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The first programmable computer
The Collossus is created at Bletchley Park and is the first binary and partially programmable computer.
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The first commercial computers are used
LEO, Lyons Electric Office, becomes the first computer to run a regular routine office job.
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Commercial computers start attracting attention
The UNIVAC 1 is delivered to the U.S. Census Bureau and becomes the first commercial computer to attract widespread public attention. Remington Rand sells 46 of them at more than $1 million each
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MIT's Whirlwind is revealed
Jay Forrester and Robertt Everett finish the Whirlwind and show it on Edward R. Murrow's "See it Now" series. The Whirlwind has memory for 2048 16-digit words and took up 3,100 sq. feet of floor space.
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The first electronic computer is shipped
IBM ships it's first electronic computer, the 701. 19 machines are sold over three years to research laboratories, aircraft companies, and the federal government.
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The first computer peripherals are made
The IBM 350 RAMAC was the first computer to use a disk drive.
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The precursor to the minicomputer is sold.
DEC's PDP-1 becomes the precursor to the minicomputer. It is sold for $120,000. It needs no air conditioning and only one operator. Hackers at MIT writes the first computer game, SpaceWar!, for it.
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The vacuum-tube computer is replaced.
IBM introduces the 1400 series, with the 1401 mainframe replacing the vacuum tube with transistors, which are smaller and more reliable.
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Compatible computers start gaining attention.
IBM announces the System/360, which is a system of 6 mutually compatible computers and 40 peripherals that could work together. Orders for the system quickly climb to 1,000 per month within 2 years.
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The first minicomputer is sold.
Digital Equipment Corp. introduces the PDP-8 which becomes the first commercially successful minicomputer. Each one sells for $18,000.
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HP releases it's first computer.
Hewlett-Packard releases the HP-2115, which offers computational power formerly found only in much larger computers. It supports mulitple languages, including BASIC, ALGOL, and FORTRAN.
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The first personal computers are made
The Altair 8800 was the first personal computer to use a single-chip processors.
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Video displays for personal computers are created
The visual display module (VDM) prototype is designed by Lee Falsenstein, and marks the first implementation of a memory-mapped alphanumeric video display for personal computers.
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Vector processors start becoming commercially successful
The Cray 1 becomes the first commercially successful vector processor and is the fastest machine of its day at 166 million floating-point operations per second.
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Tandy Radio Shack releases its first desk-top computer
The TRS-80 is Tandy Radio Shack's first desk-top computer. It is priced at $599.95 and includes a Z80 based microprocessor, a video display, 4 kilobytes of memory, BASIC, cassette storage, and easy-to-understand manuals that allows users who haven't used a computer before to use it.
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The first Apple 2 is revealed, leading to personal computers becoming extremely popular.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak show the first Apple II (2) at the First West Computer Faire in San Fransisco. The Apple 11 had built-in BASIC programming languages, color graphics, and 4100 character memory.
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Minicomputers start getting more memory
The VAX 11/780 from Digital Equipment Corp. features the ability to address up to 4.3 gigabytes of virtual memory, which is hundreds of times the capacity of most minicomputers.
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Microcomputers with game capabilities start being released.
Atari designs the Model 400 and the Model 800. Both are microcomputers with the Model 400 being able to play games. Both models sell well despite competition from the Apple 2, Commodore PET, and TRS computers.
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8-bit processor's are released
The Motorola 68000, an 8-bit processor, is released and becomes the precursor to the Apple Macintosh.
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The first commercially available portable computers are made
The Osbourne 1, with a 5' monitor, was the first available portable computer. It was heavy and large compared to today's laptops.
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The PC is introduced.
IBM introduces the PC, which ignites a fast growth of the computer market. The first PC runs on a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088 microprocessor and uses Microsoft´s MS-DOS operating system.
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The first official laptops are created
The first computer officially marketed as a "laptop" was the Gavilan SC.
http://sixrevisions.com/resources/the-history-of-computers-in-a-nutshell/
