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Invention of the Hard Disk Drive
Seagate Technology introduces the invention of the Hard Disk Drive for Microcomputers. The disk held 5 megabytes of data, five times as much as a standard floppy disk, and fit in the space of a floppy disk drive. -
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Computer Technology throughout the 1980's
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IBM Personal Computer
Bill Lowe gets the go-ahead to start production of the first personal computer after only a year since introduced. It was the size of a portable typewriter and contained 40K of read-only memory and 16K of user memory, as well as a built-in speaker for generating music. Features as expanded memory, display and printing units and game "paddles." The unit also ran self-diagnostic checks. -
Invention of the Internet
Although the internet was technically invented in the 60's as a way for government researchers to share information, on Jan1st, 1983 A new communications protocol was established called Transfer Control Protocol/ Internetwork Protocol. This meant that different types of computers on different networks could now communicate with each other making them universal. The invention of the internet cannot be credited to one person. Instead, it was the work of many engineers, programmers and scientists. -
DNA Testing/Fingerprinting
In 1984, Sir Alec Jeffreys was one of the first to discover inherited variation in human DNA, which helped discovered the technique of DNA testing to determine a genetic "fingerprint." -
Microsoft Releases first version of Excel
Microsoft Excel, spreadsheet application launched in 1985 by the Microsoft Corporation. Compatible with Apple Macintosh. Became very popular right away, with its use in organizing data much quicker and efficiently. -
IBM creates first Laptop Computer
IBM announced its first laptop computer, the PC Convertible, weighing a whopping 12-pounds. This revolutionized business computing by becoming the first PC to gain widespread adoption by industry. -
Nintendo Gameboy
Gunpei Yokoi and his team at Nintendo R&D1 conceived the Game Boy, the first handheld video game console to be compatible with interchangeable game cartridges.