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Design Begins on ABC Computer at Iowa State
Wikipedia Linkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABC_Computer
The Atanasoff–Berry Computer (ABC) was the first electronic digital computing device.[1] Conceived in 1937, the machine was not programmable, being designed only to solve systems of linear equations. It was successfully tested in 1942. However, its intermediate result storage mechanism, a paper card writer/reader, was unreliable, and when inventor John Vincent Atanasoff left Iowa Stat -
The ABC Computer is finally constructed
Atanasoff–Berry (Iowa State) Computer (ABC)... considered the first electronic digital computer announced in Iowa. It was a single purpose computer to solve simultaneous linear equations. -
Colossus Programmable Computer
Colossus was the world's first totally electronic programmable computing device, developed and implements in England during WWII to help with code breaking and encryption schemes. This series utilized vacuum tubes for calculations. -
The ENIAC general purpose electronic computer
J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly (University of Pennsylvania) were the first to PATENT a digital computing device, the ENIAC, funded by the US Army and originally used for computations for the hydrogen bomb. They later lost a patent court dispute to the Iowa State team. -
UNIVAC - First Commercial Computer
UNIVAC was first intended for the Bureau of the Census, which paid for much of the development, and then was put in production. Made by Remington Rand after purchasing the company from the Univ of Penn team that made the ENIAC, it sold for over 1 million (1951 dollars!) -
IBM Begins Mainframe Manufacturing
Wikipedia LinkIBM mainframes are large computer systems produced by IBM from 1952 to the present. During the 1960s and 1970s, the term mainframe computer was almost synonymous with IBM products due to their marketshare. -
Hard Disk
In 1953 IBM recognized the immediate application for what it termed a "Random Access File" having high capacity and rapid random access at a relatively low cost.[1] After considering technologies such as wire matrices, rod arrays, drums, drum arrays, etc.,[1] the engineers at IBM's San Jose California laboratory invented the hard disk drive -
60's--LARGE Businesses Implement Computers
During the 60's, especially the later 60's, Banks and the largest mega-companies start to invest in computer infrastructure. They invested MILLIONS in main frame systems that had less memory than your flash drive and less CPU power than your WEAKEST computer today. -
The Internet (first incarnation)...late 60's
Research universities want to share resources between their local campus networks so they develop the techniques to "network the networks" which is the whole idea of the Internet.
UCLA and Stanford
Utilized three main tools:
TELNET (log onto someone ELSE'S computer)
FTP (transfer files)
Messaging
Messaging (early versions of email) -
1976 Apple I shown at Homebrew Computer Club in CA
The FIRST commercially available desktop computer... archaic by today's standards, but totally revolutionary at this time! -
Apple II Shown at West Coast Computer Faire
Wikipedia LinkThe Apple II series (trademarked with brackets as "Apple ][") is a set of 8-bit home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products,[1] designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II. -
ARPAnet and packet switching
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), was the world's first operational packet switching network and the core network of a set that came to compose the global Internet. The network was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the United States Department of Defense for use by its projects at universities and research laboratories in the US. The packet switching of the ARPANET was based on designs by Lawrence Roberts of the Lincoln Laboratory. -
ABC vs. ENIAC Lawsuit
The Iowa State folks win a patent fight over the Univ of Pennsylvania group on who came up with the concepts for the "first computer" -
1980--First DOS-based computer--The IBM PC
Microsoft supplied the DOS operating system and IBM supplies the hardware. No hard drives yet... floppy disks were storage. They went after the "Business" market with a vengance while Apple focused on schools initially. -
IBM PC XT w/Hard Drive
First IBM PC to come with an internal hard drive as standard. The XT originally came with 128 kB of RAM, a 360 kB double-sided 5.25 in (133 mm) full-height floppy disk drive, a 10 MB Seagate ST-412 hard drive -
1984--Apple Macintosh and the first GUI
Apple was the first to effectively utilize a mouse and a point and click OS.
Later to be copied (many say "stolen") by Bill Gates and Microsoft and reengineered as "Windowa"... Windows was unstable and a resource HOG in comparison. Gates denied the accusations vehemently. -
Macinstosh Hard Drive
The Macintosh Hard Disk 20 was the first hard drive developed by Apple Computer specifically for use with the Macintosh 512K. Introduced on September 17, 1985 -
WWW Begins at CERN
The World Wide Web began as a CERN (European particle physics lab) project called ENQUIRE, initiated by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989 and Robert Cailliau in 1990.[9] Berners-Lee and Cailliau were jointly honored by the Association for Computing Machinery in 1995 for their contributions to the development of the World Wide Web. -
1990--MOSAIC, the first web browser is made available
Reseachers at the CERN Particle Physics Institute in Switzerland develop the techniques of "web pages" with hyperlinks... the FIRST incarnation of a hyperlinked WWW. The image is Mosaic 1.0 running under MAC OS System 7.1, displaying the Mosaic Communications Corporation (later Netscape) website. -
Windows 3 finally somewhat stable and released
Around 6 years after Apple had a clean and stable GUI known as the Macintosh OS, Microsoft gets closer to a clean and stable approach. A "multimedia" version, Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions 1.0, was released later in 1991. This was bundled with "multimedia upgrade kits", comprising a CD-ROM drive and a sound card, such as the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Pro.
