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Vannevar Bush invents computer at M.I.T.
It was an analog computer, primarily used for evaluating and solving differential equations by mechanical integration. -
George Stibitz builds his model K, which demonstrates the feasibility of mechanizing binary math
This invented a way of binary math that was more easily understood. -
Konrad Zuse finishes the Z3 computer.
The Z3 was an early computer built by German engineer Konrad Zuse working in complete isolation from developments elsewhere. Using 2,300 relays, the Z3 used floating point binary arithmetic and had a 22-bit word length. The original Z3 was destroyed in a bombing raid of Berlin in late 1943. However, Zuse later supervised a reconstruction of the Z3 in the 1960s which is currently on display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. -
On December 23, William Shockley, Walter Brattain, and John Bardeen successfully tested this point-contact transistor
this inproved the model on the transistor.developed AT&T bell lavratories and supplanted used on the computers at the time -
The IBM 650 magnetic drum calculator established itself as the first mass-produced computer
with the company selling 450 in one year. Spinning at 12,500 rpm, the 650´s magnetic data-storage drum allowed much faster access to stored material than drum memory machines. -
SAGE — Semi-Automatic Ground Environment
linked hundreds of radar stations in the United States and Canada in the first large-scale computer communications network. An operator directed actions by touching a light gun to the screen. -
The precursor to the minicomputer, DEC´s PDP-1 sold for $120,000
One of 50 built, the average PDP-1 included with a cathode ray tube graphic display, needed no air conditioning and required only one operator. It´s large scope intrigued early hackers at MIT, who wrote the first computerized video game, SpaceWar!, for it. The SpaceWar! creators then used the game as a standard demonstration on all 50 computers. -
Hewlett-Packard announced the HP-35 as
with a solid-state memory similar to that of a computer. The HP-35 distinguished itself from its competitors by its ability to perform a broad variety of logarithmic and trigonometric functions, to store more intermediate solutions for later use, and to accept and display entries in a form similar to standard scientific notation. -
Commodore introduces the Commodore 64.
The C64, as it was better known, sold for $595, came with 64KB of RAM and featured impressive graphics. Thousands of software titles were released over the lifespan of the C64. By the time the C64 was discontinued in 1993, it had sold more than 22 million units and is recognized by the 2006 Guinness Book of World Records as the greatest selling single computer model of all time. -
Video Toaster is introduced by NewTek.
The Video Toaster was a video editing and production system for the Amiga line of computers and included custom hardware and special software. Much more affordable than any other computer-based video editing system, the Video Toaster was not only for home use. It was popular with public access stations and was even good enough to be used for broadcast television shows like Home Improvement.
