation of iPhone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Most popular brand of smartphone used among americans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_(original)

Minecraft Is Released

May 17, 2009

Minecraft is one of the most popular online games currently played. The game has been released in stages and on multiple platforms. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft

iPad 2

Mar 11, 2011

The iPad 2 is the second generation iPad, a tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Used in Burlington High School among students and teachers.