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2800 BCE
Stonehenge
The Stonehenge was a primitive calculator that was believed to be used as a calendar
http://www.eingang.org/Lecture/stonehenge.html -
2300 BCE
One of the first Abacus
One of the earliest computing devices was the Abacus, a device meant to help do basic addition, subtractions, multiplication and division
https://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~elf/abacus/history.html -
John Napier Bones
in 1614 John Napier invented a way to simplify doing basic multiplication with "bones" and "rods". With this he helped speed up arithmetic.
https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/stories/science-and-technology/napiers-bones/ -
Charles Babbage's Difference Engine
The goal of the difference engine was to compute values of polynomial functions. This was the start of using technology to calculate mathematical questions
https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm -
Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine
Charles proposed the idea of a machine that contained an ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit), flow control, punch cards and memory. This would be one of the first mechanical computers. However this was never built while Charles was alive.
https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm -
First Programmable Computer (Z1)
Konrad Zuse created the Z1 in his parents living room between 1936-1938. The Z1 was considered the first "electromechanical binary programmable computer" and the first functional mechanical computer.
http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/6170/Zuse-Z1-built-by-Konrad-Zuse/ -
Alan Turing's Turing Machine
In 1936 Alan Turing made the Turing Machine, the purpose of the machine was to compute math automatically. This was the first closes resemblance to what we now know as a "modern computer"
https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/t/turnmach.htm -
The First Digital Computer (ABC)
The ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer) started development in 1937 by John Vincent Atanasoff and Cliffberry. The devolpment continued to 1942. The goal of the ABC was to be able to do digital computation
https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm -
SSD
SSDs started being made around 1950s. The purpose of SSDs was to make a hard drive that had equal to or more memory but processed it faster. They were portable in the sense that they could be removed and were small. But typically it was common practice to treat the SSD as a better hard drive
https://www.storagereview.com/node/825 -
First Hard Drive
The first commercially available hard drive the RAMAC 305 was sold in 1956. The RAMAC 305 sold at $10,000 per 5mb at the size of a refrigerator. Looking back the price for the data storage given is unreasonable, but this was the start of data storage and it only got better from here
https://thinkcomputers.org/the-history-of-the-hard-drive/ -
Floppy Disk
Floppy disks started creation in 1967 and became sold to the public a few years after. When making the floppy disk the goal in mind was to make a more efficient way to store data. At the time even though there was hard drives, they were big and clunky so they wanted a more space efficient way to store data.
https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/floppy/ -
Kenbak-1 (First Personal Computer)
The Kenbak-1 was created by John Blankenbaker in 1971 and is widely known as the first "personal computer"
https://history-computer.com/ModernComputer/Personal/Kenbak-1.html -
Intel 4004 Microprocessor (First Microprocessor)
The Intel 4004 was the first microprocessor ever made. This processor would be the baseline for future of microprocessors.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-history/silicon-revolution/chip-hall-of-fame-intel-4004-microprocessor -
ARPANET (First Internet Prototype)
ARPANET was an experimental computer network made by ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) a arm of the U.S Defense Department. The goal was to link computers over telephone lines. However they later were able to implement protocols NCP, TCP/IP. Essentially what ARPANET achieved would become standard for future internet foundations
https://www.britannica.com/topic/ARPANET -
NSFNET (Creation)
NSFNET (National Science Foundation Network) was a program made up of many projects trying to evolve computer networks. Backbone computer networks that helped support NSFNET were also given the name NSFNET. As time passed it eventually became a major part of the internet backbone
https://web.archive.org/https://web.archive.org/web/20170202190225/http://nsfnet-legacy.org/about.php -
Internet becoming public
Since the internet became publicly accessible, this gave more incentive for people to buy/use computers which in return meant companies wanted to build more computers making the computer industry grow.
https://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/08/06/20-years-ago-today-the-world-wide-web-opened-to-the-public/ -
Broadband (Creation)
John Ciofi founded a company called Amati in 1992 with the goal in mind of making a way to make internet speeds faster and more efficient. Without the creation of broadband internet wouldn't been that viable for common use, in addition to this with faster network speeds the concept of internet becomes more desirable to the public.
http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/internet/broadband/who-invented-broadband-11364284589900 -
Flash Drive
Introduced in 2000 the flash drive made data storage more portable and accessible to everyone. Even though at the beginning it held minimal storage and its data transfer was slow, as time went on it became more popular and its flaws were improved upon.
https://www.techwalla.com/articles/the-history-of-usb-flash-drives -
macOS
The macintosh operating system by apple was the direct competitor to the Windows OS. Macintosh has made versions previous to this one, but both Windows and Mac hit relevancy around the 2001 point. Windows however became the number one used OS Mac became the second.
https://www.wired.com/2010/03/macos-x-released/ -
Windows XP
Windows XP was known as a sturdy and reliable OS for business given that it was kept updated. In 2013 more than 400 million computers used the Windows XP operating system. Even after 11 years since its introduction, it was considered a staple OS for workplace computers.
https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/Windows_XP.html -
Intel Core 2's
The Intel Core 2 processor family's first CPU release was in 2006 and more have been released up to 2008. The processors in this family set a new standard for CPU's in the market, and make multi core processing become standard practice. Overall pushing the market to innovate and seek higher quality in their processors.
https://web.archive.org/web/20060701231201/http://intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20060626comp.htm -
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services gives on demand cloud computing on a pay as you use system. Its target audience is consumers and businesses.
https://aws.amazon.com/what-is-aws/https://aws.amazon.com/what-is-aws/ -
Intel Core 5's
The initial release of the first processor in this i5 family came out in 2009. This series of CPU's dominated the market, there was no desire by Intel to create superior CPUs leading to minimal innovation and improvement.
https://www.newegg.com/insider/intel-i5-cpus-performance-building-gaming-questions/ -
Windows 7
Windows 7 was meant as a cleanup after the mess Windows Vista left behind. This turned out to be a success and became the new industry standard for operation systems when the support for Windows XP ended. Even today people still use Windows 7 instead of Windows 10
https://www.zdnet.com/article/30-years-of-windows-10-milestones-that-changed-the-face-of-computing/ -
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure released in 2010 and uses a pay as you use pricing format similar to other cloud computing services. They offer a array of services like AI/machine learning, networking, analytics and data storage.
https://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/definition/Windows-Azure -
Google Compute Engine
Google Compute Engine is built off of virtual engines and works similarly to other cloud computing services on the market. This service uses the same infrastructure used for gmail, youtube etc.
Out of all cloud computing services Google has the newest mainstream service out right now.
https://cloud.google.com/ -
Google Drive
Google Drive is a cloud based storage system that has free and paid plans depending on the quantity of storage you want. Google Drive has become on of the most commonly used cloud computing services on the market.
https://www.google.com/drive/using-drive/ -
Windows 10
The intention of Windows 10 was to become the final "big version" release of OS. They wanted to change their business model to a more update based one instead of making a brand new version every few years.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/30-years-of-windows-10-milestones-that-changed-the-face-of-computing/ -
AMD Ryzen Series
Before Intel had a monopoly on the consumer PC market. With the release of the AMD Ryzen Series it brought competition back to the CPU market. Intel had to improve upon their CPUs or they would lose their whole market to AMD. Without the AMD Ryzen Series the innovation of CPUs would have been stagnated still.
https://www.techradar.com/news/amd-is-eating-up-intels-cpu-market-share-but-supply-issues-could-spoil-the-party
