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Twenty Years of Technology Advancements
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Glass Fiber Optics
In 1970, Corning Glass made the first optic fibers. The new materal was so fine it could transmit pulses of light. Soon after this, GTE and AT&T would begin sound and image experiments using the optical fiber. -
Video Games and Atari
Noland Bushnell's game Pong has become extremely popular. Bushnell will soon go on to found Atari. -
Barcodes
First bar-coded products arrive in U.S. stores. Checkout scanners read the codes with laser technology, rendering keyboard cash-registers obsolete. -
The Birth Of Microsoft
Bill Gates and Paul Allen, old friends, create a partnership, known as Microsoft, to write software. First sold to Ed Roberts at MIT, producer of Altair 8800, the first microprocessor-based computer. Gates drops out of Harvard. -
Super Computers
Cray Reserach Inc. introduces the Cray-1. Performing operations at 240,000,000 calculations per second, it is definitely considered super at this point in time. Later models will be capable of 1,200,000,000 calculations per second. -
Human-Powered Flight
Cyclist Byron Allen crosses the English Channel in the pedal-powered aircraft Gossamer Alvatrss. The flight takes 2 hours, 49 minutes, and wins a (Sterling)100,000 prize for it's crew, headed by one Dr. Paul MacCready. Made of Mylar, polystyrene, and carbon-fiber rods, the Albatross has a wingspan of 93 feet, 10 inches, but weighs only roughly 70 pounts. -
Space Shuttle
NASA successfully launches and lands a reusable spacecraft. The shuttle can be used many ways, ranging form launch to retrieval and repair, and as a lab. The shuttle program will suffer in 1986 when the Challenger shuttle explodes soon after takeoff, killing all on board. -
Artificial Hearts
Dr. Robert Jarvik implants the first heart into another doctor: Barney Clark. Dr. Clark survives for 112 days. -
The PC
IBM, the dominator of the PC market benefits from production as well as "clones" from other companies. -
Genetic Engineering
USDA approves permision to sell GMO's. The industry will seek out many patents, including one for tomato shipping. -
Apple VS Microsoft
Apple sues Microsoft for alleged piracy. The claim fails, and Microsoft continues to gain fame. Thus begins the long, bitter war between the companies. -
Hubble Telescope
The Hubble Telescope is launched 350 miles above Earth. Initial flaws limit capabilities, but the Telescope will, in the future, be responsible for a great deal of discoveries.
