Computer inventions throughout the 80s

  • IBM 3380

    IBM 3380
    The first hard drive breaking the 1 gigabyte barrier was released by IBM during this year. The hard drive was called the IBM 3380 and was capable of storing a total of 2.5 gigabytes. The hard drive gave users much faster access to larger amounts of data, as it transferred information at a rate of three million characters per second.
  • Commodore 64

    Commodore 64
    The Commodore 64 (or C64) was first introduced to the world by Commodore International. The Commodore 64 was the first 8-bit home computer and was listed in the Guinness World Records as the “highest self-selling single computer model of all time.” The computer was very accessible and was easy to use as it could simply be plugged into any home television already present in the house.
  • Lisa Computer

    Lisa Computer
    The first commercial computer with a GUI (graphical user interface) was released by Apple—called the “Lisa computer” and was a desktop computer. The Lisa became a new paradigm for personal computing and the GUI was soon adopted my Microsoft Windows and by Apple. The computer ran on a Motorola 68000 microprocessor and had 1 MB of RAM.
  • 3D Printer

    3D Printer
    The 3D printer (SLA machine) was invented by Chuck Hull. This was the first device to be able to print out a 3-dimensional object from a computer-generated file. Despite the rocky start of the 3D printer, the printer still changed a lot of how many industries now tackle their manufacturing—think of the medical sectors, aerospace, and construction.
  • The Connection Machine

    The Connection Machine
    The Connection Machine was first introduced to the world and was owned by Dennis Hillis and Sheryl Handler. The computer was invented with the idea of using technology to mimic our human brain’s way of thinking; of being able to form connections between different concepts/tasks.The technology included up to 65,536 simple single-bit processors interconnected in a 12-dimensional hypercube. Its applications included real-time stock market trading, artificial intelligence and fluid dynamics.