-
The Plankalkul
Means Plan Calculus, it was the first algorithmic programming language. Created by Konrad Zuse, the Plankalkul allowed for better programming of computers and because of this fact, was chosen as a milestone. -
Stored Program Computers
On this date, the "First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC," written by John von Neumann, was distributed. This paper outlined the architecture of a stored program computer, this milestone was selected because it was the start of a wave of computers that was usable by the public. -
The ENIAC Reveal
The project was first started in 1943 and finished in 1946, it was revealed to the public in Febuary of 1946. The ENIAC was a machine built by Jon Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert. While the machine was extremely large, it ran 5,000 operations per second, 1000 times the speed of other machines from the same period. Because of this enormous increase in speed, the ENIAC was chosen as a milestone. -
The Bit
A paper written by a man named Claude Shannon sometime in 1948 entitled "The Mathematical Theory of Communication" identified the bit as the fundemental unit of data and as the fundemental unit of computation. This was chosen as milestone due to the fact that the bit is still regarded as the fundemental unit of computation, and is used by programmers and reseachers all over the world. -
Mini Computers
DEC created PDP-1, a computer that needed no air conditioning and required only one operator, sometime in 1960. This computer was also used to create the first computer game, though this did not occur for another two years.. These two factors were the first occurences of modern desktop computers and computer games, and because of this fact, it was chosen to be a milestone. -
IBM 1301 Disk Drive
On this date in 1961, IBM's !301 Disk Drive was announced. The disk drive used a disk rotating at 1,800 RPM and could contain a maximum of 28 million characters. The disk drive contained a read/write arm and flying heads. These disk drives were the first form of modern DVD's and CD's, which is why they were chosen as a computer milestone. -
Shakey
The first mobile robot with artificial intelligence. Made by SRI International, Shakey used a problem solving program called STRIPS to apply information about its surroundings to a route. The device was equipped with motion sensors, a TV camera, bump sensors, and a laser range finder to collect its information. The device, built sometime in 1970, was selected as a milestone due to it being the first mobile robot with a form of intelligence, an idea that is being perfected and used today. -
Floppy Disks
Sometime in 1976, 5 1/4 inch flexible disk drives were developed in order to fit into smaller desktop computers. These flexible disks or "floppy" disks were being produced by numerous other companies by 1978. These were chosen as a milestone because they marked the first disk drives used in desktop computers, an event that would eventually become a common occurence. -
Computer Generated Special Effects
On this date in 1982, DIsney released the movie Tron which not only contained computers in the film, it also used computers to create effects used in the film. This computer animation formed roughly 30 minutes of the film. This event was chosen as a milestone because it was the first movie to incorportate computers as a major part of production. -
The World Wide Web
Sometime in 1990, Tim Berners-Lee used the procceses HTML, HTTP, and URL in order to allow the internet both to expand to cover the entire world, and to allow internet browsers to request access to a server thereby allowing a user to access the site. This was chosen as a milestone because it allowed access to one network to the entire world, greatly increasing the amount of knowledge and diversity available in the world.
