Computer Technology in the 1990s

By amber.patterson

  • World Wide Web

    World Wide Web
    Proposed in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, the World Wide web was born at CERN in 1990 with the first server and browser. Initially used among colleagues at CERN, the WWW software code became available for free in 1993, sparking wider use and igniting further development. The World Wide Web is the internet as we know it today and impacts nearly every aspect of our daily lives.

  • The Smartphone

    The Smartphone
    The Simon Personal Communicator was introduced in 1992 by IBM and is acknowledged as the first smartphone. Over the last 29 years, developments in smartphones have changed the way we work, shop, and stay connected.

  • Amazon

    Amazon
    Jeff Bezos launched Amazon in 1994. It has since become the most valuable ecommerce company in the world and has changed the way consumers spend their money.

  • DVD

    DVD
    Released in 1996, the DVD replaced the VHS as the preferred home movie media format. Today, the DVD is being overtaken by streaming and digital downloads.

  • Google Search

    Google Search
    Google Search was launched in 1997 and has gone on to become the most widely used search engine in the world. Google was not the first search engine. It's success and importance came from its ability to produce more relevant search results using more complex algorithms.

  • Portable MP3 Player

    Portable MP3 Player
    Engineer Tomislav Uzelac created the first successful MP3 player in 1997. MP3 is a compressed music file that allows the storage and playback of music from devices much smaller than its predecessors, the compact disc and the cassette tape. MP3 files are how music is stored and played from most devices now.