History of Computers

• Few inventions have impacted society as much as computers
• Large-scale computer usage only dates back to the late 20th century
• The improvements in computer technology have been very rapid

1948

• Manchester Mark 1: one of the first stored-program computers
• Developed at the Victoria University of Manchester
• Became operational in June 1948
• The program started in late August 1948, and an early version was operational by April 1949
• The first program searched for Mersenne primes
• Ran continuously for nine hours

1954

• IBM sold 450 of the first mass-produced computer in one year
• The IBM Model 650 magnetic data storage allowed faster access to stored information
• The Model 650 was very popular in universities
• Direct keyboard input was introduced in 1956, replacing punched cards and paper tape

1958

• The first large-scale computer communications
• Network SAGE connected 23 computer sites in the US and Canada
• The system was used to detect incoming Soviet bombers

1960

• The DEC PDP-1 computer systems retailed for approximately $120,000
• It Required only one operator
• The large scope intrigued early hackers at MIT
• The first computer video game, Spacewar! and programs to play music were made
• More than 50 PDP-1 computer systems were sold.

1968

• Data General introduces the Nova minicomputer
• The memory was 32 KB and it sold for $9,900
• Nova computers were popular throughout the 1970s

1971

• Intel introduces the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004
• It Could perform up to 90,000 operations per second
• The first laser printer was launched by Xerox

1974

• Intel introduces the 8080 microprocessor, which could address a total of 64 Kilobytes

1976

• Steve Wozniak creates the first Apple I with Steve Jobs
• They Started Apple Computer Inc. with an order for 50 assembled systems

1977-1978

• 1977: Apple II sold with keyboard, case, manual game paddles, and cassette tape
• 1978: Atari launches Model 400 and 800 computers with the slogan "Computers for People."

1981

• MS-DOS became the most licensed operating system
• Sony introduces the 3 ½ inch floppy drive which became the standard for portable storage
• IBM launches the IBM PC with the Intel 8088 microprocessor and Microsoft's MSDOS

1982-1983

• CD-ROMs able to hold 550 MB of prerecorded data are developed by Philips
• Microsoft announces Microsoft Word
• By 1989 it became a global word processing standard

1984

• Apple launches the Macintosh
• The first successful mouse-driven computer
• It had a graphical user interface and a 68000 microprocessor
• Compaq introduces the first 100% compatible computer
• The Compaq portable can run the same software as the IBM PC

1986

• Compaq introduces the first computer to use the new 80386 chip
• It featured a 32-bit microprocessor with 4 million operations per second and 4 KB of memory

1990

• Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web at CERN in Switzerland
• The web is made available publicly on August 6, 1991
• Microsoft delivers Windows 3.0, running multiple programs simultaneously on the Intel 80386

1992

• JPEG creates a set of standards for digital images

1993

• Mosaic, the first popular browser, is created
• Online advertisements on the web begin
• Over 360 million users are active on the web. By the end of the decade

1994

• CompactFlash memory storage is introduced by SanDisk
• Sony releases the Playstation console and becomes dominant in the home gaming market

1997

• IBM's Deep Blue defeats world chess champion Gary Kasparov
• Text messaging becomes commonly-used after starting in 1992
• Rapid growth followed the introduction of the Nokia 6110 and Blackberry

2000

• First camera phones are introduced
• USB flash drives are introduced for data storage
• Honda introduces ASIMO robot

2001

• iTunes released for the Mac operating system as a media player and management tool
• By 2013, over 25 billion songs had been downloaded from the iTunes store
• Microsoft launches the Xbox

2006

• The verb "to google" was added to the Oxford English and Merriam-Webster dictionaries
• Amazon Web Services launches cloud-based services
• Similar services like Google Drive follow

2007

• Amazon Kindle is released
• Apple iPhone is released with apps available from the Apple Store
• Google's Android mobile platform followed

2010

• Apple iPad is released with a nine-inch screen and without a phone
• Apple Retina display for MacBooks offers screen resolution of up to 220 pixels per inch
• IBM Watson wins a Jeopardy competition against the two former champions in 2011

2011

• Adobe Creative Cloud is announced as a subscription model

2012

• Raspberry Pi, a small single board computer, is released as a tool to promote science education
• Each weighs 45 grams and initially sold for $25-35 USD

2013

• Microsoft Office 365 is announced, online by subscription

2014

• Apple Pay mobile payment system is introduced into Apple's product ecosystem

2015

• Apple Watch is released incorporating Apple iOS
• Includes sensors for environment and health monitoring

2019

• Oculus releases the Oculus Rift S with a 2,560 x 1,440 LCD and one more camera facing upwards

A brief history of computers, including the Manchester Mark 1, IBM model 650, and the SAGE network. The Manchester Mark 1 was one of the first stored-program computers. The IBM Model 650 magnetic data storage allowed faster access to stored information.