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Alan Turing publishes the paper "On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem".
In 1936 Alan Turing published the paper "On computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem", which was the first time the Turing machine was described. A Turing machine is a simplified, abstract concept of a computer which is in effect the blueprint to modern day computers. When a device can replicate a Turing machine, it is called "Turing complete". This concept along with others mentioned in papers by Turing would prove to be highly influential in computer science. -
the "Z3" is created, the world's first digital computer
In 1941, German civil engineer Konrad Zuse finished the construction of the Z3 computer, which was the first digital and programmable computer ever built. Although it was not the first general purpose Turing complete computer ever conceived, as Charles Babbage first described one back in 1837, but it was never properly built. Despite this, the Z3 computer still has merit in being the first built digital computer, proving that ideas of digital computing devices were actually possible in practice. -
The integrated circuit (the microchip) is invented by Jack Kilby
The 12th of September 1958 was the first time a working example of an integrated circuit (IC) or microchip was made and shown. It was done by Jack S. Kilby, however others would continue to produce other ICs and create different and more complex models. The invention of ICs were extremely influential in the field of computer technology and would be used in many, many different products and make new ones possible. They are used today in home computers, mobile phones, cars and many other products. -
Intel is founded by Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce
Intel was founded on July 7th 1968 by Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce and would become one of the largest semiconductor chip manufacturer in the world. Intel's first commercial product was the the 3101 static random-access memory (SRAM) made in 1969, which was twice as powerful as competing SRAMs on the market at the time. Intel would later produce the first single-chip microprocessors in 1971, the intel 4004, putting Intel on the map and ushering a new era of integrated electronics. -
The video game "Pong" is released to the public by Atari
On November 29 of 1972, the arcade video game Pong was released to the public. While by no means being the first video game ever made, it was the first commercially successful video game, proving that there was a market for video games. Since Pong, video games and the video game industry have become much larger, and much more profitable. The video game industry has become more lucrative than the video and music industries. -
The first commercially successful computer is released, the Altair 8800 by MITS
The Altair 8800 was an American home computer made and sold by MITS. After it was released in late 1974 and some highlights in electronics magazines in early 1975, it was met with very good sales figures, exceeding MITS expectations. The biggest and most influential achievement of the Altair 8800 was that it inspired Bill Gates and Steve Jobs to create their own computers and electronics companies. To sum it up, the Altair 8800 was responsible for the creation of Microsoft and Apple. -
Microsoft is founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen
Microsoft started with Bill Gates and Paul Allen writing the programming language BASIC for use on the Altair 8800. Soon after Microsoft would dominate the market by purchasing and modifying an operating system from Seattle Computer Products and create MS-DOS, initially releasing with the IBM PC but would go on to be used in other computers. Ensuing the success of MS-DOS, Microsoft would then create the Windows OS, which is still one of the most popular OSs in the world and in it's 10th version. -
Apple is founded by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs
After Steve Wozniak built a computer based off the Altair 8800 in 1976, it caught the attention of Steve Jobs who saw the potential in Wozniak's creation and together they founded Apple Inc. They then proceeded to make the Apple II computer, a computer designed to appeal to the average person, not just hobbyists. Apple is known nowadays mostly for their computer and cell phone products, most notably revolutionizing the cell phone industry with their iPhone, announced in January of 2007. -
The first Web site in the world was put online by Tim Berners-Lee
Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist, invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989, while working at CERN. It was originally created to share information locally between computers, however Tim saw potential for an worldwide information sharing system. In 1991 Tim hosted the first website ever from his very own NeXT computer, showing the world the WWW. The WWW or the internet is considered by many to be one of the most groundbreaking inventions of the 20th century, ushering a new age of information.