Technology 1950 to the Present

Advancements in Technology

Period: Jan 1, 1950 to Jun 1, 2012

Barcode Invented

Oct 7, 1952

A barcode is a machine-readable representation of information in a visual format on a surface. Originally barcodes stored data in the widths and spacings of printed parallel lines, but today they also come in patterns of dots, concentric circles, and hidden in images.

Optical Fiber

Jun 5, 1955

Optical Fiber is a transparent thin fiber usually made of glass or plastic. It is used for transmitting light. Fibers are generally used in pairs, with one fiber of the pair carrying a signal in each direction.

USSR Launches Sputnik

Oct 4, 1957

The USSR launched into space the first artificial satellite named Sputnik. Sputnik was the first artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit.

U.S. Enters Space Age

Jan 31, 1958

In response to Sputnik, the U.S. launched its first orbiting satellite, Explorer I. This is the first spacecraft ever to return scientific data from space.

Eisenhower Establishes the ARPA

Feb 1, 1958

The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) twas established to rapidly develop a variety of technologies for the U.S. Department of Defense. The ARPA is the single most influential agency in the history of computer development in the United States

Snowmobile Invented

Dec 12, 1958

The modern day snowmobile was designed by Joseph-Armand Bombardier. He is considered the father of snowmobiling for the production and marketing of the Ski-Doo snowmobile . He was granted a Canadian patent in 1960 and a United States patent in 1962 for his snowmobile.

First Working Lasar Produced

Jun 1, 1960

Theodore Maiman, a physicist at the Hughes Research Labs in California, produced the 1st working laser

Cassette Tape Invented

Jun 3, 1962

The Philips Company of the Netherlands invented and released the first compact audio-cassette. The consumer's demand for blank tape used for personal music-recording was unanticipated by Philips.

Computer Language BASIC Invented

Jun 3, 1963

BASIC (standing for Beginner's All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) was written at Dartmouth College. Mathematicians John George Kemeny and Tom Kurtzas wrote the program as a teaching tool for undergraduates. BASIC has been one of the most commonly used computer programming languages. Its popularity was spread by both Paul Allen and William Gates.

First Computer Network is Formed

Jun 1, 1965

Nine years after its formation, the ARPA hosts a study on “cooperative network of time–sharing computers.” Shortly thereafter, two computers, one from the MIT Lincoln Lab and one from the System Development Corporation (SDC), are successfully connected with a dedicated 1200bps phone line. A third computer, at ARPA, is added to form “The Experimental Network.”

Compact Disc Invented

Jun 3, 1965

The compact disc was invented by James Russell. He granted a total of 22 patents for various elements of his compact disk system. However, the compact disk did not become popular until it was mass manufactured by Philips in 1980.

Apollo 11 Lands on Moon

Jul 16, 1969

The primary objective of Apollo 11 was to complete a national goal of performing a lunar landing and returning to Earth.Additional flight objectives included scientific exploration of the moon; deployment of a television camera to transmit signals to Earth; and deployment of a solar wind composition experiment, seismic experiment package and a Laser Ranging Retroreflector.

Floppy Disk Invented

Jun 3, 1971

IBM introduced the first "memory disk" as it was called then. The nickname "floppy" came from the disk's flexibility. Because of its portability the floppy disk was considered a revolutionary device in the "History of Computers."

Camcorder Invented

Aug 1, 1981

A camcorder is a portable electronic device for recording video images and audio onto a storage device. The camcorder contains both camera and recorder in one unit.

Personal Computer Introduced

Aug 12, 1981

IBM introduced the "Personal Computer" complete with a brand new operating system from Microsoft, a 16-bit computer operating system called MS-DOS 1.0.

Apple Macintosh Computer Introduced

Jun 3, 1984

The original Macintosh computer is the Macintosh 128. It was released as the "Apple Macintosh." The beige computer included a 9 inch monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. It sold for $2,495.

Windows Processing System Introduced

Nov 20, 1985

Microsoft Windows is a series of graphical interface operating systems . It was developed, marketed, and sold by Microsoft. Microsoft introduced the Windows operating environment as an add-on to MS-DOS. Windows was developed in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Microsoft Windows would eventually dominate the world's personal computer market

Pentium Processor Invented

Mar 22, 1993

The original Pentium Processor was introduced by Intel. It was the company's first P5-based microprocessor. The Pentium brand was highly successful . It would continue through several generations of high-end processors.

Java Computer Language Developed

May 3, 1995

Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems. It is a general purpose, object-oriented language. Java is one of the most popular programming languages currently in use. It has a reported 10 million users.

iPod Introduced

Oct 23, 2001

Apple Computers publicly announced their portable music digital player, iPods can serve as external data storage devices. Storage capacity varies by model, ranging from 2 GB for the iPod shuffle to 160 GB for the iPod classic. All of the models have been redesigned multiple times since their introduction.

iPhone Introduced

Jan 9, 2007

The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a combination camera phone, PDA, multimedia player, as well as a wireless communication device. The iPhone was conceived of and developed by Steve Jobs.