Milestone in Computer History

Jacquard Loom (1800)

The French weaver Joseph-Marie Jacquard invented the Jacquard Loom, an autonomous, programmable weaving machine that produces textiles with intricately detailed patterns. The Jacquard Loom is known as the foundation of the contemporary automatic loom and provided the impetus for the technical revolution in the textile industry

Punch Cards (1805)

He carried on working, and he invented an attachment that led to the term “Jacquard loom” being used for any loom that made use of it. With Jacquard’s loom, any desired pattern could be automatically created by controlling the cloth through a system of interchangeable punch cards.

Rudimentary Telegraph (1809)

Samuel Soemmerring invented the rudimentary telegraph in Bavaria in the year 1809. He employed 35 wires in water with gold electrodes. At the other end, the quantity of gas generated by electrolysis at 2,000 feet away read the message.

Difference Engine (1822)

Charles Babbage, an English mathematician and scientist, creates a complex clockwork calculator that can solve equations and print the answers. It was a steam-powered calculator meant to solve logarithmic tables and other number tables.

Analytical Engine (1834)

Charles Babbage, an English inventor who was known for his failed invention of the Difference Engine due to the lack of technology, created the Analytical Engine, which is largely regarded as the first computer, in the 19th century. The Analytical Engine was to be a mechanical digital computer with full program control that could be used for a variety of tasks. The mill, the store, the reader, and the printer were the four parts that made up the machine’s design.

First Computer Algorithm (1848)

English mathematician Ada Lovelace creates the first computer program in history. Lovelace wrote the first program while interpreting a French paper on Babbage’s Analytical Engine into English. In addition, Lovelace provides a detailed explanation for computing Bernoulli numbers using Babbage’s machine, essentially an algorithm. This effectively establishes Lovelace as the first computer programmer in history.

First Printing Computer (1853)

The first printing calculator in history is designed by Swedish inventor Per Georg Scheutz and his son Edvard. The machine is remarkable because, according to Uta C. Merzbach’s book, “Georg Scheutz and the First Printing Calculator,” it was the first to “compute tabular differences and print the results.”

First U.S. Census Calculator (1890)

Using a punch-card method, Herman Hollerith creates the 1890 U.S. Counties. According to

Columbia University, the computer saves the government many years’ worth of computations and costs the American taxpayer about $5 million. Hollerith then starts a business that will eventually become International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).

Underwood Typewriter (1993)

Franz Xaver Wagner created the first Underwood typewriter, which he applied for a patent on April 27, 1893 (U.S. Patent 523,698). The Underwood typewriter’s ability to see the writing it was typing was its greatest innovation.

Differential Analyzer (1931)

Vannevar Bush created and constructed the Differential Analyzer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which is the first large-scale automated general-purpose mechanical analog computer. The wheel and disc integrator served as the basis for Bush’s concept.

The Turing Machine (1936)

Turing machines are basic, abstract computing devices that Alan Turing initially defined. Their purpose is to assist in examining the boundaries and extent of what may be calculated. The purpose of Turing’s “automatic machines,” was to compute real numbers. They are regarded as one of the basic models of (theoretical) computer science and computability nowadays. His theories served as the foundation for the contemporary computer’s main premise.

Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) (1937)

Iowa State University professor of physics and mathematics John Vincent Atanasoff files a grant application to create the first computer that runs entirely on electricity without the need of gears, cams, belts, or shafts.

Hewlett Packard (1939)

In Palo Alto, California, David Packard and Bill Hewlett founded the Hewlett Packard Company. According to MIT, the two settled on the name of their new business by flipping a coin. Hewlett- Packard’s first offices are located in Packard’s garage.

 Z3 Machine (1941)

According to Gerard O’Regan’s book “A Brief History of Computing”, German inventor and engineer Konrad Zuse completes his Z3 machine, the world’s earliest digital computer. During a bombing raid on Berlin in World War II, the machine was destroyed.

ENIAC (1945)

ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator, designed and built by Presper Eckert. Edwin D. Reilly’s book “Milestones in Computer Science and Information Technology” claims that the device is the first “automatic, generalpurpose, electronic, decimal, digital computer.”

Transistors (1946)

The transistor is created by Bell Laboratories’ William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain. They figure out how to create an electric switch without a vacuum and using solid materials instead.

EDSAC (1949)

Soon after the Second World War, a group led by the late Professor Sir Maurice Wilkes at Cambridge University Mathematical Laboratory constructed the first version of the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC). It is widely acknowledged that the EDSAC was the first useful general-purpose electronic computer with a stored software.

COBOL (1950)

Grace Hopper develops the first computer language, COBOL (COmmon, Business- Oriented Language), according to the National Museum of American History. Later, her posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom citation proclaims Hopper the “First Lady of Software”. Sir Thomas Johnson Watson Jr. develops the IBM 701 EDPM to aid the UN monitor Korea during the war.

UNIVAC I (1951)

Remington Rand releases the UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer), the first commercial digital computer. When UNIVAC correctly predicts Dwight D. Eisenhower’s victory, computer awareness rises. HEALTHCARE: During the mid-1950s, computers were mostly utilized for automating financial and accounting operations within hospitals. Computers took up entire rooms. These were process oriented systems.

Knowing Technology (1952)

In her work titled “The Education of a Computer,” Dr. Grace Hopper explores the concept of reusable software. The paper discusses the process of programming a computer using symbolic notation as opposed to complex machine language.

Core Memory (1953)

Core memory, developed in the early 1950s, provides much larger storage capacity than vacuum tube memory.

IBM Model 650 (1953)

The IBM MODEL 650 is one of the first widely used computers. The computer is so successful that IBM manufactures more than 1,000. IBM will dominate the mainframe market for the next decade.

FORTRAN (1957)

According to MIT, IBM programmer John Backus and his team publish a paper describing their newly created FORTRAN programming language, an acronym for FORmula TRANslation, an efficient easy-to-use Programming language. IBM 205 RAMAC used magnetic disks for external storage first. The computer offers semi-random access and storage capacity similar to magnetic tape.

Computer chips (1958)

Computer chips, invented by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce, enable high-speed computers and enormous memory. The second generation of computer hardware began with transistor-based computers. After his work, Kilby received the Physics Nobel Prize.

Smaller desked – size computers (1959)

More than 200 programming languages have been created. IBM introduces two smaller, desksized computers: the IBM 1401 for business and the IBM 1620 for scientists.

First Computer Mouse (1963)

The first computer mouse, invented by Douglas C. Engelbart

First Compatible Computers (1964)

The number of computers has grown to 18,000. Third generation computers featuring chip-based control are introduced. The first family of compatible computers, the IBM system/360 computer merged the scientific and commercial sectors. IBM coined the term “word processing” for the first time with the introduction of its Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter (MT/ST). The MT/ST was the first reusable storage medium that supported the editing of typed material without the need for retyping.

DEC (1965)

Dr. John Kemeny of Dartmouth leads the development of the BASIC programming language. Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) introduces the first minicomputer, the POP-8. The machine is used extensively as in interface for time-sharing systems. In the 1960’s, certain healthcare institutions initiated the integration of patient care applications into their computer systems. (Saba, Johnson, & Simpson, 1994).

New Computer Prototype (1968)

Douglas Engelbart introduces a new computer prototype at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco. The Doug Engelbart Institute said that his “A Research Center for Augmenting Human Intellect” presentation included a live demonstration of his computer with a mouse and GUI. This shows how the computer has evolved from an academic tool to a public technology. In a letter to the editor titled, GO TO Statements Considered Harmful,” Dr. Edsger Dijkstra introduces the concept of structured programming, developing standards for constructing computer programs.

CSC (1968)

Computer Science Corporation (CSC) becomes the first software company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Floppy Disk (1968)

Alan Shugart at IBM demonstrates the first regular use of an 8-inch floppy disk.

UNIX (1969)

Bell Labs’ Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and other developers developed UNIX, which made “large-scale networking of diverse computing systems — and the internet — practical.” The team behind UNIX continued to develop the operating system using the C programming language, which they also optimized.

ARPANET (1969)

The ARPANET network is established, which eventually grows to become the INTERNET

IBM (1969)

Under pressure from the industry, IBM announces that some of its software will be priced separately from the computer hardware, allowing software firms to emerge in the industry.

DRAM (1970)

The newly formed Intel unveils the Intel 1103, the first Dynamic Access Memory (DRAM) chip.

LSI (1970)

Fourth-generation computers, built with chips that use LSI (large-scale integration) arrive. While the chips used in 1965 contained up to 1,000 circuits, the LSI chip contains as many as 15,000.

Intel 4004 (1971)

A microprocessor or micro programmable computer chip has been developed by Dr. Ted Hoff of Intel Corporation.

Ethernet (1975)

A first Local Area Network (LAN) developed by Robert Metcalfe at Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center).

Apple’s first Computer (1976)

It was built on April Fool’s Day by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. A subsequent version, the Apple II, is an immediate success. Adopted by educational institutions for various students, the Apple II is their first contact with the world of computers.

The PET (1977)

Commodore Personal Electronic Transactor (PET) is released to the home computer market, with a MOS Technology 8-bit 6502 microprocessor controlling the screen, keyboard, and cassette player. According to O’Regan, the PET has performed particularly well in the education market.

VisiCalc (1979)

First computerized spreadsheet program introduced by Bob Frankston and Dan Bricklin. The first public online information services, CompuServe and the Source, are founded.

WordStar (1979)

On the year 1979, founder of MicroPro International Seymour Rubenstein, a software engineer released WordStar but later programmed by Rob Barnarby and included 137 000 lines of code.

MS-DOS (1980)

With the development of MS-DOS, Microsoft achieved tremendous growth and success. In which Bill Gates, the cofounder of Microsoft Corporation was offered opportunity by IBM to develop the operating system for the soon-to-be announced IBM personal computer.

Winchester‘s hard disk (1980)

A revolutionizing storage for personal computers presented by Alan Shugart.

IBM‘s first Personal Computer (1981)

Named “ACORN”, is released to the market at a place of $1,565, according to IBM. Acorn uses Windows’ MS-DOS operating system. Optional features include a display, printer, two diskette drives, additional memory, a game adapter, and others.

First Computer Virus (1981)

Elk Cloner, the first computer virus was spread via Apple II floppy disks, that contained the operating system.

Compaq, Inc. (1982)

Compaq, Inc. was founded to develop and market IBM-compatible PCs.

MODEM (1982)

300 bps smart modem, an immediate success was introduced by Hayes.

Apple-LISA (1983)

Apple LISA (Local Integrated Software Architecture) is the first personal computer to feature a GUI. The machine also includes a drop-down menu and icons. As well, creation of the first portable computer having flip-form design was released and the first known to be sold as a “laptop” named Gavilan SC.

The first Computer Award (1983)

Computer received annual award named Machine of the Year for 1982 by TIME magazine for acknowledging the impact of computers on society. Lotus Development Corporation is founded. Its spreadsheet software, Lotus 1-2-3 which combines spreadsheet, graphics, and database programs in one package became the bestselling program for IBM personal computers.

First Printer (1984)

Hewlett-Packward announces the first LaserJet printer for personal computers.

Birth of Windows (1985)

Microsoft releases Windows in November 1985 as response to Apple Lisa’s GUI. In line with this, Commodore announces the Amiga 1000.

Birth of WWW (1989)

Time Berners- Lee, a British researcher working at European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), proposed in his paper and invented World Wide Web or WWW. Detailing his ideas for the building blocks of the web also known as HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language.

The First Game Boy (1989)

Introduction of the first handheld game console, the Game Boy by Nintendo.

First Million Transistor Microprocessor (1989)

The Intel 486 becomes the world’s first 1 000 000 transistor microprocessor for executing 15 million instructions per second four times as fast as its predecessor, the 80386 chip.

First DSLR Camera (1991)

Kodak announces the first DSLR (single-lens reflex) camera. The Kodak DCS 100 is developed for photojournalism purposes that stores photo and batteries in a separate unit.

WWW Standards (1991)

Standards was release by WWW Consortium describing a framework for linking documents on various computers.

Windows 3.1 (1992)

Windows 3.1 was release, the latest version of its Windows operating system. Improvements can be seen such as TrueType fonts, multimedia capability, and object linking and embedding (OLE). In two months, 3 million copies of Windows 3.1 are sold.

Pentium processor (1993)

Pentium microprocessor advances the use of graphics and music on PCs and several companies introduce computer using it from Intel. Pentium microprocessor contains 3.1 million transistors and capable of performing 112 million instruction per second.

Global Positioning System (1993)

Completion of GPS (Global Positioning System) by U.S. Air Force, launching its 24^th Navstar satellite into orbit. Nowadays, GPS can be found everywhere such as notebook computers, smartphones, and even cars.

Microsoft Office 3 (1993)

Microsoft Office 3 Professional was released by Windows, the first version of Microsoft Office for the Windows operating system.

Yahoo! Founded (1994)

Two Stanford Ph. D., students founded Yahoo!, a popular search and portal as a way to keep track of personal interests on the internet. Today, Yahoo! Has various users and visitors accounting for more than 512 million unique visitors and employees.

Amazon (1994)

Amazon is founded and later become as an online bookstore. It expands to sell various products for various buyers and sellers.

Linux kernel (1994)

Free of cost creation of Linus Torvalds called Linux kernel, a UNIX-like operating system releases across the Internet for further enhancement by other programmers.

Java (1995)

Java, an object-oriented programming language that allows users to write one program for a variety of computer platforms launched by Sun Microsystems.

Microsoft 95 (1995)

Windows 95 was released by Microsoft. It is a major upgrade to its Windows operating system consisting of more than 10 million lines of instructions developed by 300 person-years efforts.

Google develop (1996)

Development of Google search engine at Stanford University by Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

Windows NT 4.0 (1996)

Windows NT 4.0 was released by Microsoft. It is an operating system for client-server networks.

Pentium II processor (1997)

With 7.5 million transistors, Intel unveils the Pentium II processor. It supports applications like video editing, gaming, and more, integrates MMX technology and processes audio, video, and graphics data more effectively.

iMac (1998)

Next version of popular Macintosh Computer, Apple introduces the iMac. This attracted customers with its futuristic design, see-through case, and easy setup.

Microsoft Upgrades (1998)

Microsoft ships Windows 98, an upgrade to Windows 95. This offers improved Internet access, better system performance, and support for a new generation of hardware, and software.

WI-FI (1999)

The term “wireless fidelity,” or “Wi-Fi,” is developed and can initially be used up to 300 feet (91 meters) away wired reported.

Pentium III processor (1999)

Intel introduces the Pentium III processor, a better version of Pentium II, that can process 3-D graphics more quickly. It contains between 9.5 and 44 million transistors.

Office 2000 (1999)

Office 2000 introduced by Microsoft for users which is to create content and save it directly to a Web site without any file conversion and special steps.

Use of” Satellite Technology (2000)

Telemedicine uses satellite technology and video conferencing to broadcast consultations and to perform distant surgeries.

Windows XP (2000)

Microsoft releases major operating system updates with Windows XP for personal computers and servers. Windows XP is significantly more reliable than previous versions, features a 32-bit computing architecture, and offers a new look and feel.

Pentium 4 chip (2000)

Intel unveils its Pentium 4 chip with clock speeds starting at 1.4 GHz. The Pentium 4 includes 42 million transistors.

Office XP (2000)

Microsoft introduces Office XP, the next version of the world’s leading suite of productivity software. Features include speech and handwriting recognition, smart tags, and task panes.

Tablet PC (2002)

The tablet PC is reintroduced to meet the needs of more than the target audience after several years of negligible sales.

DVD Burners (2002)

DVD burners begin to replace CD burners (CD-RW) because DVD’s have 8 times the data storage of CD’s.

Wireless Computer‘s and devices (2003)

Wireless computers and devices, such as keyboards, mouse devices, home networks, and wireless internet access points become commonplace.

Microsoft Office 2003 (2003)

Microsoft ships Office 2003, the latest version of its flagship Office suits. More than 400 million people in 175 nations and 70 languages are using a version of Office.

USB Flash Drives (2004)

USB flash drives become a cost-effective way to transport data and information from one flash drive computer to another.

Broadband (2004)

106 million or 53 percent, of the 200 million online population in America accesses the Internet via broadband.

Radio frequency Identification (2004)

Major retailers began requiring suppliers to induce radio frequency identification (RFID) tags or microchips with antennas, which can be as small as one-third of a millimeter across, in the goods they sell.

Smart Phone (2004)

The smart phone overtakes the PDA as the mobile device of choice.

Sony Play Station Portable (PSP) (2004)

Sony unveiled its PlayStation Portable (PSP).This Handheld game console is the first to use optical discs.

Linux (2004)

Linux, the open source operating system, makes major inroads into the server market as a viable alternative to Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Sun’s Solaris, and the UNIX operating systems.

Facebook (2004)

Facebook an online social network originally available only to college students, is founded. Facebook eventually opens registration to all people and immediately grows to more than 110 million users with more than 10 billion photos, 30 million of which are uploaded daily.

Mozilla Firefox Web Browser (2004)

Mozilla releases its first version of the Firefox Web browser. Firefox provides innovative features that enhance the Web browsing experience for users, including tabbed browsing and a Search Box. Firefox quickly gained popularity and took market share away from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

Youtube (2005)

YouTube, an online community for video sharing, was founded. YouTube includes content such as home videos, movie previews, and clips from television shows. In November 2006, Google acquired YouTube.

Blogging & Podcasting (2005)

Blogging and podcasting

become mainstream methods

for distributing information via

the Web.

Text, Picture Video Messaging (2006)

Text, picture and video

messaging increases as

popular communication

methods.

Macintosh Computers (2006)

Apple begins selling Macintosh computers with Intel microprocessors.

Core 2 Quad (2007)

Intel introduces its Core 2 Quad – A four-core processor made for dual-processor server and desktop computers.

iPhone (2007)

Apple introduced the iPhone and sold 270,000 phones in 2 days.

Wi-Fi Hotspot (2007)

Wi-Fi hotspots are popular in a variety of locations. People bring their computers to coffeehouses, fast food restaurants, or bookstores to access the Internet wirelessly, either free or for a small fee.

Blue-ray Discs (2007)

Blu-ray Discs increase in popularity, overcoming and replacing HD DVD in less than one year. A Blu-ray Disc can store approximately 9 hours of high-definition (HD) video on a 50 GB disc or approximately 23 hours of standard-definition (SD) video.

Microsoft Office 2007 (2007)

Microsoft releases Office 2007. New features include the most significant update to the user interface in more than a decade, including the introduction of the Ribbon, which replaces the toolbars in most of the programs, and the capability to save documents in XML and PDF formats.

Google Chrome (2008)

Google releases its new Web browser. Google Chrome uses an entirely unique interface and offers other features such as dynamic tabs, crash control, and application shortcuts.

Internet Explorer 8 (2009)

Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 8, also known as IE8. IE8 offers new features such as in Private Browsing, Accelerators, and support for Web Slices.

Core i5 & Core 17 (2009)

Intel releases the Core i5 and Core 17 line of processors. These processors offer increased performance for some of the more demanding tasks. Intel also enhances its Core processor family by releasing multi-core processors, designed to increase the number of instructions that can be processed at a given time.

Xbox 360 (2010)

Kinect for Xbox 360 changes the way people play video games. Game players now can interact with the game with a series of sensors, as well as a camera, tracking their movements in 3-D.

Office 2010 (2010)

Microsoft releases Office 2010, the latest version of its Office suite. This version is available in multiple editions and continues to help people work more efficiently. Office Web apps, available free to Windows Live users, offer online access to scaled-down versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote.

AMD (2010)

AMD develops a 12-core processor, which contains two 6-core processors, each on an individual chip. Power consumption is similar to that of a 6-core processor but offers reduced clock speed.

Adobe CS5 (2010)

Adobe releases the latest version of its design suite, Adobe CS5. This new suite has many performance and interface enhancements over previous versions and takes advantage of new technologies such as multi touch.

Hard Disk Capacity (2010)

Hard disk capacity continues to increase at an exponential rate, with the largest hard disks storing more than 2.5 TB of data and information. Solid state storage also is becoming more popular, with storage capacities increasing and prices decreasing.

Cloud Storage (2011)

Cloud Storage provides users a more convenient way of accessing their files from almost anywhere, decreases their storage cost and increases Internet connection speed.

HTML5 (2011)

A new generation of Web browsers is released to support HTML5, enabling Web pages to contain more vivid, dynamic content.

Google Play

Google introduced Google Play on March 6, 2012.

Pinterest (2012)

Pinterest was made available to everyone on August 10, 2012.

Google Drive (2012)

Google released Google 26, 2012. Drive, an online file storage service.

Google Maps Engine Lite (2013)

Google Maps Engine Lite was released for Android devices in March 2013.

Firefox O3 (2013)

Mozilla introduced the Firefox OS (operating system) in 2013.

Google Class (2013)

Google Glass was introduced in 2013.

Android TV (2013)

Android TV was released on June 25, 2014.

Windows 10 (2014)

Windows Insider was introduced with the Windows 10 update in 2014.

Apple Watch (2014)

Apple releases the Apple Watch. Microsoft releases Windows 10.

Reprogrammable Quantum computer (2016)

The first reprogrammable quantum computer was created. “Until now, there hasn’t been any quantum computing platform that had the capability to program new algorithms into their system. They’re usually each tailored to attack a particular algorithm,” said study lead author Shantanu Debnath, a quantum physicist and optical engineer at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Google Ad Manager (2018)

Google introduced Google Ad Manager in June 2018.

World smallest Computer (2018)

On June 21, 2018, the University of Michigan announced the creation of the “world’s smallest computer,” an ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) Cortex-M0 microcontroller measuring 0.3 mm on each side.

Quantum Computer (2019)

A team at Google became the first to demonstrate quantum supremacy — creating a quantum computer that could feasibly outperform the most powerful classical computer — albeit for a very specific problem with no practical real-world application. They described the computer, dubbed “Sycamore” in a paper in the journal Nature that same year. Achieving quantum advantage – in which a quantum computer solves a problem with real-world applications faster than the most powerful classical computer — is still a ways off.

Twitter Spaces (2020)

In June 2020, Twitter introduced Twitter Spaces.

Youtube Shorts (2021)

YouTube introduced YouTube Shorts in July 2021.

Facebook Meta (2021)

Facebook announced it would rebrand its company name to Meta on October 28, 2021.

1st exascale Supercomputer (2022)

The first exascale supercomputer, and the world’s fastest, Frontier, went online at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF) in Tennessee. Built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) at the cost of $600 million, Frontier uses nearly 10,000 AMD EPYC 7453 64-core CPUs alongside nearly 40,000 AMD Radeon Instinct MI250X GPUs. This machine ushered in the era of exascale computing, which refers to systems that can reach more than one exaFLOP of power – used to measure the performance of a system. Only one machine – Frontier – is currently capable of reaching such levels of performance. It is currently being used as a tool to aid scientific discovery.

ChatGPT (2023)

Microsoft released ChatGPTpowered Bing on February 7, 2023.