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Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage first documents the idea of a machine that can calculate and print mathematical tables called 'The Difference Engine'
Babbage also documents the idea of 'The Analytical Engine', a room sized brass computing machine
After Babbage's death, his associate Ada Byron continued Babbage's work and later conceived the idea of a machine that could compose and play music as well as produce graphics Reference -
Alan Turing - The Bombe
Turing developed the first computer, The Bombe, used to decipher German 'enigma codes'
This machine helped win World War 2 and gave an enormous advantage to users.
First suggested the theory of artificial intelligence and made a test to distinguish it Reference -
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard is Founded. David Packard and Bill Hewlett found Hewlett-Packard in a Palo Alto, California garage. Their first product was the HP 200A Audio Oscillator, which rapidly becomes a popular piece of test equipment for engineers. Walt Disney Pictures ordered eight of the 200B model to use as sound effects generators for the 1940 movie “Fantasia.” Refernce -
IBM
IBM first programmed a computer capable of "learning" from it's own experience. This is believed to be the first self-learning program that provided users with an interractive experience References -
Moore's Law
Gordon Moore's paper states that based on his findings, the capacity of a microship has the potential to double every two years. Unfortunately, IBM proved that capital costs rise faster than revenues and would reign development more than anything else because it becomes more and more economically unfeasible (Nichols, 2014)
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Xerox PARC
The company developed the mouse, GUI, pull down menus which allowed more logical ways for computers to be run without specialised training. This allowed computers to be accessible to a far broader audience and was the first step to creating a computing system that was easily accessed and personable. Reference -
Apple Founded
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak start Apple Computers on April Fool’s Day and roll out the Apple I, the first computer with a single-circuit board. -
VisiCalc
ReferenceAccountants rejoice at the introduction of VisiCalc, the first computerized spreadsheet program. -
The Acorn
ReferenceThe first IBM personal computer, code named “Acorn,” is introduced. It uses Microsoft’s MS-DOS operating system. It has an Intel chip, two floppy disks and an optional color monitor. Sears & Roebuck and Computerland sell the machines, marking the first time a computer is available through outside distributors. It also popularizes the term PC. -
Apple Lisa
Apple’s Lisa is the first personal computer with a GUI. It also features a drop-down menu and icons. It flops but eventually evolves into the Macintosh. The Gavilan SC is the first portable computer with the familiar flip form factor and the first to be marketed as a “laptop.” -
Creation of Windows
Microsoft announces Windows, its response to Apple’s GUI. Commodore unveils the Amiga 1000, which features advanced audio and video capabilities. -
Creation of the first Dot-Com domain name
The first dot-com domain name is registered on March 15, years before the World Wide Web would mark the formal beginning of Internet history. The Symbolics Computer Company, a small Massachussets computer manufacturer, registers Symbolics.com. More than two years later, only 100 dot-coms had been registered. -
Tim Berners-Lee
Tim Berners-Lee, a researcher at CERN, the high-energy physics laboratory in Geneva, develops HyperText Markup Language (HTML), giving rise to the World Wide Web. -
Microsoft invests in Apple
Microsoft invests $150 million in Apple, which was struggling at the time, ending Apple’s court case against Microsoft in which it alleges that Microsoft copied the “look and feel” of its operating system.
