Computer Programming Through the Years.

By Dbabcock

  • American Thomas Edison discovers the Edison effect, where an electric current flows through a vacuum.

  • Sprint is founded.

  • John Ambrose Fleming experiments with Edison's diode vacuum tubes and creates the first commercial diode vacuum tube.

  • Digital introduces the PDP-1 the first minicomputer.

  • The first integrated circuits (IC's) begin being sold for $120.00 and are chosen to be used on the Gemini spacecraft

  • The software program SketchPad written by Ivan Sutherland is introduced.

  • Kenneth Olsen is issued U.S. patent #3,161,861 on December 15, 1964 for Magnetic core memory.

  • UCLA introduces internet

    UCLA puts out a press release introducing the public to the Internet on July 3, 1969. On August 29, 1969 the first network switch and the first piece of network equipment (called "IMP", which is short for Interface Message Processor) is sent to UCLA. On September 2, 1969 the first data moves from UCLA host to the IMP switch.

  • IBM introduces the System/370, which included the use of Virtual Memory and utilized memory chips instead of magnetic core technology.

  • IBM HIRES BILL GATES

    IBM hires Paul Allen and Bill Gates to create an operating system for a new PC. The pair buy the rights to a simple operating system manufactured by Seattle Computer Products and use it as a template. IBM allows the two to keep the marketing rights to the operating system, called DOS.

  • Creative Labs introduces sound card

    Creative Labs introduces the SoundBlaster, a sound card for the PC. The sound card contained an 11-voice FM synthesizer with text-to-speech, digitized voice input/output, a MIDI port, a joystick port and bundled software.

  • What is widely considered to be the first 3D platform game, Alpha Waves, is released for the Amiga and Atari ST computers.

  • For the first time more than half of the households in America have Internet access on August 17, 2000 according to Nielsen.

  • Microsoft sells the remainder of its Microsoft Surface devices running Windows RT and has no plans on releasing any future products using Windows RT.